What is my business?! Explaining exactly what I do for a living

I feel like this blog post is a little silly.

And maybe a bit unnecessary since it’s not really a Pinterest marketing tip or something that’s going to help you grow online.

But one thing I’ve been loving recently is bringing you guys more behind the scenes.

Giving you a real look at my life, what I do on a daily basis, and how I run my business.

And that’s what brings us to this question: what really is my business?

It’s a bit confusing. I get it.

My mom tells me all the time that she doesn’t really understand what I do.

And my uncle keeps asking me how my publishing business is going because he knows that I have a book on Amazon.

Just as a heads up… I don’t consider my business a publishing business by any means!

So that question kinda makes me cringe.

But I get it.

The “influencer” world is complicated.

And trying to explain it to someone that isn’t in this world (or under the age of 50) can be hard to do.

So today, I’m going to explain.

Let’s get into it.

WHAT IS MY BUSINESS ANYWAY

The short answer… this!

This is my business right here.

The very website that you are on now.

I launched this site almost 3 years ago at this point. And I use it as a hub to share my knowledge of the digital marketing and blogging world with people who are looking to grow their audience online.

If you’re a blogger, online entrepreneur, small business owner, YouTuber or just someone aspiring to change their life by using the online world… then you’re in the right place.

Or if you’re my mom and you just want to learn more… HI MOTHER!

RELATED: How To Feel Comfortable Share Your Life Online

This is the center of my business.

I create blog posts (like this one) that include tutorials or strategies that you need to succeed online.

And I specialize in Pinterest. But I talk about all things blogging, social media, and of course, SEO!

One of my favorite topics because it’s made out to seem so complicated but it doesn’t have to be.

Anyway, I love creating free content here on my blog and on my YouTube channel. That’s really my passion and purpose behind my whole brand.

So when you boil it down, I would say that I am a content creator.

I help people understand the digital marketing world through the resources that I create on my website, YouTube channel, and other social media account.

But there is much more to what I do.

And to explain everything, I think I need to share the purpose and vision for my brand.

MY PURPOSE (Why I’m doing what I’m doing)

I started my blog when I was in an unhappy place.

I felt like there had to be more to my life. 

Are we really meant to wake up every morning to go to a dead-end job that we didn’t really like just because we had to make money to live?

Was that it?!

Maybe you love your job right now. And you’re totally excited to get up every morning and go to work.

But that wasn’t me.

So I created my blog as a way to take control of my life and my career.

RELATED: How To Start A Blog The Right Way

Flash forward to now, the main purpose behind TheContentBug is to help people create a life they love doing what they love online.

And I share what I can to help people grow their audience online, make money blogging, and just do the darn thing! 

So I have a free 3-day mini-course to help you find purpose and passion in your life.

And if you decide that maybe blogging is the right path for you, I also have another free mini-course that’s a complete guide to help you start a successful blog.

I offer a lot of information for free because I truly believe that if you want to do something good for yourself and your soul, you shouldn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for it.

If you want to create a better life for yourself, then I want to help you do it! 

Yes… for free!

MY VISION (Where I want this whole thing to go)

When I created my blog, I didn’t want to take on clients.

I didn’t want to work with clients at all!

Honestly, I just wanted to create content that was helpful to people.

And I kinda figured over time that would mean that I would create paid content. Like an online course or an ebook.

I wasn’t naive. I knew that I had to make money somehow!

But I wanted my main focus to be on creating content!

Not working one-on-one with clients.

That was never my strong suit.

But as a way to make the transition work from full-time employee and part-time side hustler to full-time working for myself, I had to give.

RELATED: 3 Things You NEED To Start The Blog To Business Transition

And that meant taking on clients.

Now… a lot of people think that THIS is my business.

The service that I provide to people.

But here’s the deal…

I don’t want to be working with clients forever. I especially don’t want to be working with my Pinterest management clients past 2019.

And I’m putting that out there to help manifest it.

I’ll explain what kind of clients I take on and what services I provide here shortly. 

But I want to explain my vision first!

In the next couple of years…

I see myself creating content every week.

Working on blog posts and YouTube videos to provide information for free.

Creating courses for people who want to learn even more and see results faster.

RELATED: How To Create Your First Paid Product In Just 2 Months

And then… I hope that I can do more group coaching. More group teaching.

I would love to host a retreat where there are different seasons that revolve around social media, website stuff, business ownership, building a brand, and all of that!

I want to make more of an impact on a larger scale.

I want to speak on panels, reach more people, and just make a big freakin’ difference in the lives of people that need it.

Because I was that person not too long ago.

But that brings me to my business right now…

WHERE MY BIZ IS AT NOW

Right now, I’m doing some of that stuff.

I’m creating the content that I want to create.

I have courses that I’m proud of. And my ebook that’s an affordable option for bloggers who want to follow my strategies to grow faster.

I also offer coaching services and have worked one-on-one with a couple of amazing people to help them really level up with their blogs!

But here’s the kicker…

Offering free content doesn’t pay the bills.

Shocking right?

And most of my time is spent on creating that free content!

Truly because that’s what’s going to help me grow and achieve the vision that I have for my brand.

But the only money that I am making from that free content is from ads, affiliate marketing, and if people end up purchasing my paid products.

RELATED: How Bloggers Make Money

Which is so freaking great when they do!

But right now, the money that I’m making from those 3 income streams isn’t enough to pay our mortgage.

So… I offer services to make the money I need to make to keep doing what I love.

MY SERVICES

This is what most people think when they think of my business.

But really, this is only a teeny tiny portion.

Yes, it’s what makes me the most money.

But I like to think of it as my side job.

Something I do to make money. But not something that’s ultimately going to grow my brand the way I want to grow it.

I really hope that makes sense!

RELATED: My struggle with making money blogging

I’m 100% grateful for the clients I have and for the clients I have worked with in the past. 

But this is just the funding to get me to where I want to go!

So when it comes to the services I provide… there’s a lot.

In the beginning, I would work with people on their blog set-up, SEO, and all things Pinterest. I offered 1-hour consultations and would do just about anything that seemed to fall under what I knew.

But over time, I learned to narrow my services down to what I was really good at.

So now, I only take on clients for Pinterest work, consultations, and blog coaching. That’s it!

I love doing consultations and blog coaching! And I would love to keep doing these for a long time because I honestly view them as an extension of my brand.

It’s like you could either pay a smaller amount to get access to my courses, which is a broken-down version of my consultations or coaching, OR you could pay a premium to work with me directly!

But my Pinterest management work on the other hand… that’s the stuff I want to stop doing by the end of 2019.

So let me explain.

Pinterest Work

Okay.

So I’ve become a bit of a Pinterest expert. And honestly, I love it!

Because I love Pinterest!

But that means that a lot of people approach me to help them grow on Pinterest.

So I boiled it down into a few select services that I provide for people:

• Pinterest account set-up or clean-up
• Pinterest evaluation & custom strategy
• Pinterest monthly management

For the Pinterest account set-up or clean-up and the Pinterest evaluation, I will take on just about any client from any niche.

I mean… the client has to be legit. Meaning someone who is willing to pay for my services.

And it has to be someone that I HONESTLY want to work with.

I turn down a lot of people, all for different reasons.

But one of the most common reasons is because people are expecting to see impractical results. Or they don’t seem to respect me and what I have to offer.

When it comes to Pinterest Management, I got started by working with all niches.

But over time, I’ve come to realize that this isn’t the smartest strategy for me.

I tend to dread working on Pinterest clients that aren’t in a niche that I know and enjoy. And if I don’t like it and I’m just doing it for the money, then aren’t I in the exact same place I was 3 years ago?!

So I started to only take on clients that were in a very specific niche.

And that made me much happier.

But I don’t really enjoy managing people’s Pinterest accounts.

I love to help them grow. Find the things that they are missing out on and send them in the right direction to see real results.

But I don’t really enjoy creating pins and writing descriptions for other people.

That’s not my strong suit.

So I’m putting it out there that by the end of the year, I will no longer be managing anyone’s Pinterest account but my own.

How I Find Clients

This is a question that’s popped up a lot recently: how do I find clients to work with?

And the simple answer is, they find me!

When I got started with freelancing, I joined Upwork.

RELATED: How To Become A Freelancer On Upwork

And that’s basically where all of my clients came from at the time. But since then, most of my clients find me through Google, YouTube or Pinterest.

They land on my website or a YouTube video, and then they send me an email with what they are looking for!

If it is something that I want to take on, then I move forward with it!

And if it’s something that doesn’t interest me, I will politely turn them down.

But I’m at the point where I have a lot of content.

So that helps people to find me!

But what works best are the pieces of content that really show that I know what I’m doing.

When I prove that I’m an expert in something or that I’ve achieved certain results that maybe they want to achieve, they are more likely to reach out.

Like my blog post How I Grew From 7k to 100k Monthly Viewers On Pinterest.

Now, I only have 1 client that I work with through Upwork.

I receive invites to apply to people’s jobs on Upwork daily. But I turn down 100% of them.

Yes. 100%.

Why?

There are 2 reasons.

The first… the majority of people are looking for Pinterest management. And like I said, I’m trying to avoid taking on more Pinterest management clients.

And the second and main reason… Upwork takes a BIG percentage of what you make when you work through them.

So I have to charge clients more to make sure that I’m making what I need to make at the end of the day.

I would rather just work with people off of the platform so I’m not losing money and they aren’t losing money.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?!

I really hope that this blog post helped you to understand a bit more about my business and what I do.

Honestly, the best way to understand it is to follow me on Instagram.

Take a look at some of my most popular blog posts, like these:

• How I Grew From 7k to 100k Monthly Viewers On Pinterest In 2 Months
• How To Start A Successful YouTube Channel
• What It Really Costs To Own A Blog
• How To SEO A Blog Post
• How I Gained 1.1k Instagram Followers In Just 1 Month

And jump over to my YouTube channel and see what content I’m putting out over there too.

Because really, when I look at it, I’m just a content creator. And I really do love what I do.

But if you have any other questions, please leave them in the comments section below.

And, Mom, you know you can always call me to ask me anything 🙂

BYE GUYS!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cathrin (Cath) creates content that encourages bloggers & online entrepreneurs to be themselves, chase their passion, and create their success online. 1 year after started her blog (TheContentBug.com), Cath left her full-time position working in the digital marketing industry to pursue her dreams of being her own boss. In weekly blog posts, sporadic YouTube videos, and constant talking on Instagram stories, Cath hopes to spread her story and be an inspiration to others who desperately want to change their lives.