Can I Start A Blog When Working Full-Time: Taking On Adulthood

Sharing is caring so please share this post!

Wondering if you can start a blog even when you’re working full-time? Definitely!

Disclaimer: Posts may contain affiliate links. We earn commissions if you shop through the links on this page. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read our disclosure policy.

Can I start a blog when I work full-time?

Good morning, beautiful people!

It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time to publish an interview on our Beyond The 9-5 Series and today, we’re publishing an interview with Slavica, who started Taking On Adulthood whilst working full-time.

We were especially interested in her views because she’s 23 (so on the young side, compared to many of the bloggers I know) and she started traditional employment so she can have the funds to pour into her blog (which is the exact opposite of what most people are trying to do).

She doesn’t disappoint either.

Her answers show an indomitable will that’s informed by a mind that’s fully aware of what needs to be done and how to go about doing it. In other words, our kind of mind.

So, if you’re one of those people who want to start a blog but are already working full-time and don’t know how to juggle your many competing responsibilities, take a look at this interview and see if you can pick up some tips that you can use. 

Starting out

Can you give us a brief intro, Slavica?

My name is Slavica, I’m 23 years old and I live in Belgrade, Serbia. 

Originally I was born in Moscow, Russia and I am half Russian, half Serbian. So I’m a half-blood (If speaking in Harry Potter terms). 

I spent the majority of my life in Serbia where I finished elementary school, medical high school and I recently graduated from Belgrade University, majoring in Greek language and literature.

I speak 4 languages: Serbian, Russian, English and Greek and I plan on learning at least two more. In my free time, I like to read books, play the guitar and cook.

I recently started working at a customer support centre where I spend most of my days answering phone calls and written tickets.

On Taking On Adulthood

So, how did you get into blogging? Who/what inspired you? What made you turn to blogging?

I always knew that I wasn’t a person for a 9 to 5 job so I started looking for alternatives. 

After consulting Pinterest, I realized that the best way to earn money from home was through blogging. 

I always loved to write, especially in English and I kinda wanted to be able to actually help people, at least a bit. That is how I figured out that I should start a blog.

Feel free to talk about your blog here. Who is it for (audience)? What information can people expect to find in your blog? What made you start a blog in the first place?

Well, my blog name is Taking on Adulthood and I made it with the purpose to help people like myself to get organized, become more productive and achieve their goals. 

It is, in general, made for pretty much anyone who has goals and dreams and wishes to take that first step towards achieving them. 

Nowadays, I’m trying to expand my blog by adding food recipes and tips and tricks that can help people achieve more in less time.

What was the journey like for you? What made you keep going?

The journey has been, and it still is pretty hard, but I’m not planning on giving up any time soon. 

My goal is to be able to quit my full-time job and still be able to support myself and my family. 

I have a long time relationship and the common goal for me and my boyfriend is to be able to see the world before we start a family and also be able to afford a future home for us.

Those goals are very important to me and they are what keeps me going even when I feel like the world is against me.

What are the first and/or most important (five to ten) steps you took to get started?

I don’t think that I had an actual plan when I started my blog but If I could do it all over again I can say that the first step is to get informed. Read about starting a blog, check out tutorials and courses. 

Step two is to figure out what to write about and who you will be writing for. I went for the lifestyle niche just because it gave me an opportunity to write about a variety of subjects. At this step, it’s also very important to get informed. Read other blogs in your niche. 

Step three is to find a domain. I use Bluehost to host my blog, but there are a lot of different options. 

Step four is to create a website. Figure out the name and appearance of your blog. This is an important step because it is the first thing the readers will see when they visit the blog.

Step five is to write. Write about what you’re passionate about. Find your purpose and share it with the world. It might not appeal to everyone but the write audience will show up eventually.

After that, make sure to keep writing and promoting your work.

Knowing what you do now, is there anything that you would’ve done differently?

I think that I should have waited a bit more before starting my blog. 

I didn’t give myself enough time to learn before I created and published Taking On Adulthood. I believe that I would have done better from the start, had I given myself enough time to learn. 

What was the highlight of your journey?

The highlight of my journey has to be the joy of helping people across the world. 

I love the fact that the words I write go beyond my country and even my continent. It is amazing to look at the analytics and see that something I wrote went so far away and that a person in Australia or the Philippines has read my words, something that I wrote. 

That is just incredible.

And what was the low point? What are some of the challenges and how did you manage these?

The low point has to be the struggle to spread the word about my blog and get visitors to subscribe. 

It can be quite discouraging when you do best to publish quality posts and promote them and not get the attention you desired. 

In those times I try my best to stay and keep trying. I know something will work, it just takes a bit of time figure out what it is.

Did you ever consider giving up or going back to the 9-5? Why (not)?

I don’t think I will ever give up. 

My dreams are about being able to support myself by blogging and that’s why I can’t give up. I accepted my current job in hopes that I will be able to earn some extra money I can use to improve my blog and make it a better experience for my readers. 

This is my true calling and now that I found it, I’m not giving up.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to transition from full-time employment to becoming a blogger? What can they expect? What qualities, skills or certifications do they need to have?

I believe that the only requirement you should have is will. 

You need to want to do this. 

You have to love what you do in order to transfer that love to your readers. 

It won’t happen overnight. Blogging takes a lot of time before you become able to live off of it. 

For me, that hasn’t happened yet but I know it will and that is what you need to have. 

Faith in yourself and the words you write.

Do you have upcoming events, activities or promotions?

There are a lot of interesting bundles on discount on my blog. We have productivity, time management and even budgeting bundles that are on discount right now. You can find at least one of them on most of my blog posts.

Also, I was planning on adding a productivity course that is going to be published in the next couple of weeks.

Personal life

You’re currently working in customer support company, is that a work-at-home job or do you go to an office?

I wish it was a stay-at-home type of job but I have to go to work and that takes a lot of my day. 

Eight hours at work and about an hour to get to and from my job.

How do you balance working as an employee and working on your blog?

It’s quite hard, to be honest. 

All of the shifts I have leave something to be desired. 

Even with the fact that I wake up super early and sleep for only 6 hours a night, I still struggle to complete all of my daily tasks. But I am really motivated to succeed so I manage.

Can you give us a picture of what a typical day working from home looks like for you?

Well, if I work from 2 pm to 10 pm, I wake up at 5 am, have a cup of coffee and start blogging. 

Around 8 am, I usually go to the grocery store and after that, I work out. Then I get some breakfast. I leave for work around 1 pm so, in the meantime, I try to meditate a bit, read something, play the guitar and promote my blog. 

Once I’m done with my work (10 pm) I just come home and go to bed.

And if it’s a morning shift (6 am to 2 pm), I wake up at 3.45 am, have my coffee and go to work. I try to do everything once I return home around 3 pm.

In the end, I only have a piece of advice to give: never give up. 

No matter how hard it gets or if the people around you say that it’s stupid or it will never work, If you truly want something, keep trying. You will make it in the end and all of your troubles will be worth it. 

This counts for starting a blog or pretty much anything in your life.

That’s excellent advice. Thank you very much for taking part, Slavica.

Final words

It’s very rare to interview someone with such clarity of purpose and determination so we feel especially grateful to have met Slavica. To be honest, if we weren’t blogging, our paths probably wouldn’t have crossed and it’s one of the many things I really like about the blogging community.

To recap, if you wish to succeed (with anything, it doesn’t have to be blogging), the only advice you will ever need is to never give up.

If you want to start blogging, these are the steps you need to take:

1. Get informed.
2. Figure out what to write and who to write for.
3. Find a domain.
4. Create a website.
5. Write.
6. Continue writing and promoting.

That’s it. The steps really are that simple. They’re not always easy and the whole process does take time but they’re certainly very doable.

What about you? Have you started on your blogging journey yet?

Sharing is caring so please share this post!