Lessons Learned From Two Years of Blogging

This website was created in December of 2021.  At that time, I had welcomed our first child into the world and was in the final year of my fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine.  This website was a culmination of personal writing and interest throughout the COVID pandemic.  As the website has steadily built a following, I have surprisingly continued to publish content weekly and seek to continue to do so. 

Now, as we enter 2024, I have been creating financial content for over two years.  Though I still see this side gig in its infancy, I also have seen growth and reach unlike anything I would have dreamed.  I have learned lessons along the way.  After completing my first full year of blogging I released a post titled Lessons Learned From One Year of Blogging.  This post marks the follow-up to that initial post, another milestone I am excited to celebrate with you all.  Here are lessons learned from two years of blogging. 

Lessons Learned from Two Years of Blogging

Lesson 1: I Understand Why Most Bloggers Quit After a Year

I will start by saying, blogging is not for the faint of heart.  To be clear, anyone can sit in front of their computer and write.  If you are a physician reading this, you probably already spend half your day in front of a computer monitor for charting purposes.  However, the difference is that you need to think of some semblance of an original idea, and you must do this consistently.  That is where I think most people quit. 

There comes a time where the hobby of writing starts to be financially productive.  As this occurs, like with any job, we begin to explore the potential. There becomes an expectation to continue to write as money trickles in.  Once there is an expectation, there is now a pressure to write.  Now that there is a pressure, it starts to no longer be a hobby and becomes a requirement.  The transition away from a hobby to a job can sometimes be a difficult one to navigate. 

Is It a Job or a Hobby?

There is a term that was coined by Dr. Jimmy Turner of The Physician Philosopher called a ‘jobby.’  He states that this phenomenon happens to many physicians pursuing side gigs.  For some, strictly having a hobby that you perform as often as you wish is perfect.  There is no pressure and you are free to pursue this passion as you wish.  For others, a side gig is seen strictly as a job, a business endeavor that couples your interests to a valuable service or product.  For those who view it as a job, there is (hopefully) a correlation to work in and revenue generated.  The harder you work, the more you reap. 

Unfortunately for so many, there is a middle ground, a ‘no-man’s land,’ that many stumble into without ever successfully finding their way out.  For many pursuing side gigs, this ‘jobby’ zone is where you began something as a hobby, it generated some money, so you kept doing it.  Initially, it is not that lucrative, but just enough to keep you working without ever seeing your consistent input reach ‘life-changing’ income.  Now you are stuck doing extra work that may lead to burnout and lost time you could spend elsewhere. 

The Problem with ‘Jobbies’

Either commit to it being a job and go all in or simply approach it as a hobby.  That way when you feel you need a break, you can walk away.  I feel so many in the content creation business find their work has become a ‘jobby.’

I too have run into this frustration.  At times I feel 110% committed to this blogs growth potential.  I feel my ideas are original and offer perspective and experience to the greater physician finance community.  Others times, when I am working clinically, my kids are not sleeping, and life feels as though it could not get busier, I often pause and ask myself if continuing the blog is the best thing? 

I do genuinely love writing.  I also love interacting with the physician financial community and feel that the traffic our site is seeing truly has great potential.  I believe in the mission of this website, and I know that nothing impactful comes overnight.  It takes dedication, passion, and grit.  Therefore, I will continue to create and publish content I believe in and see where this wild ride takes me.  This is not a decision I reached lightly.

Lesson 2: Passive Income Takes Patience

In keeping with the prior theme, our second lesson revolves around ‘passive’ income.  I wrote about this in my original ‘lessons learned’ blog post. Two years in, am I actually starting to see steady passive income.  It is far from life changing, but still meaningful nonetheless. 

Blogging really is something that most could do.  I honestly believe that.  However, what most likely cannot do is enter this journey knowing that it will takes years, if not a decade or more, to build a volume of content large enough to generate physician-income level revenue.  I think if most genuinely understood that, most would never start.  Blogging is still very much an active process.  For a smaller blog like mine, a website completely owned and operated by me, it is time consuming.  It also takes a skill set that few inherently know simply by completing medical education and training.  This leads me to my next lesson…

Lesson 3: There is Blogging, Then There is Business

There is a massive learning curve that comes with building a business.  I was naive enough to think that I could just write indefinitely and eventually readers would arrive in droves.  This is somewhat true, but not in droves, more like a steady trickle.  There is more to managing an online content creation business than writing.  The writing is the fun part. 

The business side requires meetings, emails, website logistics and troubleshooting, search engine optimization (SEO), keyword research, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, etc.  Each of these has their own nuances and strategies.  The more I learn, the more I feel like I was in way over my head.  True, I should probably look to hire some part-time positions to help me out.  However, I am somewhat of a pragmatist in the sense that I do not want to offload a portion of the business until I feel I thoroughly understand that position myself. 

Acquiring the knowledge necessary to navigate the business dealings of content creation have proven educational in so many ways.  I am incredibly thankful for the fund of knowledge this represents as I believe it will prove applicable to other business endeavors.  Yet, it is also maddening at times and humbling the rest. 

Lesson 4: Originality is Difficult

Offering original content in the way of physician finance is harder than you think.  Just recently I published an article called Achieving Financial Independence in Medicine: The Ultimate Guide.  In it I disclaim that physician finance is just personal finance.  I stand by that comment.  I would argue that literally 90% or so of good physician finance is just learning good personal finance.  Budget, save, invest, insure against disaster, live below your means, etc.  This is not just sound advice for healthcare professionals, but for pretty much anyone looking to create a strong financial foundation. 

Knowing this, it can be challenging to come up with an original idea.  You can only write about emergency funds so many ways before it is mostly redundant.  I spend a lot of time working to curate content that at least offers something slightly different than what the rest of the internet is saying.  Still, it takes time and does not always culminate into the work I initially imagined. 

Lesson 5: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Despite all of this, I remain convinced that consistency, repetition, and grit are the best approach.  Be it content creation or managing a small business, the more I do it, the better I become.  At least, this mentality has carried me the past few years. I must have confidence in that realization.  Further, this mentality has correlated with a 150% growth year over year for our site traffic and led to the generation of enough cash flow to sustain the website indefinitely. 

Therefore, sometimes I need to just put my head down and write what is on my mind, week after week.  These are the small victories that lead to big gains long term.  This strategy is just as applicable to your finances as it is to small business management.  You make small, daily decisions constantly that culminate is something greater down the road, even if it is difficult to appreciate.  Celebrate these small daily victories too. 

Lesson 6: Think Big

As I look forward to what 2024 might bring to The Motivated M.D., I remain optimistic.  For starters, I am thankful to have my health.  I am also surrounded by a household full of love and a career that I continue to enjoy.  Like so many others, my clinical career has its share of headaches, but overwhelmingly the good outweighs the bad. 

Secondly, The Motivated M.D. continues to see growth.  This growth has correlated with various parties taking interest in the site and some ultimately sponsoring our work here.  This leads to minimal intrusive ads, and only advertisements from companies I have personally vetted and feel excited to promote.  I also continue to work on a set of ‘recommended’ tools (insurance agents, financial advisors, student loan networks, etc.) that seek to streamline your ability to locate financial help that is unbiased and without conflicting interests. 

Lastly, I plan to interact with others in the physician finance niche on larger projects.  I do not have anything in mind just yet, but collaboration can breed innovation.  I have now written well over a hundred articles for the site and generated helpful tools for anyone looking to build a budget.  I have published guest posts and worked to extend the reach of our work here.  Now, perhaps, I can utilize other forms of media to help physicians in all phases of their training reach their financial goals.  2024 is the year to think big!

Take Home Points

It is hard to believe I have been writing content for this site since before my wife and I even welcomed children into our lives.  This website has offered me many opportunities and interactions I would likely not have otherwise.  I hope 2024 allows me to continue to bring you a steady stream of weekly content that is original, innovative, and thought provoking.  What’s more, I hope that a ‘think big’ mentality brings collaboration with others in the community and avenues with which to spread our message of financial well being for anyone visiting the website.  I hope you and your family find success in 2024 as well, cheers!  As always…

Stay motivated!

The Motivated M.D.

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