Freshome is one of the most well known design blogs in the world, reaching 4 million pageviews monthly. I’ve known Mihai since before starting it and I was able to follow the entire adventure of the site and I often talked to him asking for tips on blogging :)
I’ve read today an interview with him for the design and tech blog Hongkiat. Here are some ideas I thought they are worth mentioning (with italics from me):
It’s a good thing to do something you like, you are already involved in:
I wanted a dream house, so I started checking out different sites for inspiration. I started finding different ideas for furniture and interior design stuff and I noticed that the guys running those sites were actually doing it as a business. I thought hey, I could do it too. So it all started with me trying to imagine my dream house.
It’s great, as an entrepreneur, to set your own working hours, but it’s still more than 9 to 5
The site isn’t on auto-pilot. I carry the weight for different updates, ad optimization and sales. I don’t see anyone replacing me yet. There’s no fixed schedule, I couldn’t say how much I work daily, but I would say it’s more than a normal 9 to 5 job.
Blogging as a business might not be the best idea right now, look for better opportunities (mobile?)
So to answer your question, no, I wouldn’t start over. Today there are better opportunities, especially in the mobile world. It wouldn’t be wise for me to invest in blogging today when you have areas in which those resources would be put to far better use and enojoy a faster growth. I always try to find a rising industry.
Before starting something new, think of a “transition business” (great term!):
Well, if you’re a freelancer wanting to become an entrepreneur, start with a ‘transition business’. For example, if you’re a designer, you can easily stop selling your time for money and instead go to themeforest.net, where you can transform your skill into a passive income by creating and selling themes. That’s one example of a ‘transition business’.
Read the entire interview here.
