growing my business

I really don’t want to write this post. I’ve spent the entire day avoiding it and finally sitting down to write is making me feel a little (re: a lot) sick to my stomach.

Yesterday I wrote a post asking for donations to fund a Mac purchase. A little brazen? Sure. Controversial? Maybe. I thought I made my intentions clear, but apparently some people were horrified.

It started with a simple tweet. Because I’m not an asshole or 5 years old, I won’t name names, but the first tweet was directed at me and said, “Twitter is not an ATM.”

No, it’s not, and reading that tweet was like a punch to the stomach. Shit, I thought, what did I do? I started worrying that my post was out of line, that I was treating readers like my own personal cash machine.

And then I got a donation. And then another. And then another. In the past day I’ve received $187 towards a new computer and I remembered why I did this… Is that computer life or death? Of course not. Do I realize there are more worthy causes? Obviously. I’m not an idiot or a whiny bitch or unaware of the world’s problems. But as the days went on and my computer crept closer and closer towards death I figured I’d ask my friends for a favor. It’s not mandatory and I’m in no way expecting everyone to donate.

I would, however, like to address some of the criticisms. Mostly because I’m argumentative and just thinking about this has me fuming, but also because the more I think about it, the more I think the people responsible for the shit storm on Twitter yesterday acted like bullying children.

Arguments

You haven’t prioritized your expenses and are expecting blog readers to bail you out.

To be honest, I have prioritized my expenses, just not in the way you would. New Zealand is my top priority. If you actually read my blog you’d know that I’m moving because my boyfriend is in London and I can’t get a UK visa. He can’t get a visa to the States. We can, however, go to New Zealand. So yeah, I made my relationship a priority over my business.

Shilling from strangers is shameless.

I wasn’t shilling from strangers, I was asking friends and regular readers for a favor. Critique My Profile was a popular video series on my blog and I know people who received those critiques enjoyed and benefited from them. Those critiques were also free. People have asked why I haven’t posted a video in almost a month and I answered: My computer can’t handle the video software and the quality is significantly better on a Mac. For those who want to see the videos make a comeback (and friends who simply want to help a new entrepreneur out) I gave them an option. If I randomly stumbled on a blog asking for a donation I’d just ignore it. Unless I truly trust and respect and want to give back to a blogger I don’t give them money. I wasn’t expected strangers to participate. Again, I was asking my friends for a favor.

I’d also like to point out that blog donation buttons aren’t uncommon. If you feel so comfortable ragging on me maybe you should email them too. Where do you think that money goes? The homeless? No, most bloggers with those buttons put the money back into the blog, which is precisely what I was going to do. Instead of just putting a generic button up though I made it VERY clear where that money would go and how it would benefit the site. Personally, I thought it was a smart strategy. I rarely donate to charities because I don’t know where my money is going. While I may not be a charity I wanted my readers to  have specifics.

Save your money for “a real cause”.

Speaking of charities, I’m pretty sure I addressed that issue in my video. To paraphrase, I realize me “needing” a Mac isn’t a natural disaster or kid with leukemia. But people fund all sorts of projects and as one amazing reader put it, “Yours is a creative endeavor since funding your computer would bring your audience with the awesome videos and content that you produce.”

Asking for money does not inspire confidence in your business success. Would you hire a social media consultant who can’t even afford a Mac? If business is that bad, maybe there’s a reason.

Business isn’t “that bad”, but it hasn’t even been a year since starting said business. Bragging time: In the 6 months I’ve been doing this full time I’ve done a pretty awesome job setting up. In 6 months I’ve accumulated over 5,000 visitors per month, 2,000 Twitter followers, created an online program, a kick ass Twitter service which has gotten awesome reviews, and average of 3 author clients per month. I don’t say this to be cocky, but to make a point.

I don’t know if any of those who criticized me are freelancers, but I’d like to see one new entrepreneur who’s been in business for 6 months who’s not stressed about money. Starting a business is hard and it’s naive to think otherwise.

I’d also like to point out that while my blog definitely helps land clients, I pride myself in being completely transparent. Buzzword Alert, but it’s true. This blog addresses social media issues but it also chronicles my struggles as a new entrepreneur and I’d be lying if I said I was currently rolling in dough. While I have no shortage of clients, let’s just say publishing isn’t the most lucrative of niches. But I’m working on it.

What Should I Do Now?

Only a few involved actually included my Twitter handle. Only two responded to my counterarguments. To me that seems cowardly and I don’t think any of them would say what they did to my face. The internet can make us bolder and meaner and uglier than we might be in real life.

What happened is that these tweeters found amusement in calling me out while hiding under the ability to not engage with me directly.  None  are loyal readers, none are friends. All of them have relative Twitter popularity though, and what they did humiliated me. I’d made me feel like crap for something I don’t think I deserve to feel like crap about.

Do you know what that’s called? It’s called bullying and you should all know better.

If you don’t like my site, don’t read it. Don’t kick a blogger you don’t even read. Don’t make assumptions if you don’t know what you’re talking about. That said, if my loyal readers think my post was out of line I’ll take down the widget and refund the money. You guys mean a lot to me and I’ve been floored by the positive response. If the majority of you think what I did was “disgusting” or “shameless” though, I’ll do whatever I can to make amends.

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