My writing and editing business, Words in Bloom, will be a year old at the end of this month. I registered the name with the state of Ohio on March 30, 2022.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the first anniversary.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come close to going back to corporate — even as recently as last week. I was a candidate for what was essentially my dream job and the only kind of role I’d consider going back to corporate for. Spoiler alert: I didn’t make it.

Owning and operating a business is hard. It’s overwhelming at times. I was exhausted and didn’t feel I had anything left in me to give to this venture. I’m constantly bombarded with advice about what to do and what not to do and what I should read and what podcasts I should listen to and, and, and…

Not to mention, all the freelance writers I’m seeing on LinkedIn and elsewhere who apparently make $10K+ per month. And a lot of that income likely comes from classes, coaching, books, etc. that they are selling in addition to their writing. (Do I do any of those things? No, no, I do not. See: exhaustion and overwhelm.)

But everything started turning around for me this month.

• I got a regular, part-time freelance gig as a copywriter and editor with an educational consultancy. I started this week. So far, I love the people and I love the work. I have had a lot of experience in education (as an educator, tutor, writer, test evaluator, etc.), so this gig is actually a great fit for me.

• Jackie and Mimi, the wonderful ladies at Modern Gen X Women, asked me in January if I would contribute to their new digital magazine. (Mimi was my business coach — I worked with her last summer/fall.) I agreed, and the first issue came out yesterday. My article appears on pages 40-41, and it’s about how I went back to grad school in midlife and what the experience was like. I attended the virtual launch party last night, which was ’80s themed.

• I got an email from a lovely person at Subkit last week, asking me if I would like to be interviewed for their Entrepreneur series. The aforementioned Mimi recommended me. I agreed, and my interview went live this morning. (I need to look into Subkit as a resource to continue growing my business.)

I am anticipating a good amount of work coming from another client in the near future.

So, things are starting to look up, which has given me a much-needed boost of energy to keep on going. Maybe I will eventually get around to the classes, and the coaching, and the books. We shall see. (Maybe I’ll start with a monthly newsletter?)