This morning I woke up, yet again on the couch. Normal people sleep in their nice comfy beds, I should sleep in my bed even though my couch is SO comfortable. Yet, today wasn’t the first time that I woke up and there just “happens” to be something useful and motivating to me on the television. Now it wasn’t some awesome miracle product available on an info-commercial…it had to do with my writing or photography. Today it was Art Wolfe’s show, Travels to the Edge. Besides just some interesting information about Mongolia, he talks about why he chooses shots and what makes a good picture. It motivated me to do more with my photography.

Today as I got up off the couch to let my dog out, it occurred to me that sometimes we need to be outside what is “normal” to be on the right path and receive all that is out there for us.

Look around at what you are doing and see if you stripped away the “rules” and what is “normal”, would you be on the path that you are on, or are you missing out on something because you are not on the path that is going to lead you to everything you are to receive. This goes for life, Internet projects, work, etc.

• Article/content writing-11 hours
• Categorizing domains-2 hours
• Business development-3 hours
• Brain storming-3 hour
• Photography-11.5 hours
• Jan’s Writing Services-6 hours
• Marketing-4.5 hours
• Organizing-2 hour
• Planning-1 hour
• Keyword research-1 hour
• New project development-5 hours

The challenge resulted in me working on my photography more than I had planned, increase in income, and some great ideas for future projects.

All posts on the 50 Hour Challenge

To find out more about other challenges you can go to the category-challenges.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I spent 5 hours on my photography at the workshop and at the rodeo. I spent another 2 hours photographing snow in the dessert (rare) when we got enough snow that it stuck a couple weeks ago. It was quite the experience. I took so many pictures between a couple trips to the rodeo, the snow, the barn dances, visiting a national monument, and friends out dancing that I was almost tired of taking pictures! Have lots of great shots and awesome memories.

WRITING

I have been getting a lot done with my content writing services. I have a new writer and new client. I’m going to credit 4 hours towards the challenge. I got my new writer started, worked on articles for a new client, wrote articles for use for marketing, and wrote a little for a new faith focused project I started. That would be 2 hours for Jan’s Writing Services and 2 hours for content writing.

WORKING WITH BOB SCHMUCK

The time working with my son, Bob Schmuck continues to be productive and motivating.  We have gotten together twice in the past few weeks. During that time we did the following:

• organize (1 hour)
• marketing (1.5 hours)
• keyword research (1/2 hour)
• write (2 hours)
• brainstorm (1 hour) during our time.

The focused time has paid off. I hit my $100 in Adsense income in two months…a personal record! (happy dance!….happy dance!)

NEW PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

Working on a few new projects. One is for Super Bowl L (50). I am going to have two sites that I will develop over the next 4 years and then sell it right after Super Bowl XLV (45). This I got the domain names and keyword research done.

The other project is faith focused and I haven’t gotten much farther than lots of notes and ideas in a notebook. It will have a lot of videos. It will start with a focus on teens. I did get the domain names.

When my new writer submitted her sample article, she actually had an excellent keyword. I have the articles ordered for that and am going to develop a website. I got the domain names.

For these projects I probably spent about 3 hours plus about 1/2 an hour on keyword research.

Well, I’m almost done! I have tomorrow off and hope I will be able to get closer to finishing.

TOTAL    42.5/50 hours

For some people it is difficult for them to come up with ideas for their Internet ventures. For others it is difficult to develop the ideas that they have. I am in the second category, I have more ideas than I know what to do with. Ideas are constantly overflowing and I make jokes I have enough ideas to keep someone busy for 10 years after I die! For now, I need to focus on an Internet venture and give it a push so it can move on its own for awhile while I work on another one and then I can go back, give it another push, and repeat until it has enough momentum going so that it only needs an occasional push.

I started out with this blog, not because it will give me much return, but because it is easy. If you know me, you know I’m not choosing it just because I am lazy, but because it will help me to develop new habits faster. I can write easily on this blog so it doesn’t take much time away from my article writing business, Jan’s Writing Services. So this is the process that I am working on with Jan’s Ideas and then I will repeat with my other projects.

• Post at least every 2-3 days
• At least every other post has an image
• Post in advance
• Share blog on Facebook
• Have blog posts automatically post to Twitter
• Start a folder of my photos to use for posts

I probably won’t use article directories to promote it, but I might, just for the practice. The reason is that this blog doesn’t have the income potential as some of my other projects and might just wait and use the time to submit articles for my other projects. When I have about 2-3 weeks of posts scheduled to publish, I will then start on my next blog. I have chosen to work on Jan’s Group Home Support next. It has income potential and it is easy to write for. It is a topic close to my heart, I have been working with the disabled for about 12 years now and have found it very satisfying.

It might get a little messy in the recycling bin, but nothing that a little showering and a change of clothes can’t fix!

While I was waiting I got a weekly and monthly writing job. I am focusing on my one day a week that is dedicated to self-employment, mainly writing.

These steps will be fine tuned for one day a week and later I will use the same process to add other days and later apply the same process to passive income. Income is the money AFTER expenses. With writing I don’t have hardly any expenses since I already have a computer. The only expense right now is the small fees that Paypal charges to do my payments through them.

THE STEPS OF PHASE ONE

1. Return to writing (May 2008)
2. Promote writing services (June and July 2008)

• Updated my writing services page on blog
• Put link in my signature on Wickedfire forum posts
• Wrote a package of 5 related articles with researched keywords and offered for sale on Wickedfire (sold in less than 24 hours)
• Helped other writers (3 threads started to benefit all Wickedfire writers)

1. Received orders and delivered articles (July 2008)
2. Added to iTrader of clients and received iTrader points (July 2008)
3. Decided I had enough work to replace one day pay a week at wage earning job (August 2008)
4. Brainstorming about other self-employment income to cover one day pay-photo taking idea (August 2008)
5. Create secure income (Currently working on)

• (one day wage earning pay X 2) X 12 = savings needed before I repeat process on another day per week
•  Have steady and regular income from writing that equals two days pay for 3 months
• Begin plans for secondary self-employment stream

I will have the income for that one day backed up by 4 other sources of income and a 5th one in the works.

Initial day of pay will be covered by the income from writing. This is how I will make sure I have additional income to cover that SAME day in the event any income fails or drops:

1. Flexible/relief shift at a second wage earning job
2. Enough article writing orders to cover twice what is needed to replace the income for one day at wage earning
3. Savings that is equivalent to 3 months of pay from that one day
4. Secondary writing income (pre-written article packages)

I will develop my photo business plan and test it out.

This provides 5 income streams for one day and another one in the works. I could loose any one of them and my level will not change. What will I do if more than one income stream brings in money? I will enjoy 1/3 of the excess income, save 1/3 of the excess income, and reinvest 1/3 of the excess income back into self-employment business development. Once I have 3 months of savings to cover that one day, I will move towards a second day of self-employment and repeat!

There are a lot of principles and exercises in there that make sense. When I read books like this, I know what worked for the author may not work for me in the same way. That person’s life experiences, skills, and circumstances are different than mine. For me, often these types of books are stepping stones that take me on another path and trigger an overflow of ideas of things that will work for me.

I’m sure I’ve read and been told similar stuff to what is in the book, before. Right now though, my circumstances make me more open to absorbing what I’m reading. Reasons why I am open to the ideas of this book:

• I have two wage earning jobs and am working some over-time at my primary job
• I’ve taken some steps to look into making some big changes at my wage earning job to better support my family
• I just came back from vacation and want to be free to go back to Colorado more often and for longer periods of time
• I’ve begun internet projects that will contribute to self-employment and passive income
• I’m 47 years old and don’t want to wait around any longer for a life free of financial struggles
• My children are old enough (25, 23, 21, 13, and 10) that they aren’t as dependent on my for care
• I’ve taken big jumps towards financial stability
• I’m very ready to work smarter instead of harder

So, I just started reading the book and am inspired already. Do I believe by this time next year I’ll be working only 4 hours a week? Of course not, but I know I will be closer to that than I am today!

After I finish the book I will go back and use it more like a workbook. I have decided to work on three things while I’m reading the book first time through:

1. Organizing my home office
2. Identify top three income producing internet projects
3. Identify my most efficient income generators

Organizing my home office:

• Purchased sturdy literature organizers
• Organized bills and other personal paperwork
• Threw away lots of papers, old bills, useless receipts, and outdated coupons
• Non-paperwork items (craft supplies, memorabilia, etc.) put in a box to be sorted through later
• Organized some business papework, sorted a lot of it

This has been very helpful already. I have a lot of resource material for writing for one of my top three internet projects. No, when I commit to writing I will have all the material (what I’m looking for and what I forgot I had) in one spot! Today and tomorrow are my easiest days wage earning. I will go through as much as I can today and then stop. Tomorrow I will start writing!

Top three internet projects:

1. Jan’s Group Home Support
2. Jan’s Ideas
3. RUB (code name) Blog

Top three efficient income producers:

1. Photography services
2. Overtime wage earning
3. Artwork

I spend the most hours on wage earning at regular pay-the least efficient of my income. My internet projects are more like an investment…….I’ll reap the benefits later when it matures. They may not be efficient now, but I will continue to work on them when I reorganize my time. I enjoy #1 and #3 and it doesn’t seem much like work when I’m doing it. When I get to doing something with this information, the enjoyment factor will carry a lot of weight.

OK, back to sorting trough my many piles of paper!

Next I will email a link in a personalized email to the contact email on the sites of the service providers.

On the flier I included a small ad for my photography services stating I will do portraits on location and on have experience with special needs. No results from the add, yet.

Unfortunately, I lost all the photographs I took during the last hour I was there. I’m not sure how which makes it even more frustrating. It’s heartbreaking because I had great photos of our residents competing and receiving their medals, and the photos are gone! They were so proud and put out such effort. The staff that is in charge of the recreation and organizing of Special Olympics for our company assured me that any photos I have are better than no photographs. I still feel bad though.

I got a Canon PowerShot A630 a few days ago. My new camera is replacing a Canon PowerShot A70. I am a big Canon fan, so I got another one.

Here are some of the great features:

• 8.0 Megapixel resolution
• 4x Optical Zoom
• Large 2.5 inch Vari-Angle LCD monitor with wide viewing angle
• 21 shooting modes
• 9-point AiAF ISO 800 and High ISO Auto to reduce image blur and expand low-light shooting capability
• Movie Mode recording with sound at 30 fps VGA (640×480)

I resisted the urge to get a laptop with my income tax return. Instead, I stayed focus on paying bills and adding to a savings account. I did go to plan B, though and I am so happy with my new camera! It actually goes with the planned launch of my group home blog. I am experienced photographing disabled for the company I work for. I had casually expanded my armature photography to portrait taking.

How my new camera will pay for itself

• Amateur portraits specializing in special need clients-I can do portrait photos for those who usually can’t afford to have pictures taken. Even when they do, the photographers are often impatient. Portrait studios often cannot accommodate wheelchairs comfortably; let alone a couple of chairs when a group home wants photos of all of its residents who live together. I have worked with the disabled since 1998 so I understand the patience it takes to get a good photo.
• Training videos-I want to have some group home related training videos and my camera will be able to do that for me, also! Many group home support staff have English as a second language and will benefit from visual training.

Now I just need to be focused and keep moving forward. I’d love to see this camera help me earn the money needed for a laptop