Email Confession: I Want to Remain Anonymous

Hi Donna,

Started a blog a few weeks ago.  I have been unemployed for over 10 months. What sparked the blog is my husband getting laid off.

I did a lot of what you said - looked for blogs about job hunting/unemployment and most of them are shut down (i'm assuming people eventually got a job) - LOL!

Not sure if you have any other advice.  My biggest obstacle is I want to keep anonymous for many reasons-

 1.  Bashing my old job/mgmt

 2.  In case I do get a job/dont want to hinder getting a job.

 Any info would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for your time!

-JC

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thanks for taking the time to reach out to me.

yes - quite a few blogs started by unemployed people who talk about their unemployment journey tend to fizzle out. i'm inclined to believe it's because they continue to write about what they don't have - a job - instead of using it as a way of "writing" themselves into a better future and new opportunities. there's not a stitch of data to support what i said. that's merely my opinion.

what are you wanting to accomplish with your blog? what's your reason for writing?

Hugs & Handshakes,

miss donna

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Originally I started to document my fun and ridiculous interview stories but now its growing into situations my husband is in and job search/interviewing/networking tips and thoughts based on my 10 months+ of experience.  Its hard being anonymous because I have a nice Facebook and Linked In following but I know most of those people personally and cant be sending them my blog when I am mentioned former managers, jobs etc.  I started a new Twitter but only have 8 followers.  I am following ANYTHING related to unemployment.  I am also posting on the Rants and Raves section of Craigslist one to two times daily.  Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time!
-JC

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ok got it.

so now that you've explained why you're writing, what is the outcome you desire? you didn't explain that part.

fill in this blank: By blogging, I want/hope to accomplish ______________________. make sense?!

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Help people get jobs, make money, get my thoughts out there?

Totally makes sense.  Hope the above makes sense!  LOL!
-JC

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 alrighty then...now we're getting somewhere!

1. help people get jobs - by continuing to blog about the negative aspects of unemployment and bashing your ex-employer, you won't accomplish this. all it does is serve as a constant reminder of your past. you are more than that. you wouldn't have survived in the sales industry all those years had  you not been. you can help people get jobs by sharing your expertise. what lessons do you have to offer someone trying to break into sales? what insider knowledge do you have that would be valuable to someone on the outside? those are the kinds of things people want to read which will help them get ahead.

2. make money - it can be done via blogging, but it takes time. it's pretty much impossible to do if you blog anonymously. having said that - expose yourself. people read blogs because they want to connect with the person behind the blog. we want to know that they're human. you have to be relatable and the only way you can do that is by allowing your readers to get to know you. ads are just one way to monetize. you need multiple income streams. once you establish yourself as an expert, you can then seek out speaking engagements. be bold and creative when it comes to your monetization plan.

3. get your thoughts out there - refocusing on all of the above will allow you to do just that...in a much more constructive way, i might add.
i hope this helps, JC. i appreciate you taking the time to send me a note and for trusting me enough to want to hear my thoughts (see #1). :)

let me know if there's anything else i can do for you and don't be a stranger!

Hugs & Handshakes,

miss donna

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Thank you so much for your amazing advice. You are absolutely right. I do need to move on. Unfortunately, I had a really horrible boss who put me down and treated me like garbage. Its hard to come back out of that after dealing with it for over four years. Even before your email, I have started to post more about tips rather than going backwards. I will definitely keep in touch.

THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH!!!!
-JC

It's not always an in-and-out situation. Getting to the root of the problem takes two way communication. Listening is critical.
Do you have a question for me? Feel free to send it my way. 

Wow! Christmas in May

have you ever gotten something that you totally weren't expecting and it turned out to be one of the best gifts ever?! well that's exactly what happened to me recently. take a look:

If you can't see the video CLICK HERE.

Join hundreds of other people and Like Wow Gift Boxes on Facebook and connect with them on twitter too!

who would you like to surprise with a Wow Gift Box?!

Disclosure: The good folks over at WowGiftBoxes.com reached out and asked if I'd be interested in receiving their product. I said, "Sure!", and offered to shoot this video to show my appreciation. As such, the opinions therein are expressly my own. 

STIR-TRY: Black Bean Chili Bowl

This wasn't meant to be a blog post. But when I snapped the picture to share on Facebook and it turned out pretty good - it became a blog post. 

It has been a while since I cooked for you. Although I don't consider this cooking really. I made something using one pot and a rice cooker. We all know cooking consists of using all the burners on the stove - simultaneously - along with the oven and possibly a George Foreman grill or the equivalent. All at the same time. 

When The Girl was little, she had a friend whose mom would make taco soup every time she spent the night at their house. It got to the point where I think my child wanted to go over there just so she could have taco soup. 

Fast forward to present time. My friend Wendi had a Christmas get together at her place last year. Guess what she had?! Umm hhmmm. Taco soup. And I did what I always do - forced Baby Daddy to pack some to go. If anybody gets talked about for walking outta people's houses with paper plates and aluminum foil - it'll be him. Not me. 

The recipe Wendi gave me was so simple I didn't even have to write it down. The first time I fixed it, I served it with Fritos corn chips like she did. Not a leftover in sight. 

The second time around I decided to do something different. 

Umm hhmmm.. I served it over rice. 

When The Boy saw his plate, he yelled to his sister, "Hurry! Come eat...mom made Chipotle!"

A few months ago, someone I follow on twitter tweeted the recipe for Kraft's Cheesy Chili Soup. I searched diligently for her blog post so I could credit her accordingly (I even commented on her post), but I can't find anything and I don't remember who it was. 

Mine is closer to Paula Deen's Taco Soup recipe. With modifications and omissions, of course. 

• I use black beans instead of pinto beans. I forgot kidney beans all together when I made it last week and nobody died as a result. 
• I only use 1 can of stewed diced tomatoes. The garlic and onion kind. DelMonte brand I think.
• I skip the olives and ranch seasoning. 
• I don't have time for all those garnishings like Paula does...just scoop some guacamole on top to add color and make it pretty. 
• Don't feel compelled to crockpot it. It works in a regular pot too and cooks much faster. 

So there you have it. Another recipe. 

You're welcome. 

Niche Blogging: Getting Paid

Now that the new blog is launched, I can go ahead and tell you how I made money from it prior to ever publishing my first post.

photo credit: krisolin

When I started this blog, one of the things I didn’t know was that it would take doing a number of different things to monetize it. I’d read articles where bloggers (most in the technology and social media fields) had been hired to perform services as a result of writing about certain things, and then organizations would reach out to the them to speak or consult on those topics. Not the easiest thing to do here since I talk about so much stuff.

My plan to monetize discountthief.com consisted of seven different methods. I categorized four out of the seven as “long-term”, meaning it would take building up an audience and following in order to make them happen. Still – I wrote them down.

Number 7 on my list was a service.

I had a very vague idea of the service I could possibly offer, but honestly, I didn’t think it would materialize until later. Much later. So as a result, I didn’t have a process or even a description for the service. I hadn’t started brainstorming that far ahead yet.

One Saturday at happy hour with my friend Chris, we were catching up and I mentioned the new blog to her. She was super excited and supportive, as always, and immediately started to tell me how I could offer a service by helping women discount shop. This was along the same lines as what I had envisioned myself.

The next day I had an email from Chris offering to hire me. She’d been wanting to go through her closet and determine what she needed to buy and what things she should part ways with. What she didn’t want to do was pay the approximate $600 for a half-day session with a certified image consultant. She trusted me enough to put her wardrobe and personal style in my hands.

The experience was a success (according to the feedback Chris gave me) and alot of fun! We created several new outfits just by using clothes she already had, and then compiled a shopping list of items and shoes to buy. We headed over to DSW and Marshalls and knocked it out in about 2 ½ hours.

Chris took off her black cardigan and heels and put on  her  bedazzled sandals - one outfit, two ways to wear it.

When Chris told her mom about my new gig and how pleased she was with the outcome, her mom hired me. This was going to be interesting because keep in mind – I didn’t have a system in place to tackle this in person, and figuring out how to accomplish it with an out of town client was sure to be a challenge. I was up for it. Chris’s mom purchased the outfits I picked out and may hire me again to shop for her when she goes on a cruise at the end of the year.

I said to myself: I can do this. I can really do this.

So as of today, my one week old personal style blog has already made a profit. The only thing I invested in was the $10 domain name back in September – with no actual idea of how it would be used.

And now the real work begins. Figuring out a strategy to land more paying clients!

The Big Reveal

Nervous. That's what I'm feeling right now. 

Today would have been my Daddy's birthday. He died when I was 18. Here I talk about how he shaped my life and deposited an entrepreneurial spirit into my DNA. 

My initial goal was to launch my new blog in April. I met the goal of getting it ready by then, but there was nothing really significant about that particular time. And while I've been working on the blog for several months, I wanted its official birthday to have meaning and sentiment. 

So it is today - May 1, 2012 - that I share with you and everyone else the labor of love I've worked tirelessly to create.

It could never have happened without the support of my family, friends, and last but not least, you. 

Thank you Jackie, Latorsha, Linda, Holly, Chrissy, Chris, and my baby - The Girl.

I hope I make you and my Daddy proud. 

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www.discountthief.com

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I dedicate this to the man who loved and adored me unconditionally.

Mr. Johnnie Johnson