The Digital Nomad: A Sneak Peak at My New Business Venture

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Samantha

I worked through my lunch break yesterday.

I have a feeling that this is going to become the norm now that I am starting my own business.

I have now come up with a price breakdown of the services I can provide, as well as a list of resources to list on my site, and which of my previous works will be included. I have decided what my company website will consist of, and I have made a list of things that I MUST set up before launching the site.

I also developed a rough sketch of my logo, and came up with an idea as to which fonts I want to use.

Not too shabby for a half hour of work.

As much as I want to get cracking on my own site design, I really do need to put all of my focus on getting the house cleaned and organized, especially my workspace. I literally have six years worth of crap gathering dust in my apartment. I should have purged when we moved in, but I got so tired of unpacking that tons of things that I have not even taken out to look at in four years just got shoved into a corner to be forgotten.

I threw out 3 big bags of stuff yesterday morning, and had planned to do the same last night. But I came home feeling not so good (a trend that continued into today, unfortunately) so I sat down at my computer with a bowl of soup and some photo editing software.

I had only planned to play for a few minutes, but when I went to bed a bit later, I realized I had completed a header for my company website.

A few tweaks this morning and I have something I am pretty darn proud of.

Though, I’m not sure if it is missing something. I really loved it, but after getting some advice from my Mom, I’m not sure if it needs more work.

What do you think? A website header for an Independent New Media Marketing Company. The company is created around the idea of helping artists, actors, musicians and small businesses create an online identity through the use of social and e-media.

Masonry is a play on my last name, but also fitting in terms of wanting to build something that will last.

So, what do you think? I would love to know how I can improve the header, or even the tagline before I launch. You’re thoughts and feedback are appreciated.

Alright, soup and couch. Must recover before Comic-Con!

The Digital Nomad: Big News

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Samantha

I have a pretty big announcement to make and it has been a LONG time coming. This is something I have been thinking about for well over a year, but I think I was always too scared to put my plan into action.

I’m not sure what finally gave me the push I needed. Maybe it was the fact that I gave up acting professionally; or maybe it is the fact that I am tired of my old job, and not so in love with my new job; or maybe I am just tired of working for other people.

Whatever it was, I’m just thankful that I am finally taking the plunge.

I am starting my own business. I’m not quite ready to quit either of my other jobs yet; afterall, I need to make sure I can make a profit before I walk away from a sure thing. So I am starting small, as a side buisness. It means I will be waking up early and going to bed late, but it will be well worth the sleep deprivation if it puts me one step closer to working for myself.

I have already secured a website domain, and am currently hard at work on my buisness plan. I can’t wait to share more details soon.

Also high on the to do list is to finish purging my belongings and getting the bedroom organized. If I am going to be working from home, I need a good place to do it.

In the meantime, I am just so excited for this new venture, and grateful for the loving support of my friends, family and my wonderful fiance.

The Digital Nomad: A New Career

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Samantha

I’m sick today…

Sort of. I made a mistake with my medication today and tasks like driving, or carrying heavy trays or spending any substantial time in a kitchen seemed scary.

It has been hours and I’m still actually pretty shaky and exhausted. But the kind of exhausted where you can’t sleep.

Yuck.

But there is good news (by the way, I just tried to spell news “Noose” and it took me a second to realize….wow…I really am sick)! So, good news…I think I figured out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

To be honest, I’m not really sure why it took me so long to realize it.

This is something I have ALWAYS loved doing.
It is something that I can do from anywhere.
I will be able to work from home most of the time.
I can do this while traveling.
Once I have children, I will be able to spend plenty of time at home raising them.
It is a profession that will always be needed, and by the way I choose to set my prices, I can get more work.

I want to be a photographer.

I LOVE taking photos and always have. This realization that it would be a great job for me sort of dawned on me slowly, and I think I have my upcoming wedding to thank for this.

While compiling lists of things to do when we go to Pennsylvania to plan the wedding (in like ten days) we started looking at photographers.

Holy cow are they expensive!

Too expensive and many of whom are not really that incredible. I have always been a bit of a photography snob…but I have seen high school students take better photos then some of the people out there doing this professionally.

So, I am going back to school this fall.

I am going to register to take classes at LACC. It is just down the street from my apartment and they have a good photography program. I am going to apply tomorrow and get my financial aid paperwork straightened out so I can start in August.

I am so excited about this choice. It has been a long time coming. And it is such an obvious choice.

When I was in high school, I placed in a state photo contest a few years in a row, and I have taken over 1000 photos on my phone since November. I take pictures everywhere I go.

This is how I see the world. Why not make this hobby my new career?

These are all just a few photos that I have taken with my cell phone.

Imagine what I can do with a good camera and an education.

So excited.

Now…back to the couch and the camomile tea I just made. Meh.

The Digital Nomad: Google Adsense

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Samantha

I promised when I began this blog that it wouldn’t just be a personal blog, or just be a travel blog…but that I would also talk about my dream to make money from home.

Today I took the first step in achieving that goal…albeit, a small step.

I added Google Adsense to my blog.

I am not super happy with the way it looks. I would rather the ads post on a sidebar in widget form, or at least under the posts. I hate that the ads are placed smack dab in the middle of my blog entries.

I have no problem with Adsense, I just wish I could throw the ads in my sidebar. Maybe soon I can find a better plug in that allows me to do that.

Adsense wasn’t really my dream way to monetize my blog. I would much rather have some sponsorship, but I know my baby blog has no chance of achieving that goal so close to it’s inception.

So for now, I will play with Google Adsense. I kept the ads small, and so far they do seem to be keyword related…so that’s good at least.

It has been a long day of engagement photos, wedding planning, and TV watching (what? It’s my only day off). Just finished the season finale of “Game Of Thrones” (It was just okay), and now I am going to watch Paul and fold laundry. Joy.

Night!

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Category Archives: The Digital Nomad

The Digital Nomad: Big News

The Digital Nomad: A New Career