A few months ago, when Bjork was putting together another one of the income reports, we both had this realization moment: at this point I earn more from blogging than I do from my day job.
Day job = elementary school teacher.
Potential new job = stay at home blogger.
How was that even possible? I started think about what it would be like to actually quit my day job and spend my days at home working on recipes, photography, new products, and generally developing Pinch of Yum.
And honestly, I was confident that thatās what I wanted to do. I thought: if I had that kind of opportunity, I would totally take advantage of it. Work from home, be my own boss, build and grow my blog, the whole deal.
Cause itās fun, right? Like, you can sleep in and then sit around in your sweat pants. Maybe you can sneak a nap in between eating Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal Bars and watching Arrested Development. Just one episode, of course, cause youāre āworkingā. And then you can write blog posts whenever you feel like it. For example, from midnight to three in the morning. Totally glam. (This is me joking.)
In all seriousness, as I thought about making the switch to full time blogging, the thing that captivated me was the idea that I could work really hard and my hard work would directly affect how successful I would be. With everything from traffic, to photography skills, to better recipes, to income. I loved that I could have a flexible schedule. I knew I would wake up in the morning with motivation to get work done. I could stay home with our kids. Of which we have none, but still. I had visions of real weekends where I wouldnāt have to do any work. Say what?!
But here’s where the story takes a turn. In May, as I tried out the life of an almost-full-time blogger, and as I got a teaching job offer that made my heart feel unexpectedly giddy, I remembered this about myself: I love teaching. I believe in teaching. And for me personally, teaching gives me spiritual and emotional income in a way that food blogging just doesn’t.
So after running through lots of possibilities for work this year, I’ve accepted a part time teaching position as a reading interventionist at my elementary school. This is the school where I know kids, and kids know me, and when I come back after a year of being gone they present me with little bracelets made of paper clips that spell “love”. Best ever? Yes, I think so.
Iāll be working with small groups of struggling readers during the morning hours AND Iāll still have a few afternoon hours left to devote to Pinch of Yum. Or eat snacks. You know how it is. A few of you have asked whatās next for p-o-y, so now ya know! Iām a teacher and a blogger, and I am feeling so incredibly blessed. Now if I could just find a few hours in the day to teleport back to the Philippinesā¦ yeah, that.
I would be so excited to hear from any of you – bloggers with day jobs, full time bloggers, food or otherwise. What are the perks or the downsides of each? Are you happy to be where you are? What makes it work?
Thanks for letting me talk. Type. Whatever. I feel like weāre friends and it makes me smile. –>Ā š
Hey Lindsay…love your site! My cousin, sent me your link and said that I should check it out…I’m glad she did! I’m a wife, mom, full time worker (outside of the home) and I have a blog as well. It’s so hard to fit everything into one day…we need a 40 hour day!! I love the outdoors as well…I hunt, fish and love foraging for wild anything…I usually take my camera with me to snap photos for potential posts and try to do my recipes/food photography after work or on the weekends! I would like to do this full time and have made that my goal…one day!
I would like to say that this blog really convinced me to do it! Thanks, very good post.
Lindsey, have you ever laid out the steps involved that made it possible for you to blog full time and make money from it? (I just discovered your blog yesterday while doing research on Blogger Burnout and I will be searching your archives.)
Thanks,
Dan
Yes – we have that outlined over the course of a few years in our income reports. š https://pinchofyum.com/category/making-money-from-a-food-blog
I will have Lindsay get back to you, Dan!
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Hi Lindsay,
I stumbled onto your blog this afternoon while looking for a last minute, scrounge-through-the-pantry, since it is August and walking into Target these days reminds me that school will be around the corner in no time, recipes.
I kept reading through your posts and I thought, “Goodness, I resonate with this gal on many things.” Continuing through the site, I realized – No wonder, a MN girl who loves to teach and loves Jesus! Love it!
I just read Jennie Allen’s book, Restless. It talks about aligning your passions with the threads of resources and skill sets that God has gifted you. It made me think about the potential of blogging in a greater capacity. Your blog has helped peek my interests more. š
What an awesome comment. Thanks Kaycee! Maybe I’ll see you at Target sometime. š
Stumbled on this post when a Vitamix fanatic friend link to a blender lemonade recipe. Anyway, really interesting post to me! I have 3 kids ages 4, 3, and 1. Recently, I started a blog as an outlet for many areas I like to think and write about. My realization: it is very time consuming! I would probably love to and dream of blogging full-time if I were not fully loaded with my full time SAHM routine. So I keep my blog as a personal page and hobby. My question is, do you think having a blog mission, vision or goal is important to “success” and growing readership? I’m in “let’s see how this goes” and “let’s see where this goes” mode at the moment. In all reality, I enjoy my occasional blogging but it also feels like a fourth baby!
For us, we never really had a blog vision when we were in the early stages of POY. I just loved working on it, and the creative process plus the challenge of it, plus the growing traffic were the things that really kept driving me to produce more content. I think where you’re at now is totally appropriate – try it out and see where it leads you! š
Hi Lindsay!
Thanks for sharing this! I too am an elementary teacher, I teach art to k-4 students! My blog is definitely a second full-time job, and I honestly don’t know what the future will bring, but right now I am happy doing both (no kids may help with that). I hear ya on the satisfaction from teaching that you don’t get necessarily from blogging. Just means we are busy, busy, busy, right!
Enjoy the weekend!
Wow – Busy is an understatement. But I try not to complain (okay, well, Bjork might beg to differ) – I’m so so thankful to have not just one but TWO jobs that I love! š Thanks for the comment Lexi!
Hi Lindsay-
I stumbled across your site for the very first time last night, and I wanted to add to the conversation here.
I taught here in Chicago schools for about a decade, and then after having my sons, stayed home with them. I discovered blogging about 5 years ago, and really, it has been a tremendous outlet. It started as a hobby and morphed into a job, because I can’t go back to the classroom given the situation with my sons. My oldest has autism, and he leaves school early for therapies. My youngest is still in preschool. It’s not like most schools have .25% positions! That’s all I could do right now. š Plus, homeschoolings is looking more appealing each year.
I agree. Having something outside of blogging is important. I miss the classroom terribly, but at this stage having two kids with special needs trumps the warm fuzzies of my teaching days. Now I blog to help teachers and homeschoolers. I also have two other blogs that are more of hobbies.
So, having children while running a blog while SAHMing is doable if you have help. The mom thing is all-consuming…Naptime and nighttime are great in the early years, and the type of tired you are as a mom is different than that as a teacher. š
Thank you for being so forthcoming.
With love,
Nicolette
Thank you so much for your comment Nicolette! Much love to you for all the hats you’re wearing these days! š
It’s great to hear that you’re going to continue teaching! The educators I know don’t get paid enough for the wonderful work that they do with kids.
I have grappled with the thought of staying at home and building up my blog to generate a liveable income, but then I realize that having a professional degree (in my case, an M.D.) is invaluable in these uncertain times. If you’re not saddled with 30k student loan debt from undergrad, you might be in more of a position to choose though! At any rate, you never know when the tides will change, competition will become too fierce, and your page views (and profits) will dry up.
The other issue is the level of impact you’re having on people’s lives in sharing your gifts with the world, and the kind of fulfillment you receive from it. Personally, having a career that contributes to the betterment of humanity in a meaningful way is crucial to my happiness. I could sit around at home and snack on treats and take pretty pictures, or I could use my good mind to get through the rigorous academic training and ultimately serve people who require my assistance with an issue that affects them every day, whether they like it or not–their health. I guess the issue of blogging for a living makes me think a lot since I want to be a physician who works with overweight and low income patients. There’s a big foodie culture that’s grown up on the blogosphere and wedged itself into our cultural consciousness, flashing images of the most decadent, dripping desserts on sites like Pinterest in front of us at a constant stream. As a food blogger, you realize the role you’re playing in the obsession, and the work you do can feel rather hollow. Does that make sense?
The way you talk about your work in the Philippines makes me suspect you feel similarly about your profession and its importance to your fulfilment. š Blogging is wonderful and whimsical, but it’s no substitute for touching peoples lives face to face. Those kids are lucky to have you as a teacher, a mentor, and friend. No amount of online interaction can replace that kind of human connection.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment!!
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It’s great to see that full time blogging is actually possible cause it’s my top goal for my blog! I’ve been writing for a year now but don’t seem to get as many viewings and followers as I would like, I know what I write is good but I’m just unsure what to do next.. Any tips??
Kendra
Well, I was googling for people who are considering on full time blogging when I happen to bump into yours. I think blogging is fun and I do it as a hobby. I also love reading other people’s blog and I really love the ones like yours. And I think you made the right choice to do teaching…something that you love to do. Not a lot of people get to do it like you did. I was a tutor myself during my Uni days and it was really good to see those younger teens doing well in their studies. Well, love your post on this. Keep it up!!
I work full time as a writer, manage my own blog, and do a freelance writing project from time to time. I’m able to manage all three, but it can be exhausting at times. For me, the key is to get valuable time away from the computer and do other things that I enjoy, like going for walks, going shopping, reading magazines, spending time with family and friends, etc. I aim for a balanced life.
So true! Thanks for the comment Haley!
While our income hasn’t skyrocketed like yours, we do make a profit off our cocktail blog and would love to take it on full time. I work full time in marketing and sales in the CPG industry with a great salary, but would blog about mixology and the alcohol industry for a living if it paid about half, but thats my passion. Good luck.
Cheers!
Lindsay, you made me chuckle about staying home w/ kids and blogging. I had a blog before my daughter was born 5yrs ago. I don’t know how other work at home moms do it, but I had to give up blogging just before she turned 2. Now that she’s going to kindergarten in the fall, I can’t wait to blog again!
That’s great feedback Lani! I know I’m totally naive when it comes to what’s realistic when having kids with me at home. š Someday I’ll know the truth I guess!
So exciting for you! I discovered your blog one day while searching recipes and then noticed your info on food blogging and it inspired me to give it a try. For years I’ve been reading and enjoying food blogs but it wasn’t until I came across your site that I thought I could do it too. So thank you and your husband both so much for all the helpful info and wonderful recipes.
Here’s hoping I find some success in the blogging world as well. š
I don’t even read your blog and yet I found this post amazing (found this post through google when looking up something related to wanting to be a full time blogger). I love the way you phrased your thoughts and I love that you were able to see that it’s the combination, of blogging and teaching, that’ll keep you happy, even while others may think you’re crazy for not going all in on blogging. Definitely impressed.
Wow- thanks for the comment Elise. That’s so funny that it showed up in Google. I didn’t even think of people searching that. š
Lindsay,
As soon as I got to the part about your being a teacher I was like “what? Who leaves teaching to blog? Not a real teacher.” Thank you for finding a way to combine your passions, and thank you for both of your contributions to the world, with teaching being far more special. I just found your blog today and have fallen totally in love. I combine my passions for nutrition counseling and cooking through my blog (I’m a dietitian). Do you have another blog that is related to teaching/reading for children? Just wondering. Also, how old is your blog? You’ve done an amazing job and I’d like to know how long it will take me to get my blog so fabulous and lucrative. š I hope to meet you at a food bloggers conference one day, or at least sit in on a session that you teach – ah, teaching and blogging!
Hi Renee! I’ve been blogging for just over three years now. And I don’t have a teaching blog, although I feel like I have enough stories and teaching ideas to make one. š Thanks for the comment!
I am high school teacher. Back during my first year, I started a blog, but the demands of teaching meant that I eventually gave it up because evaluations are intense in my district. Therefore, I think part-time plus a blog sounds like a way to ‘fuel’ both interests.
Oh Lindsay, that’s fabulous! A lot of people don’t usually think about the “emotional income” side of things and work wherever the money is greatest, and it’s inspiring that you’re doing what your heart tells you to do. It’s even more special that you love both of your jobs, blogging and teaching!
I made the decision to try full-time blogging earlier this year. (Granted, my readership isn’t quite as great as yours, so I’m still working on the “making money” aspect of things! š ) The job I had taken was both mentally and emotionally draining, and I found myself spending all of my breaks thinking about my blog — what to bake, writing new posts, and imagining photo shoots. I would’ve made a lot more money had I kept my old job, but when I woke up every day dreading going to work (and it was 7 days a week!), I knew I needed change. We’ll see where this blogging adventure takes me!
And… I’m terribly embarrassed that I’ve fallen behind on reading your posts, so you’ll probably get spammed with a lot of “You have a new comment from Amy” notifications. Sorry! š
7 days a week?! What kind of insanity is that! Thanks for all the comments! š
Chemistry insanity… The reactions are like little kids: they need constant love and attention! š
And you’re welcome! I love reading your blog; you have a wonderful gift as a writer. š
Sounds like you made a great choice. It is a challenge when your blog becomes your source of income or in my case I need my blog to become a bigger source of income as my “regular job” does not come close to supporting my family. I recently left my full time produce job at a small local store for a part time produce job at Whole Foods Market that pays more per hour, but slightly less overall with the reduced hours. I now have 1 extra day off to work on blog until a full time spot opens up. My dream is to stay part time and be able to make enough money on my blog to cover the rest. A little added pressure on me at the moment. Pinch of Yum has always been the inspiration for me that this 3 1/2 year blog journey could end up being what finally gets us out of our financial situation. So I thank you for sharing and be opened with all that you are.
Gah! I’m so happy for you Lindsay! My close friend is a reading interventionist and I know she loves her job! I just went part time and it’s liberating! I still can get out of the house and yet I can still blog and have more time at home. It’s the best of both worlds, really. Congrats girl!
Good for you Laurie! So glad to hear that you’re also doing part time and loving it! š