Just a few short weeks ago, I was over 1000 miles away from home and all alone.  Duhduduhn…sound dramatic?  Well, it isn’t, but it is. 

First of all, yes I wanted to be where was; I was in Boise, Idaho and I was alone, unless you count the other 800 people there.    Now that we have that all cleared up (hahaha), let me get to the sharing part and the truth about why I was there.

Way Back Story:  I knew since the time I was in First Grade that I wanted to be an Elementary Teacher.  (Kindergarten was pretty rough for me…and I am sure made it pretty rough for my teachers and my mom.  I share more of that story on my podcast, if you want to hear it.)

Anytime anyone ever asked me from the time I was in first grade all the way through, middle and high school – I was going to be a teacher.  There was no doubt that I would go to college and what I would go for.  I took as many opportunities I could to work with and teach young kids.  I even did an internship when I studied abroad in Scotland at one of their local schools.  So, I don’t imagine it comes as any surprise, that after I graduated, I became a teacher.

I loved teaching.  I never went to “work”, I went to “school”.  I taught for about 7 years and then things started to change.  It still makes me sad.  But the district I was in had accepted a government grant that basically told us EXACTLY what to teach and HOW to teach.  There was very little independence as a teacher and even less a student.  A robot could have been instituted in the role as the teacher and done my job.  Without much opportunity to vary in my instruction or even work with kids in their unique ways, I was pretty miserable.  So, two years after I had earned my Master’s Degree in Education, we ended up moving, and I quit teaching.  I haven’t been in a formal education role since and that has now been 12 years.  (Interestingly enough, but not so exciting, I am still paying student loans for those academic accolades.)

Not So Far Back Story:  I have absolutely missed teaching in those 12 years;  it was my passion all those years.  It is where I knew I wanted to be.  …so now what?  Well, we had a few more kiddos and I have been able to stay home with them. (Thanks to the tenacity of my husband, working more than any individual should ever have to work, let alone working it all prior to the time he was 40.)  I have been able to care for and homeschool my kids.  My time is full and busy and wonderful and …missing something.

Two somethings actually.  1.Teaching; sharing with others and helping them grow.  2  Income.  We needed mo’ money.

However, heading back to the traditional classroom wasn’t an option and truly probably not what I truly wanted.  Long story highly shortened:  the Rainbow Radish blog was born.  The (supposed to be ‘the’, but you can’t start a sentence with a lower-case, confusing – yes. Anyway…)  The Rainbow Radish, ‘Growing Happy, Healthy, Families while Having Fun’ was my way of reaching families with young kids and encouraging them.  My master’s was based entirely on Family Involvement and that is truly where I desired to share.  Still is.  Over the past few years the blog has been sporadic.  I needed to feel that what I was sharing was beneficial in consumption of my time to create posts (and it takes me a long time.  A long time.)  I had guilt that my newsletters weren’t worthy of people’s (particularly moms’) time.  The blog as much as it was my baby (and someone even offered to buy it from me once) didn’t’ make any money.  Well, it’s not the blogs fault.  It’s mine. 

I had read books, many books.  I had watched countless hours of YouTube videos.  I reached out to customer support to various companies I used to set up the website for help.  I stayed up til 2 am on a regular basis creating all of it.  I have taken courses.  I have literally pounded my head on the table, cried, and struggled handfuls of times in the process.  The effort and desire were definitely, DEFINITELY there.   Yet, growth both in followers and in finances has been stagnant or nonexistent. 

Side note:  The blog consumes loads of money to create and upkeep.  It has brought in a whopping 4 cents.  (Yes, that is 4 hundredths of a dollar, somehow, on Amazon, but you can’t even cash that out.)  We have 30 some on our email list (Which I haven’t sent out for a long time.).  There are about 100 followers on Facebook and Instagram.  Interesting enough the platform I don’t’ even pay much attention to, YouTube, has just under 200 subscribers and we have multiple videos that have been played in the high ‘double digit’ thousands and one that even has 129.000 views.  (??  What?  How the heck?)

Maybe we haven’t grown because it was new to me and I felt inferior or.  OR.  Or maybe it had a lot to do with my lack of education on the subject area of marketing and entrepreneurship.  All of the above, is the correct answer. 

Which is how I ended up in Boise two weeks ago.

Read Part 2 – HERE