Beverley Writes

Hello everyone

Here in Australia we have just entered May, our last month of Autumn. Winter will soon be upon us. Many of my friends hate winter, the only good thing they can say about it is that with every day that passes it is a day closer to next summer.

Not me.

I love winter. Cold sleety rain, wind, huge waves crashing on the beach. It’s the season when I can have the whole beach to myself… well me, three dogs and zillions of soaring sea birds. Heaven!

But right now it is Autumn, a season of change. A season when the days grow shorter, nights get chilly enough for me to light the fire and bedtime means snuggling under the quilt rather than turning up the air conditioner.

The thing I love most about Autumn is the amazing colours of the trees and the autumn flowering plants that echo the golds and oranges of the trees. I like to drive out into the hills just to view the contrasting colours-the way the colours change from the coastal bright yellows and golds to the mountain’s rusts and ochres and dark, dark reds. I remember as a child I used to love jumping into a pile of red- gold leaves, sometimes almost disappearing into the golden loveliness. Nowadays I just watch my dogs do just that-I kind of wish I could join them but the problem would be trying to get up again! No doubt the dogs would enjoy it but I’m not so sure I would like having to find someone to help me get on my feet again!

So. I hear you ask “Why is she wittering on about change? What’s going on?”

The answer is a bit of a surprise even to myself. I’ve changed my mind about retirement. And the alternative is currently looking as golden as the Autumn trees all around me.

I filled in the beginning of retirement with my first attempt to write a novel, an achievement I had longed to try but never had the time or the energy while I was in full time work.

Recently I’ve had the thrill of seeing “The Other Side of the Ocean” rocking it at the London Book Fair and I’m still a bit stunned at the news from my publishers (Book Trails) that they are taking it on to compete in an International Book Award. This is all very new stuff to me but if the reaction from Book Trails is anything to go by it seems to be a pretty big deal.

But all this exciting stuff can happen without very much further involvement from me.

So what to do now? My idea of retirement being one long lovely holiday has palled rather alarmingly. I want to be doing!

Back in 2014 I had a go at affiliate marketing. I duly signed up with an organisation (who had better remain anonymous- I don’t want to get sued) and launched my self into what I thought was going to be a lucrative online business. Not a good plan. Not good at all. I ended up spending more money for ads than I could ever hope to earn, deciding to quit before I went totally broke.

Fast forward to 2022. I’m doing it again-affiliate marketing that is! But this time I’m being guided step by step; no question too silly to ask (just as well!) and a variety of courses that even a complete newbie like me can understand. I’m only just starting but so far it’s been such a mix of encouragement- confusion- achievement- some more confusion-definitely a light at the end of the tunnel- I’m loving this. Retirement? Oh no. This is Retirement With Benefits. I’ll keep posting my progress- or lack of it- but whatever the future holds, I am having a ball.

I’d love to hear anyone’s comments on the highs and lows of starting an online business. I’m sure there’s many more people out there who have given it a go. Let me know what you think. Am I totally crazy? Or on to something?