By 4 o'clock in the morning, I am out of bed and downstairs preparing my first cup of coffee.
I work at my job from 7 in the morning until 5:30 in the evening. But my real business has become my Steemit blog.
I started using Steemit last August. I was never much of an internet user, much less a Blogger. I associated that term with people who lacked ambition and were lazy. But Steemit opened my eyes. I found a community here, where everyone supports and appreciates one another. The fact that a monetary value is attached to posts is what initially lured me in. What really hooked me is that Steemit is a place where I can write. Ever since I was in grade school, I loved to write. I always had an active imagination, and loved putting it down on paper. Back then, only the teachers and my parents read what I wrote. With Steemit, however, I have an entire world of potential readers.
Choosing a username that accurately represents me was the first step in this venture. Country Inspired is perfect. It is a clear definition of who I am.
I have maintained a Facebook page for several years titled Country Inspired Creations, and I started a business with a partner in November 2015 called Aubrecht & Fisher Country Inspired Creations, LLC. It was proper to give my new Steemit account a similar name.
In my early days, I treated Steemit like a hobby, reserved only for moments of down time. But as time went on, I began to realize how similar my Steemit account is to a business. So I started treating it more seriously.
Like a business, I must have good customer relations. I have to create a product or service that pleases the "customer" (my readers). If I write a good post, I get upvotes, replies, or resteems. It is also my duty to give insightful feedback on others’ posts, offer my upvotes, welcome and encourage new users, and respond promptly when someone leaves a comment on one of my posts. My success on Steemit would be impossible without my followers and the support they provide, so I am compelled to offer the same support to others.
Like a business, I have finances to maintain. I carefully monitor my Wallet page to see what Steem is coming in, and what its value is each day. I set short-term and long-term goals. I try to maintain an effective balance of liquid Steem, Steem power, and Steem-backed dollars. It is tempting to experiment with other cryptocurrencies, but I feel Steem has just as much or more potential than any of them, so I refrain from doing so.
Like a business, I must pay attention to the news regarding Steemit, and make decisions based on new developments. Changes implemented over the weeks as Steemit develops affect my account and how I engage with the community.
Like a business, I have to make sacrifices. This means getting up at 3:45 while my family is sleeping so that I can be on Steemit. My lack of sleep may catch up to me by the week's end, but when I see the rewards I earn for a quality post, I am reminded of why I do what I do.
Like a business, I believe what I get from Steemit has a direct correlation to what I put in. Some day, like everyone else, I hope the value of Steem is extremely high. But to get there, I must do my part, along with other users, to post quality content unlike anything found on other social media sites. Even if Steem doesn't appreciate astronomically, I feel I will have gained from the experience.
Country Inspired has become my brand that I am developing. It will forever represent me, recorded in the blockchain.
Treating Steemit like a daily job does not take the enjoyment out of it.
I get out of bed early feeling excited about what I do each day. Steemit allows me to read and write during the most peaceful hours of my day. And I wouldn't be here nearly every day creating new content if it weren't for people like you, who take the time to read my posts. I appreciate you and your support!
You just earned my heart! Can we have more people like you on Steemit please? 😍😍😍
Right mindset. Absolutely right mindset!
I second this motion! @countryinspired is one of my favs, too. :-D
Haha! Nice. I'll check you out right away 😊
Wow, thank you! I truly do appreciate that!
Wow, thanks for the support!
I assure you there are much more dedicated users here than myself. I looked up to a lot of Steemit veterans when I first started my account. They made names for themselves early on, and I will always be following the paths they have already taken.
Again, thank you. Following.
Hello @countryinspired
You make good posts. I have been following you and voted for you many times.
In this post you write:
Like a business, I must have good customer relations. I have to create a product or service that pleases the "customer" (my readers). If I write a good post, I get upvotes, replies, or resteems. It is also my duty to give insightful feedback on others’ posts, offer my upvotes, welcome and encourage new users, and respond promptly when someone leaves a comment on one of my posts. My success on Steemit would be impossible without my followers and the support they provide, so I am compelled to offer the same support to others.
Maybe it is a good idea to vote for the good comments in your blog like @smalltalk
If you read the roadmap 2017 , this will be great for you later on. Just an idea.
Have a nice day :-))
@smalltalk left a great comment for me, which I greatly appreciate. I clicked "Follow", so it is highly likely I will upvote their posts in the future.
I do appreciate your kind reply as well, and I am now following you.
You have peaked my interest to read the roadmap 2017. I hope as a newbie I can make sense of it. In the meantime I'll keep an eye out for "hints" such as this. Thank you.
Thanks for the follow.
Wonderful post. I also treat Steemit like a business and also like playing a game. Look forward to more of your posts.
Thank you! I can see how it can be compared to playing a game. I enjoy your posts.
A very addictive game at that. You're constantly trying to build your SP, reputation score, follow great people. There's always something to push on for.
So true. It is a full-time business.
It is difficult finding time to keep up when we must work full-time day jobs, too.
In it to Win it! I'm with you brother....
Maintaining my-side of the blockchain! ~Peace! :)
Sweet!
Rockin' the Chromebook! Thanks for the support! Following.
That title is pure truth. Lol It can become very time consuming!
It can indeed.
Nice post. And you made, what, $600?
Thanks. Yeah, my total account value is around $600, but I'm not too concerned with that dollar amount right now.
http://lifehacker.com/can-i-really-make-a-living-by-blogging-1537783554
Salaries for bloggers vary widely. This report from Glassdoor shows ranges from $19K to $79K a year for the title "blogger," while other sources say the 14% of bloggers who earn a salary make, on average, $24K a year (or $33K for corporate bloggers). Likewise, freelance bloggers can make anything from under $10 a post to $100 or more for a relatively short post.
Those are interesting numbers. It's impressive that people can make a living by blogging. The whole concept is rather new to me.
Thank you for the link.
Not much of a biz
All of your hard work put into Steemit is paying off. Maybe someday it will be more of a full time job for you giving you extra time to create all of those wonderful wood pieces and creative living spaces : )
Thank you for getting me introduced to Steemit!
If the price of Steem goes sky high, there is a good chance I will start my tiny home construction company!
You might think about this design, I'll give you a 'tour' sometime in the future (when the kitchen is finished) Bozeman, MT
Wow! That is really awesome! I love rustic designs with the corrugated metal and weathered wood. So is this your home?
This is my neighbors tiny house on wheels, which she's built herself (with a few helping hands) I'm trying to get her over hear on Steemit. It's 192 sq.ft. Mine is 252 sq. ft. (no wheels) and a Dog Door. :) This is Me:
That's awesome! I am obsessed with tiny houses. The demand is not high here in Iowa where most people have room to spread out. But they are slowly gaining popularity. I would really, really love to start building them in the future.
It's great! It's a good job...a lot has been done, but much ahead. Good luck to all of us.
I'm new here as of yesterday, I love the enthusiasm you have. I'll see what happens but the platform looks interesting to me so far.
Welcome to Steemit! I'm glad to see you getting involved here and joining in discussion. I hope your experience here is pleasant!
Welcome to Steemit! I want to advise you to try as much as possible to interact but dropping comments like this one.
They go a long way to help the community. That's what i'm pushing for and hopefully you'll buy the idea and join in early enough!
You're welcome again.
Hiya....i love this post. I'm too treating mine like a business. I have already withdraw a small amount to see how it works and it is now in my personal bank which means i have to declare an income haha! Good luck on your venture and enjoy, i enjoy your posts and your comments! P.S i'm in the UK and it's 4am here now !
I haven't withdrawn any funds yet, and I hope not to for many years. But I am well aware that I will be taxed on any earnings.
I appreciate you reading my posts. I like your posts, too. So do you get up early in the morning or do you just stay up all night to be awake at 4?
I sometimes work through the night as i have some US clients and my sleep patterns are erratic, but i do like writing through the night, it's quiet and i somehow am more creative. Maybe its the moonlight lol.
We all love them!
Thank you for your words @countryinspired , which I can only connect. It goes with here at steemit just like you. up and resteemed***
Thank you very much! I appreciate your support!
welcome bro**
What a great mindset. So far, Steemit seems to hold a lot of nice people. It's a great community and it's always fun to be here and read people's stories!
Yes, there are a great number of nice people. It's a great community to be a part of. Thank you!
Inspiring to this neewbie. Perhaps getting up early is better than staying up to 3am like I tend to do. Tonight I spent my time researching a topic because I'm preparing to post a quality article. I chose a topic that I needed to learn more about anyway and hope it will be well received.
I will try to help you out once your post goes live. I always like to encourage new users. Please don't give up even if it isn't well received. It takes a long time and much dedication to start seeing the rewards really add up. Don't lose spirit. I get up early because my mind and body is refreshed, and I do my best thinking. I don't function well late at night.
Thanks for the response!
What a great mindset to have and your heart is in the right place your already on the road to success with steemit. upped
Thank you very much! i appreciate your support.
I appreciate your support also and what you have already done here thanks.
::lol:: I live on 10 acres 6 miles off the paved roads. I tell people, I live in 252 sq. ft. but my "LivingRoom" is just over 435600 sq. ft. %^)
(6 deep thread string - zeros out "bug fix needed for steemit")
Heck yeah. I have an 8 acre plot that is my "recreation room".
Nice mind setting! Congrats
Thanks!!
I had just checked earlier. Thank you.