context
We are all conditioned to know, from a young age, what we want to be when we are older, what we want to do, with a cute 6 years of life. SIS, you don’t even know who you are yet!
You get to your 20s, and maybe get through uni because that sounds like the next step, and get asked what your dream life is, when you haven’t ever had the self-discovery outside of education, to be able to even answer this question.
For those who can, good on you but girl, that was never me!
My response to this question was always something like:
- Well I quite like Psychology, so I think that could be okay
Or
- I like talking to my friends and family about deep topics so maybe being a therapist would be alright
NEVER DID I EVER SAY “XYZ IS MY DREAM JOB”. Why?
- BECAUSE TO HAVE A JOB, IS NOT MY DREAM.
As simple as that.
The question then became so how can I go about this working situation in life?
story time
Personally speaking I really delayed having to face what to do with my life, until after Uni. I just thought let me deal with it once it comes, and I will just find something. But when the day came I was AGONIZED.
This was when I truly felt in my skin, “okay I have to find another way”, and this was when I first felt the entrepreneurial bug of wanting to work for myself, at the age of 21. Nothing ever really came into action until I was 23, but only at the age of 24 did I really FIND the online business model that suited me, which is Blogging (as you may tell).
More into this, in another blog post (comment if you’d like to know more about my personal journey with money making online and navigating my 20s through this), but it became more about looking at what I wanted out of life, rather than what job I wanted.
For me that was:
- to not work for anyone else
- to wear what I want
- to do what I want, and when I want
- to earn money in the way I wish
You might say I’d be the unmanageable kind in the workforce, but I was actually (and still am) very adaptable and dynamic, however I always remain knowing what is truly meant for me (which is that entrepreneurial, financial freedom, fun kind of life)! Surviving until we can thrive…
Making money online checked all of those boxes, and so the “dream job” for me became not so much about the “job”, but about the dream life this work would give me, as a result. Fortunately, what I do, as a Blogger also feeds my passion of writing, community, and content creation, so it fuels my passion at the same time, but it doesn’t always have to be.
For you, it may just be about being an online business owner to get to your dream life, end of.
That is okay.
You just need to redefine what this means for you.
finding your way
If you are here, then I would assume you also want same or similar things that resonate to my list above. If so, then my advice to finding what type of online business that is for you, would follow somewhat of the below structure:
- Ask yourself whether you would like to be faceless, or show your face? (This would differentiate whether you would want an online business revolved around a personal brand – showing face- or a business brand – faceless).
- Content Consumption! Immerse yourself in content revolved around making money online: read blog posts (many of mine here), go on social media (Pinterest is always a fave of mine here), and open your mind to different possibilities for you.
- Try and test! After exposing yourself to all the ways, if you cannot decide, then start trying and testing all types of online businesses; dropshipping, print-on-demand, blogging, content creation, affiliate marketing, being a youtuber, freelancing, creating an agency. Aim in all directions, and this is how you will narrow down and learn what aligns truly with you.
It’s okay if it takes a while to find your way.
It took me 1 whole year, from April 2023 to April 2024, of trying and testing different online businesses (more on that another day) to finally see that faceless (business brand) Blogging was for me!
Many people will advise you to see what you enjoy doing, and what you like, and to follow that as your online business or passion, but it is not always that simple, and that advice NEVER WORKED FOR ME. So, I provide this perspective, instead, to help girlies who are just like me!
Maybe you have multiple passions, and hobbies, and cannot easily see what you could make into a successful online business. For example, I have always loved writing, but it never came to me to think Blogging would be something I would enjoy, and be able to make money from.
let us normalise
Now that we are on-topic, I would like to share a few things that I believe we should all normalise more, as it pertains to the perception of working, our willingness to work, and certain taboos surrounding it.
I always found it surprising when I asked someone whether they liked their job, and they said “yes” and proceeded to tell me why.
Of course, I am aware that there are people who like their day job, but it was more-so a reflection of how I felt towards 9 to 5 / working for other people. It was a big eye-opener of what I DIDN’T want for myself.
Now, for people who don’t want to work a 9 to 5 for the majority of their life, let’s normalise:
- Not wanting to work a traditional job. We are not lazy, or reckless for wanting to have a life filled with more fun, freedom and time for joy, and loved ones. We only live once!
- Giving the bare minimum to our 9 to 5 jobs. I’m not saying doing our job poorly, but I mean doing what you need to do and that’s it. Some people be doing way too much for their salary, and that’s okay for them, but definitely not for me!
- Not focusing on getting a better job, salary, or working up the corporate ladder. Many times I get faced with the question of “why don’t you look for a higher position in the company, in current job, or elsewhere?” The very simple answer is that I am trying to work smarter, not harder. I am simply surviving my 9 to 5, to give time for my online business to thrive. Changing to a higher role is not my goal, and would only leave me with more stress and less time for what truly matters, that is my online business, my brand right here 🤍.
- Calling in sick! That’s right, I said it… We have sick days for a reason, and I’m all for using sick leave to LEAVE my 9 to 5. I’m all for using it for your own wellbeing, or if you’re really sick of course, but I have fully taken sick days off my 9 to 5, to work on my Blog, and I have NO REGRETS. I know it will pay off.
There are many more I could come up, but to not make this blog post too long for you, I am pretty much saying we should change the narrative and not let the way everyone else thinks and sees the work-life, to have to be imposed onto us, because it just simply can’t. We are different, and are blessed to have other routes we can take!
final thoughts
Next time you have someone ask you what your dream job is, remember our chat here today, and know there are many more girlies like you, going through the exact same thought processes and feelings. But know you are allowed to think differently, and let yourself be authentic, even if people judge, it is more-so a reflection of them, than it is of you.
Establish your mindset, and do the internal work, so you can feel grounded in how you feel and what your stand is.
If it is like mine, then you are in the exact right place, join the girl squad and have a look at some of my other blog posts that might interest you!
In the future, I will have an email list where we can all connect better, and get to know each other, as a community, but for now, leave a comment on your thoughts, and let’s see where it takes us!