He Quit Too

Happy Monday! Today’s post is not my usual outfit shots but a little more personal post and a peek into our current life, my hubby is writing this one today… here it is:

It’s been 11 months since Brittany quit her full-time day job and today is my first day of working from home too.

Even after writing that sentence, it truly hasn’t hit me yet. Never would I thought that an idea of a blog back in 2013 would provide enough stability for both of us to work from home and do something we are truly passionate about, while also providing a good life for our family.

You may think, “Wait, fashion is your passion?”…well not necessarily.

Never ignore your passions

Two months ago I told my boss that I was leaving the company to help my wife with her blog. It was probably one of the most difficult meetings I’ve had of my career yet but after explaining our current situation, he understood completely and I truly appreciate him for that. I worked for a great company with good benefits, the ability to travel, etc. and it was really hard to say goodbye because I got along so well with my team and I really value what I learned during the 5 years I spent there.

The concept of making a living through blogging is quite foreign to many. We have been taught to go to college, get an education and then find a good job at a good company that you would spend a majority of your life working for. This was the American Dream and quite frankly, it was mine too.

I fell into that same ideology…I worked my butt off in college so I could get that nice salary, great benefits, full-time desk job to be able to support myself and my future family. That’s how I came to hold a degree in Food Marketing and Agribusiness Management from Cal Poly Pomona. That was my ticket into the corporate world and I knew the kind of jobs in that market were stable.

Well, throughout college I discovered other passions such as photography, web design and social media. Obviously I couldn’t change my major to Graphic Design halfway through… I already put too much work into Food Marketing and these were passions I discovered while attending college. My college buddy taught me how to code and we would build websites for people for quick cash. But it wasn’t only quick money for me- it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed doing it and figuring out how I could be better at it.

At the end of my college career, I tried following my passions (for a brief minute). I knew there was some entrepreneurial spirit in me. I ran a food truck with my friends, worked with a buddy to grow his social media agency and I actually started a YouTube channel (quite entertaining and somewhat embarrassing looking back at those videos lol).

But as I went through these different ventures, as much fun as they were, that same ideology scared me into thinking, “I need a grown-up job…a job with steady paychecks, health insurance and a 401K plan.” So I put my side jobs on hold and decided it was time to get a “real” job.

So back to what I was saying… is fashion my true passion? (I feel awkward rhyming like that) No, but being able to take Brittany’s photos, build and maintain her website, and help her grow her social media…that’s something I’m passionate about. I really enjoy the aspect of online marketing that is heavily involved with blogging.

A decision that has been building for 2+ years

Leaving my job was not an easy decision, not one by far. It was also not a decision that was made overnight.

As I was letting others know why I was leaving my job, typical responses I would get were:

“Have you ever worked with your wife before?”

“I hope you enjoy working with your wife, it’s going to be different.”

“If you ever get sick of working with your wife, we will always have you back.”

Maybe I didn’t explain it clearly enough, but the general consensus was that I was quitting my job to help my wife with her blog that I had no prior involvement with. But contrary to what people may have assumed, Brittany and I have been working together since day 1.

Yes it was challenging at first because of some of our creative differences, but over the past 2+ years we know what it’s like to work with each other, how to be efficient and really communicate.

In the beginning, it was easy to manage. I would help her after work and on the weekends, late nights and early mornings. We were able to manage everything and still have time to hangout as a family.

Up until about 6 months ago, things started to really pick up. The amount of work involved was more than what we were used to and we didn’t have enough time in the day to do anything above just maintaining what the blog required.

We had to make a decision, if we truly wanted to see this blog grow and implement all the new ideas we would chat about, we needed more time. I needed to quit my job.

For the past consecutive months the blog has brought in more revenue than our two desk jobs combined- the financial side was covered as long as we kept up our current pace (and as long as the internet is still around lol)- but we didn’t have any growth trends in place. Would she have to hire a photographer when my heavy traveling season for work kicked in? Would we be able to create more informational products while still being to keep up our current workload? Would Jadyn see her Dad always working even after work?

I knew my resume and the corporate world would always be there, and I knew it was time to start a new chapter…to begin working with Brittany just like how we were doing- but fully on our own schedule and not waiting for me to get home at 5pm before we started.

Don’t let fear hold you back

Through wrestling with what to do long-term, I realized the biggest thing that has held me back in life is Fear. We have all been there before…

Fear of:
– change
– failure
– acceptance
– love

When Brittany and I first discussed the possibility of me working from home, the first thing I thought to myself was…

“What if we fail?”

It’s a scary notion to think, leaving the comfort of a full time job to pursue an unknown. Even though I had helped Brittany grow her blog the last 2+ years, my full time job was our safety net. I was scared to let that drop. But it was also limiting us to pursue the items that we know will help grow her brand long-term.

This was an opportunity I was not willing to let go to Fear. I have come across this path before (As I mentioned earlier, food truck, social media agency, YouTube) and realized I am not going to let fear once again get the best of me and hold me back from that entrepreneurial spirit I had during college.

Besides, years from now, I don’t want to look back only to say I was too afraid of failing, too afraid of change… too afraid to see my full potential. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, right?

What does this mean going forward?

Content 7 days a week!
This is something we’re both really excited about because it’s going to allow us to be more of a resource for you guys.

Blogging Tips
Even more in-depth informational products are on the calendar… ebooks, courses, etc.

More travel content
With my work schedule now freed up we only need to work around Jadyn’s school schedule.

No more Saturday shoots
All the blog photos will be taken during the week days, which gives us more time to schedule ahead for other content.

We’re getting an office
Just because we’re working from home doesn’t mean we want to work from home everyday (lol or coffee shops for that matter).

Anything else you guys would like to see please let us know in the comments below, we’re really excited to brainstorm and grow even more and thanks for following along in our journey- we wouldn’t be here without you guys!