TL;DR
Tired of loud promises and shady side hustles? – Me too.
The Bashful Blogger is where I test real ways to make money online – no posting 5 TikToks a day, No pictures of me with a sports car on the beach with a fist full of cash, and no pretending I have it all figured out.
I share what works, was doesn’t and what to do to stay sane (and solvent) while you build something that fits your real life.
Ambition is welcome here. Hype is not.
What?
What kind of person does a TL;DR for their “About Me” page?
I do.
I respect your time, and I appreciate your attention. If I still have it, please read on and let’s build something together
Come on in, Sit Down, and Let’s Sort This Out
Let me guess. You’ve got responsibilities – work, family, things that need repairing, maybe health issues, and people who need you. And on top of that you feel the pressure to make money online “in your spare time”
You’ve probably googled how to make money online and got caught in the whirlpool of ideas and offers: start a blog, be an affiliate marketer, start a podcast, invest in real estate, sell digital project, follow your passion, pick a niche, take surveys, sell physical product, offer services on Fiverr, Drop shipping,… and on it goes
And so many of those options come with the 10K/month promise and graphs showing incredible growth. You know most of it is nonsense, but when you’re feeling desperate, nonsense starts looking pretty good.
If you’ve bought into some of these things and failed, you’re not alone. Believe me. And you’re also not foolish. I respect your time, your intelligence and the fact that you’re still trying.
You don’t want to spend your day performing on videos, or cold-calling potential customers/clients, or trying to be louder than your competition, or trying to go viral.
You want to build and grow a profitable business – without losing your sanity, integrity or joy.
And that , my friend is what I want The Bashful Blogger to provide: a calmer, more honest path to success – whatever that means to you.
Here’s the plan (loosely speaking)
This isn’t a place where I tell you how I made millions and try to sell the “secret” for $297, $497 or $1197. This is a site where I try things – mostly online side hustles, a few money management tactics, and some software tools – and report back. I’ll tell you what worked, what didn’t and what I’d do differently.
My hope is that you’ll get enough value from what I give away for free that you are able to start and grow your own online side hustle.
But of course, I’ll incorporate some of the money-making ideas into the site itself. For example, by using affiliate links and such. When I offer items for sale or recommendations for products by others I’ll keep them honest and useful.
Everyone is welcome here, but if your goal is overnight riches, flashy cars and online fame – this might not be the right fit for you.
If you’re trying to make money to get out of debt, stay in your home (like I am), retire with some added security or just get a little breathing room, then pull up a chair and stick around.
Oh, and one more thing about the vibe here. If you believe someone else must lose for you to win, this ain’t the place. There’s no reason we can’t all succeed and help each other improve along the way.
A little context (if you’re curious)
This is the “About Me”, so guess a little bit about me would make sense here. I’ve been around. Moved so many times I’ve lost count.
And I’ve worn many hats working for others: I’ve been a line cook, prep cook, kitchen manager, bartender, and catering cook and waiter. I’ve also been a bookkeeper, retail manager (after working my way up), temp agency worker and as a screener in the temp agency office. Then there was the years loading and unloading trucks.
My longest job started at the entry level and ended in retail management for a big box store. I was there for ten years. If you want to have your soul drained and your feeling of self-worth destroyed, that’s the path I’d suggest.
Then there’s the entrepreneurial side of me. Started my own catering business – sort of. As a flea market seller, as a crafter selling online and at craft fairs, eBay flipper, merchandising freelancer, and most recently flipping used books on Amazon
While that last one has been the most successful, it has helped me keep the lights on but it hasn’t made me rich – or totally comfortable. And it comes with risks – including the dread that it could dry up at any moment. I’m not comfortable having all my eggs in one basket.
This site is my way of exploring the options and holding on to a quiet kind of hope. I’m not looking for flashy. And I’m not naïve about the various risks and potential. Maybe I should say it’s for a persistent kind of hope – the kind that doesn’t make big promises, but shows up even when things get a little rough.
Where to go from here
We’re just getting started, so while there may not be much content on here yet, there will be.
I don’t publish on a fixed schedule – like some blogging gurus say you should for SEO reasons. I put up new posts when I feel there is something worth saying. For now you can check out the blog to see what I’m working on or thinking through.
If you’d like updates I would of course be honored and very pleased if you signed up to my email list. No spam, no fluff, and no daily emails asking you to buy something – just the occasional note when I have something real to share.
By the way, did you notice that when you landed on this site you didn’t immediately get a pop-up asking you to sign up? That’s a pet peeve of mine. I know if you find my content useful you’ll want to get the occasional updates and pearls of wisdom.
And if you’re not ready yet, that’s okay too. I’ll still be here quietly building, learning and revising – and maybe drinking enough coffee for both of us