How I accidentally became a Serial Entrepreneur

Becoming an entrepreneur was never my intention.

I just remember wanting out.

Well-paying, money-making jobs never did it for me, and the jobs I had liked didn't pay enough to stay long-term. The one I currently had when I decided enough was too much was sucking the life out of me every time I walked in the building. There seemed to be no end in sight.

I wanted what we all want. Flexible hours, to be paid well enough to pay off our debt (not just barely make ends meet) and to feel like I could still live my life. I didn't want to work for the weekend anymore.

College Dreaming

When I first started college, I was going for Holistic Nutrition. My dream college was out in Kenmore WA close to Seattle, and I was gonna up and move there from the Midwest after Community College.

As many college kids do, I changed my major.

I've never been decent at math. Or science for that matter, but better than math though. I have always loved art and creative writing. I excelled in my art and Lit classes, managing all A's in those classes over multiple semesters.

The school I had wanted to go to in Washington required a lot of hard science and math, so it was clear to see why I changed my mind.

I decided to stay put in the Midwest, and try to figure out a way to combine my love for natural health with my passion for art and writing.

Blogging from the Break Room

Eventually, after years of working at my beloved Cost Plus World Market, I had to get a high-paying job and save some money. I found an office job that I knew I was going to hate and stayed there for exactly one year.

When working my 3 pm-12:30 am office job, I was miserable. I remember walking to the fluorescently lit 10ft by 10ft break room, sitting my butt down in the hard plastic chair, and searching Pinterest to find a way out.

I had seen posts about how people made money from their phones, and articles that were titled "How I made ____ amount of money blogging". I honestly hated the idea of blogging though. Not because I hated writing, I've always loved writing, but I like my privacy. I didn't want people to know my name, where I lived, or what I did. And if I did ever write a book, at the time it would have been under a Pseudonym.

But I was desperate.

I wrestled with ideas for what I would write and a name for weeks. I knew I wanted it to resemble a more holistic Women's Health. More naturally minded solutions, tips, and ideas. My husband suggested the name "a Natural Endeavor" and I loved it immediately.

I decided to buy a blogging course, and a domain name and got to work.

From pennies to paychecks

I started at the bottom of the food chain with my blog a Natural Endeavor, and I can honestly say that for the first two years, I paid for it more than it paid me. Between classes, hosting, and my email service, blogging the right way is definitely not free, and is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

You gotta work for it.

By the end of my second year, I started making REAL paychecks. I got approved by an ad company called Mediavine and started getting paid for my traffic. I was also getting reached out to by companies I already loved and asked to take their natural supplements and write articles if I liked them.

My blog has given me so many amazing opportunities that I would never have had working a 9-5.

My blog now makes us a part-time income, and hopefully someday, a full-time income. I make more and more progress with this every year and feel privileged to have a job where I can stay home with our son.

Artistic Endeavors

Both my parents are artistically talented. My mom has been decorating contest-worthy cakes since I was little, and my dad draws all the time and is very good at it. Naturally, at a young age, I started drawing too.

Because of my love for drawing, I tried my hand at freelancing for a while. I even made a Facebook page called "Leah's Sketchbook", which I don't monitor as much anymore but does still have a lot of my work on it!

I have done a lot of commissions, from family sketches to murals and digital artwork. I still love drawing, and it has made me a small, but good amount of money as well.

Freelance Writing

From the time I was 18, I wanted to be a writer. I have always loved reading. The summer I turned 18 I sat outside on my parent's back porch almost every morning at 6 am, watching the sun rise with a mug of coffee, writing my heart out.

Starting my blog and making that my career definitely got me writing again, but I forgot my passion for creative writing, and writing fiction that had been rekindled in my Creative Writing class in college. In February this year (2021), I saw an advertisement for Vocal.media and the Little Black Book writing challenge.

I had a lot of fun with this challenge, and while I didn't win I keep writing and keep entering challenges for the fun of it. I am really glad to have found Vocal and have gotten my spark back for writing. It's definitely an outlet I didn't remember I needed.

I have started making earnings on Vocal as well, and won the third-place prize for the "Spring Forward" challenge! With this being my first win, it gives me hope that there will be more ahead.

How becoming an Entrepreneur Freed me

I love being an entrepreneur, and while it's not always consistent money, it makes my life so much better. It lets me stay at home with my one-year-old boy, and decide what I want my days to look like. It's more rewarding than working for someone else and makes me happier than having a set schedule where I have to be at a certain place at a certain time.

I'm a free spirit, and becoming an entrepreneur freed me.

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-Leah H.