Wednesday 11 November 2015

A new direction for myself and this blog...

Writing this post is actually reasonably challenging because what I am writing about is a work in progress and I have not actually completed yet but instead of going completely dark on the blog I thought I would let you guys know what I have been up to.

So let's deal with first things first...

Why haven't I been writing blog posts?


Not writing blog posts for a blogger is the best way you can think of to kill a blog and I had this experience a few years ago when I was going through a tough patch and blogging and finance were not the foremost thing going on in my life.  Thankfully this time that is not the reason I stopped writing.

The fact is that I used my honeymoon to reassess what was important to me and what I wanted and needed to be spending my time on.  I love writing this blog and have loved writing it since my first post in 2011.  That hasn't changed at all. 

I stopped writing as many posts because I came to the realisation that it was taking time away from things I needed to be doing more.  At one point I was writing 1 - 2 posts per day on this blog.  Each posts would take at least 45 minutes to write and some which required more research took considerably longer.  I was happy to do it too but given that it was taking ~4 hours of my week it needed to be assessed alongside all the other things I could be doing with my time.

What I needed to do therefore was to work out exactly what I wanted to do with my life and importantly what the most productive thing I could be doing with my time.

What do I want to do with my life?


Getting away from my regular life for an extended period of time while I went on my honeymoon was one of the best things I have ever done.  It allowed me to really think about what I wanted to do with my life.  It clarified a few things for me including:

1. I really do like what I do for a living...and there aren't many things I'd quit this job for


I'm incredibly lucky in that I really do love my job.  Sure there are times when it gets tedious and boring but I'm not one of those people who dream about starting their own business so that they can escape from their job.

I'm also lucky in that my job pays incredibly well.  I would love to supplement it with a small side business but I don't think I'd ever quit my job to pursue something else full time.

2. Speaking of that side business...


If you have been reading this blog for a while you would know that starting my own business is something that I have been looking at doing for an incredibly long time.  I actually got one off the ground...it was a blog called Banker's Pitch and I put a ton of time and effort into it...and you know what? It was starting to go pretty well.  

But I lost the passion for it.  I was never enamoured with being an Investment Banker.  There is a reason I quit and even though I could continue writing posts no the topic for years to come it was a chore...actually it felt a little like how most people feel in their jobs.  They are good at it...but it bores them to tears.

So am I giving up on running my own business completely?  Well not entirely...you see I had been thinking about it all wrong.

3. I started focusing on doing what I'm good at...


Doing what you're good and what you love is probably as good a combination for business success as anything I can think of.  Add in experience and expertise and...well things are looking far more rosy.  You know the problem I had?

I was going after business ideas where I was NO different from everyone else trying the same thing.  I'm not the best writer or blogger on this planet and although I love reading articles online I actually tend not to join communities and be particularly active in them.

I'm not particularly good at marketing but I spent a long time looking into import and ebay businesses.  I did a ton of research which was really geared to people like me...people who were starting out and learning how to make their way in these worlds.

But then I had one of those "aha" moments.  There is something that I'm good at and that I think I have a competitive advantage in.  Even better I have a ton of experience in it.  What am I talking about?  Investing in shares.  The crazy thing is that I already have almost a quarter of a million dollars invested in shares but I never treated it like a business.  It was something I did when I had a bit of spare time or when an idea popped into my head.

4. Investing in shares isn't a real business is it?


Investing is absolutely a real business.  If you want to do it you can do one of two things...set up your own investment fund or become a day trader.  If (like me) you're quite happy at your day job and you want to do it on the side then you can do this to...but you still need to put the time in.

My time wasn't focused at all.  I spent so much time doing other things (including this blog and Banker's Pitch) that I was barely spending 1 hour a week on a business I already have a lot of money invested in.

5. So why investing in shares?


So why have I decided on something so specific?  Why not something more broad?  Why don't I write a blog about investing in shares?

I thought about all these things and there are some pretty specific answers
  • I have no real experience in other asset classes.  There are always people who will understand property better than me as well as fixed income and physical commodities or alternatives.  Shares though...that's my bread and butter and I understand that pretty well.
  • I thought about writing a blog about share investing but the thing about blogs is that you need to be a good marketer.  You are essentially selling your knowledge and if you are just doing it for free then it isn't a business
So that's the new plan...focus on my investment portfolio.  Treat it like a real business.  Skill up to fill the gaps that I have in my knowledge and build my wealth that way.  Perhaps it's not the type of business I first imagined when I set down this path but with a bit of time to think about it...it's the one that makes most logical sense.

What is going to happen with this blog?


This blog isn't going to go anywhere.  It's still going to be here and I'm still going to update my net worth every month and perhaps include posts on some other goals every so often but it isn't going to be the same musing pad for all things personal finance that I had used it for before.

Breaking the habit of blogging about everything related to finance that comes to mind is actually going to be reasonably challenging...I have been doing it for so long that I constantly think about potential new topics and posts but I'm going to remain focused on this new path for a while.

Although I'm not going anywhere I still wanted to thank everyone for all their support and encouragement!

4 comments:

  1. Hey 90M,

    Good on you for coming to the realisation, sure that we'll keep in touch and I definitely am keen to shout you back that breakfast one of these days :)

    Looking forward to still having you blog occasionally and keep in touch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jef - will definitely be back here posting at least once a month but keep in touch for sure!

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  2. nah man, you should write more about mundane things like where you get your haircut and shit.

    ReplyDelete