Catch 40 Winks

Read Part 1 of this post

Waiting around for that perfect job to come around tests your resilience. But I decided not to fear, but to wait it out in the meantime and consistently sent out CVs to job sites and recruiters.

There is nothing you can do to plan for the coincidences that will come your way, and most of the time, they are likely to be more important that whatever else you think is more important at that time. I guess John Lennon was right when he wrote, “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.”

Singapore Mom Bloggers (SMB)

The idea of setting the SMB group dropped in my head in end of Jan 2012 and I thought it was a great idea to start an exclusive support community for Mom Bloggers on Facebook. I told Pauline about this idea, and she asked me, “What is the objective of the group?” My response, “To network? I don’t know the details now either, but this idea is bugging me non-stop ever since it dropped into my head.”

Mar 2012, I created the SMB group on Facebook and started sending invites to the mom bloggers that I knew to join the group. I was excited that finally there will be a community that will help mom bloggers to support one another, network and benefit from the friendships and camaraderie potentially formed from the group.

A Social Media Brand Management Company

The turning point came in a form of an opportunity from a friend I knew, who wanted to work with mom bloggers on a new digital campaign. She was aware of my job situation and she told me in April 2012, “Help me to run the campaign since you haven’t got a job yet.”

This proposition really came in-line with my hope that Mom Bloggers will be compensated fairly by companies, when these companies needed their reach from their blogs, as well as the Mom Bloggers’ time and effort to blog for their brands. I did not take too kindly to PR companies or brands who pitch activities or community outreach (often as a facade) to get Mom Bloggers to blog for their brands for free. Or towards companies who offer cheap barter in exchange for blog posts.

The dynamics for media have changed tremendously these 3 years with the advent of social media. Mom Bloggers have become a form of media for companies who want to reach the online community. Similar to how print magazines and TV are media channels for the companies who buy advertising space on print magazines and TV channels.

Spending time marketing for brands have showed me that the commercial world is a very realistic place. If there is any chance of getting brand exposure on media channels at little or no cost, the companies will gladly take it up. It cannot be considered as exploitation either, when bloggers accepts the pitch, and agree to feature the brands and products willingly on their blogs for little or nothing in exchange.

Nonetheless, time spent moderating the community in SMB has taught me that it all comes down to individual choice for these moms and their blogs. And I have learnt to respect that choice.

Armed with my knowledge in brand marketing and social media, I went ahead to set up Right Klick Communications to represent the interest of a group of Mom Bloggers on social media brand campaigns. Then got in touch with the few key moms I knew from SMB, who were open to the idea of monetizing their blogs and pitched for my first project.

Did I fear that this will be a wasted effort?  For sure. If I made the rational, logical decision based on addressing my fear, I would have continued with my job search and went with a full time job to provide financial security.

When moments like this appeared to be fearful, it came down to one choice. A choice between faith and fear, and I made the decision to choose faith and courage.

I secured the project and made the next tough decision. To go ahead with this business, I will have to stop my job search and depend on hb’s modest income in the meantime. So as to reduce our monthly financial commitments, hb and I decided to move out from the rental home that we were stayed close to 9 months and gave away 90% of our possessions. Our family then shifted into my mom’s house to bunked together in a room.

So has the business taken off these 6 months? Not quite, but I am into my 3rd project since March and will be looking to secure a couple more for following year. I am striving ahead and will give my best, as I have a group of friends from SMB who are hopeful to have more income from their blogs from this initiative.

Newspaper clipping from Evelyn’s scanned copy (Thanks Eve!)  Really blessed to have been featured on ST recently

I am still walking down the yellow brick road leading to my dream. And I am not confident to say that this is indeed the dream I wanted. This could be likely the dream that God planted in our hearts, from the moment Pauline and I said our prayer on that fateful day in 2010.

I definitely did not expect things to happen the way it did. But in some strange, yet surprisingly way, God answered that prayer and He is still answering our prayer today. You will definitely need to read Pauline’s story to hear her side of it

The worst thing that happened to me last year, transformed into a business this year. That is focused on something that I love, Blogging. And I am heartened that as the result of SMB, many friendships have been formed amongst the moms in SMB, that would not have been possible without the group.

I have learnt to focus on being a relentless optimist after this experience. And I am more convinced than ever that nothing is easy, but anything is possible.

Love vs Fear, which one would you choose?

What’s holding you back from walking down the untravelled path towards your dream?

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