But can I make a living at it?

[Ocean's Edge]

The past six+ months since Him and I moved here have been kind of .. well a bit of limbo. For two years we'd been so focused on getting the house ready to sell and then getting it sold and where were we going to move to..... and then *poof* all that was done.

So been quietly looking for new foci - where am I going from here? And yes there's the baking and the dogs and getting the gardens established, would like to be working on the house but there's no cash for that. But really, I need a job, the rest of it feels like a hobby and it might one day become a job - but not till there's some investment capital.

So, I've been looking at my skills. We're pretty blessed rural so outside work is a bit scarce. I need internet based work. As it turned out the perfect job kinda fell into my lap - utilizing my aviation industry experience and my past involvement with animal rescue and my general organizational prowess and I became the PETSCORT coordinator for Pilots N Paws Canada (I put together volunteers flying commercially with rescues that need to transport an animal and facilitate all that). Then this morning the Atlantic Canada Weather Facebook page offered me an admin position to contribute and update on weather conditions in my area. Again - right up my alley, combining my feature article writing abilities and my weather geeking.

Both are intensely satisfying, present their own challenges, are interesting and I get a lot of support and kindness from the people I'm working with. Neither is all that terribly time consuming right now, and I can more or less work at my own pace - when it fits into my life.

In other words - the perfect jobs - for me - at this stage of my life. Only problem is:

They don't pay a dime.

I keep thinking there's got to be a way to parlay this into a little income. I run my own lifestyle blog - but that doesn't pay either. But I know there are folks out there doing freelance internet 'stuff' and making a wee bit of money at it (no I don't expect to be pulling in 6 bills). Thing is I don't do ghost writing well, I can't 'sound' like anyone but myself, but I can write like myself very well. My google-fu is second only to Him's. I'm redesigning and maintaining my daughter's professional art website. I'm not a bad photographer, and getting better, and I'm fairly adept with making photo-essay books. I have skills - I'm just not sure how to turn them into making some kind of a living.

So mad mad mad mad Cellarites .... give me some mad mad mad mad idea ......

[Lamplighter]

<snip>
Both are intensely satisfying, present their own challenges,
are interesting and I get a lot of support and kindness from the people I'm working with.
Neither is all that terribly time consuming right now,
and I can more or less work at my own pace - when it fits into my life.

In other words - the perfect jobs - for me - at this stage of my life. Only problem is: They don't pay a dime.

I keep thinking there's got to be a way to parlay this into a little income.

I believe you sentence above has set forth above the very basic issues you need in order to have a good start.

You say: "Only problem is: They don't pay a dime."
I say: You haven't given them a reason to pay you a dime.

To start, you need to create a professional, for-profit, image
so your "clients" have the immediate belief they need to pay you at your rates
.... freebees are for amateurs and hobbyists.

Here's the way I got started...
I first went an attorney to find out what was needed to establish a "sole proprietorship"
I next went to a CPA to find out what was needed with respect to taxes and my expenses
Then I went to the State Dept of Commerce and established my company's "Doing Business As":
My DBA was "Lamplighter Consultants"
Then a bank account for writing and depositing checks.

I then went to the local copy shop and ordered 100 business cards.
I also started collecting forms and draft of documents I would need,
(early drafts of contracts for scope of work, receipts, procedure manuals, advertising brochures, etc. )
... whatever I could think of to assure that I looked professional.
My "consultantships" changed a lot over the 7 years as I learned
what clients wanted/needed, and what they would pay for.

Then, I started contacting all those people with whom I had been "volunteering",
and told them that things had been going so well,
and that I enjoyed working with them so much,
I had decided to do the same kind of work professionally.
I asked them each of them if they had any suggestions or advice.
I did not ask them for work at that time.

Nothing happened for a while, but when several of the (annual) projects came up again,
those people knew I available and working professionally,
and they expected me to set my fees and conditions.
Sometimes one client led to another, and what had been
a volunteer activity became a nice extra source of income.

Since I was advertising myself as a "consultant", I was free to take
on any type of activity I wanted, to produce or farm out
whatever product(s) or services might be needed, etc.

IMO one important thing, however, is to set fees appropriately.
Your fees should tell your client they are now getting professional service.
At first it might be tempting to go low... but I suggest going as high
as you can reasonably expect for whatever service you provide.
That is, don't look for that $100,000 glass of lemonade,
but also make sure your fees are high enough that your time
with each client remains worthwhile to you and them,
and maybe even a tiny little bit higher than they want to pay... at first.

People tend to think they get what they pay for.
Somewhat higher fees tend to make them believe
they are getting better than a local volunteer or a "low baller".

[Ocean's Edge]

Good advice - all of it.

I should be clear that the two things I am doing now are with small registered charitable organizations. No one is paid - the founders themselves are volunteers. That said - especially with the first one, it is a professional job and I was hired, vetted, and treated as a professional all along the way, as are the people I'm working with - we're all just volunteering our time and skills to a worthy cause. I'm not being paid because no one is being paid - not because I short sold myself

The professional set up isn't really a problem - most of the ground work is done for that and what hasn't been done (ie should a new form is needed asap... can be done on the fly).

My problem is that I have a fairly clear idea of what skills I have that are marketable ... I just have zero clue, where or how, or to whom to sell them to you know?
My problem is that marketing isn't one of those skills.

[Nirvana]

So you are looking for a marketing consultant?

[Ocean's Edge]

hheh...

[Ocean's Edge]

been thinking about something else too lately....

while this might be a way to 'earn a living', copy writing isn't/doesn't feel like a new career path, it's a skill, I'm good at it, it should be marketable, but it's not a passion ... life ambition. Writing novels - yes - but I haven't sold one of those yet.

So in the search for possibly profitable new directions, I'm also considering a taking a course in canine hydrotherapy, possibly followed by a course in canine therapeutic massage. It feels like something I could be really passionate about.

Of course we're a long way (like an inheritance) away from being able to afford the kind of infrastructure I'd need to be able to practice it - and even then it might not be PRACTICAL - but then again neither is his laser business. In the meantime, my own newf has joint issues which are not going to get better for him as he ages so the skills learned won't ever go to waste....

So I continue to look for internet based writing / media opportunities to pay the bills and look at this as a longer term new career path, and keep writing because well - that's what I do.

I think

At least until the next bright idea hits me

[Ocean's Edge]

Well - heard back from my inquiry - $2000 for the 6 day course, not a completely unexpected price - about in keeping with similar type professional development courses. However, with airfare and a week's accommodation - looking at probably $4000 total .... not going to happen SOON, but I do think it will happen.

[xoxoxoBruce]

You have to have rich neighbors to make a living at that. Rich dog loving neighbors, and a lot of them.

[glatt]

It's tricky though, because if you have rich neighbors, you can't afford to live there yourself.

[Ocean's Edge]

actually you just need neighbours with doggie health insurance - most medical insurance companies do pay for physiotherapy - yes even for dogs, if prescribed by their veternarian .... also the place I've been talking to does some 'you swim with your dog' as well .... essentially renting out the therapy pool, the cost isn't unreasonable to take your dog for a swim once a week, especially if they're old and athritic and it's the only exercise the poor bugger gets.

Also we'd be only the second such facility in Nova Scotia - the other is a 3 hr drive away in Halifax, we'd be covering pretty much Shelbourne to Bridgewater

And making a living for us is pretty cheap - $24K a yr clear and we're living the high life, $18K a yr clear and we're managing ok, $12K a yr clear and we'll get by

[Ocean's Edge]

might not be glamourous or exciting, but it'll feed the animals and pay for the course....

off to see about a part time cashier gig at the local supermarket ,....

[Lamplighter]

This thread added another one of those times I enjoy, so much,
where I follow up on something and learn so much more.

Ocean commented...

...Also we'd be only the second such facility in Nova Scotia
- the other is a 3 hr drive away in Halifax,
we'd be covering pretty much Shelbourne to Bridgewater

So first I went to Google to see where and how many people live in the area ... Answer: not many !

Then I saw a reference to "Black Loyalists", and this lead me back to Virginia and the American Revolution,
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, Freetown Sierra Leone, George Washington chasing slaves, and
and then to complete the circle back to Nova Scotia and ...this

[Jaydaan]

While you don't make a living at it, thank you for your help with Luna's travels today! You might not get paid for it, but one boxer gets a chance at much better life because of you, Westjet, the other volunteers, and the foster families. While it won't feed your tummy, I hope it feeds your soul! Thank you again so very, very much.