Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon, shares hows starting a blog changed her life. She mentions the obstacles she faced and what opportunities arose from blogging.
Delhi Call Girls In Atta Market 9711199012 Book Your One night Stand Call Girls
How starting a blog changed my life
1. How Starting a Blog
Changed My Life
Presented by Karen Swyszcz
WordCamp Hamilton 2019 – Sat June 1st
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
2. Who Am I?
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
3. Who I Was Before I Started Blogging
Degree in Biochemistry from the
University of Waterloo
Multiple jobs, careers, applied to
grad school twice
Unemployed several times
Confused, frustrated, lost
Government job – initially thought it
was good, but fell back into the same
pattern of being confused, frustrated
and lost
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
4. Why I Started Blogging
Initial idea was to use it as an extra
source of income to help pay for my
wedding
Started a personal finance blog -
Makinthebacon in June 2012
Felt there was a need for more
people to discuss the importance of
creating multiple streams of income,
saving for a rainy day
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
5. What Actually Ended Up Happening
Didn’t make money right away
Fun hobby
Developed some new skills
Creative outlet to help tolerate a job
that was very boring and repetitive
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
6. I Had a Creative Childhood
Growing up I was very creative
Wrote poems and stories
Liked to doodle, draw, do lettering
Was never encouraged to take these
things seriously
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Estee Janssens
7. I Had a Creative Childhood
Did well in English class
OAC English teacher assumed I was
going to pursue a degree in writing
Led to believe that pursuing a degree
in science, engineering, medicine,
etc. would provide better career
opportunities
Enrolled in engineering, then ended
up with a science degree in
biochemistry
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1 Photo: Estee Janssens
8. The Blog Brought Creativity Back
Into My Life
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
9. Blog Rekindled My Love For Writing
So many years had passed where I
was not really doing anything
creative
Blogging was a way for me to express
my thoughts and feelings
As an introvert, I feel I am better at
expressing myself through the
written word
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
10. New Skills That I Had Acquired
Continuously improving
communication skills
Using social media to network and
market your blog/business
Networking online
How to develop an online presence
Running a side business
Creating and managing content
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
11. New Skills That I Had Acquired
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
12. But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
13. I Made a LOT of
mistakes
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Nathan Dumlao
14. What I Did Wrong Or Didn’t Do Right Away
Was anonymous for several years
Used ugly stock photos
Wasn’t consistent with posting
Didn’t share my content that much
Thought I didn’t need any help, could figure
everything out on my own
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Pawel Janiak
15. More Things I Did Wrong/Didn’t Do Right
Away
Have some sort of focus
Wasn’t that active on social media
right away
Didn’t do a lot of in-person
networking
First WordPress theme was really
ugly, the next couple of them were
not so bad
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Pawel Janiak
16. I Didn’t Really Put In The Time and
Effort
More focused on trying to build a career at my
full-time position
Blog was never really a priority
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Pawel Janiak
17. How The Blog Changed
My Life: The First Time
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
18. Taking a risk, changing careers and
starting over
Getting to the point where I wanted
to quit my job everyday
Felt like I had not gained any new
skills
Efforts at the government agency
were not paying off
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Walker Fenton
19. Taking a risk, changing careers and
starting over
This was when I made a couple of
decisions:
To put more effort into building the
blog
Leave the government agency
completely
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Walker Fenton
20. Taking a risk, changing careers and
starting over
Thought I wanted to be a web
designer or a web developer
Took workshops and part-time intro
to web development course
Went to startup/tech-related
networking events
Applied to startups
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Chris Ried
21. Taking a risk, changing careers and
starting over
Offered a job as a business analyst at
a startup
Took it because I was hungry for a
challenge, hungry for change
Leaving a steady job with pension,
benefits, lots of vacation
Took a huge pay cut, but eventually
made significantly more than my
government job
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Alessandro Bianchi
22. Starting To Live The Startup Life
At government – was one of the
youngest employees
At the startup – one of the oldest
employees
Had to learn on the fly
Everyday was something new, often a
challenge
Insane learning curve
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1 Photo: Alessandro Bianchi
23. How The Blog Changed
My Life: The Second
Time
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
24. Starting Over – Yet Again
Was let go beginning of 2017
Based on skills learned from blogging,
decided to create a consulting
business
Teaching/advising small business
owners on using blogging and social
media for their businesses
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Alessandro Bianchi
25. Again, not all sunshine and roses
Met with a lot of doubt, especially
from family
I was not one of those bloggers who
was making significant income
Quickly learned how different AND
much more difficult it is to run a
business vs using your skills
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Steve Johnson
26. Again, not all sunshine and roses
Lots of naysayers who still don’t believe
that blogging and social media can help
your business
Many writers are charging significantly
less for posts → devaluing the work
With the growing popularity of video,
people think that blogging is dead (It’s
not)
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Steve Johnson
27. New career, new opportunities
Faculty of Continuing Education &
Professional Studies at Sheridan College
Blogging workshops within the Greater
Toronto Area
Keynote speaker, workshop facilitator and
panel moderator at a conference
Co-author on two books publishing in 2020
Lead author on a book project publishing in
2020/2021
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
28. New career, new opportunities
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
29. New career, new opportunities
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
31. The Benefits of Creating Content
People consume content, they crave content
You never know who is reading, watching or
listening
They may be waiting for the right time to
reach out to you
It can start a conversation and lead to
connections and/or opportunities
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
32. Start that passion project
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
34. How Do You Do That?
Questions to ask yourself:
What do you enjoy doing in your
spare time?
What did you enjoy doing when you
were growing up?
What have you always wanted to try?
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
35. How Do You Do That?
Learn a new skill
Take up a hobby
Attend conferences, meetups
Make new connections, go for coffee
dates –
Shapr App, Bumble Bizz
Tap into your network, use your
LinkedIn connections
Ask questions
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Rhondak
37. Recommendations
READ:
Books – The One Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan, Tools of Titans By
Tim Ferriss
Blogs – ProBlogger, See Girl Work, Give Me Back My Five Bucks
WRITE
Bullet Journaling (Read: The Bullet Journal Method By Ryder Carroll)
Productivity Planner
LISTEN
Podcasts – Be Wealthy and Smart with Linda P Jones, Masters of Scale with Reid
Hoffman
Audiobooks
WATCH
TedTalks – Why Some Of Us Don’t Have One True Calling
YouTube Videos
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Alessandro Bianchi
38. The Benefits of Being Creative
Gives you time and space to think
Help to de-stress and reduce anxiety
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Tanialee Gonzalez
39. “Unused creativity is not benign. It
metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage,
judgment, sorrow, shame. We are
creative beings. We are by nature
creative.”
Professor Brené Brown
Source: The Benefits of Being More Creative By Samuel Lehane
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
40. Why Creativity is Necessary
“Creativity is the single most important skill in the
world” – Paul Petrone, LinkedIn Learning, January 2019
“CEOs say creativity is the #1 factor for future success” –
IBM
“Creativity is or is related to 9 of the top 10 skills that
global executives say is essential for 2020 and beyond” –
World Economic Forum
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1 Photo: Tanialee Gonzalez
41. Create Something and Share It
Write something and share it online
Create something, take a picture of it and share
it
Reach a wider amount of people online
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Tanialee Gonzalez
42. Don’t Be Afraid To Share
Your Creation With the
World
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
43. Where To Share
Social Media – on your feeds and in
Facebook Groups
Behance
Medium or LinkedIn Publishing Platform
Hit Record – online community where
people can collaborate on art and
media projects together
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1 Photo: Tanialee Gonzalez
44. We Share Thoughts and
Ideas
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
45. We Are a Sharing Economy
People will share things with their
community that they find to be
useful,informative, inspirational, etc.
OR
People will share things that they may
think will be useful to other people
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Elaine Casap
46. We Are a Sharing Economy
Uber, Air B’n’B (sharing vehicles and
homes)
Kickstarter, Indiegogo (Crowdfunding)
Coworking spaces
TaskRabbit (knowledge and talent-
sharing)
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Elaine Casap
47. That Passion Project
Could Eventually Be A
Source of Income
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
48. Which Can Lead To
Multiple Sources of
Income
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
49. Online Content Can Help You Develop
Additional Income Streams
Ads on site isn’t the only way
Connecting with other people online
through your content -→ partnerships,
collaborations
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Sharon McCutcheon
50. Online Content Can Help You Develop
Additional Income Streams
Online :
store
Resources
Webinars, courses
Affiliate marketing
Consulting services
Workshops
Paid speaking opportunities
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Sharon McCutcheon
51. It is possible to do something you love
and get paid for it
It takes a significant amount of
persistence, time and effort
But eventually it becomes worth it
Don’t believe the overnight success
hype you see on social media
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Sharon McCutcheon
52. Key Takeaways
Figure out what you’re passionate
about
Ask questions, stay curious
Start that passion project
Share it
You never know what opportunities or
people it could lead you to
Karen Swyszcz of Makinthebacon || Twitter: @makinthebacon1
Photo: Paula May