Life After Journalism: A Spouse’s Perspective

When my husband, Bobby, told me that he wanted to start his own business, I was concerned. It wasn’t that I thought he couldn’t do it, because I’m my husband’s biggest fan. The problem was with our financial situation. We were doing fine being able to pay our bills, but we still had debt we owed and only a very small amount in our savings account. However, we compromised and agreed that he could start his business on the side while he continued to be a reporter for the local newspaper. 

Business launch stalled

About the time that Bobby was getting ready to launch his new business, the newspaper where he worked was sold to another company. Up until this point, it had been a family run business. It was bought by a much larger media company with many policies in place. One such policy included a non-compete clause that would prevent Bobby from doing the search engine optimization work he had in mind.

So, he decided to see how things would go with the new company. He thought with the deeper pockets of the new company there might be more training and, maybe, a raise.

It didn’t take long for the honeymoon to be over, and I began to watch my husband get more and more miserable in a job that he loved.

Stall provided time for research

After several months of discussion, we decided Bobby would give business ownership a try. The plan we put in place would allow for us to “practice” our much reduced budget while we saved all we could to build a buffer to hold us over until Bobby’s business would start making money. 

Bobby spoke with a couple local businessmen who were very successful. They mentored him pre- and post-launch. He had picked their brains and asked countless questions on what he should expect being a business owner. And, to alleviate my concerns, he got information from them on when he should realistically expect to make some money.

Time for launch: Don’t expect revenue for 60 days

The news wasn’t great. The men told Bobby that it would probably take at least 60 days before his company, Wooster Media Group LLC, would see any revenue. At the time, I made a decent wage, but my salary alone would not get us through the 60 days without any money coming in from the business. 

Needless to say, I was pretty nervous, but Bobby needed a life after journalism — one that would allow him to meet his full potential and be happy. So, we took the leap.

Thanks to the contacts that Bobby had made while a journalist, he made some warm calls and was able to get work right away. He started to work with a few local businesses. It turned out that Bobby was actually able to make a profit in his very first month! He worked hard. He talked with people. He got referrals from friends and talked to more people. 

Business grew, more help needed

In about 18 months or so into owning his own business, the company started to grow. Bobby was working with independent contractors for video production and web development and freelance writers.

We started talking about me leaving my job and joining him. Something that I never thought would happen, was now a very real possibility. One of his clients needed a virtual assistant for 20 hours a week. After crunching the numbers, it became obvious that we could make it because the business was growing.

Leaving journalism offered a better lifestyle and schedule

It’s amazing how life has changed for Bobby after journalism. He doesn’t have to go to accidents and fires to get the story. He isn’t always on “high alert” for the next news event. 

He is able to serve his clients well, doing the things he loves, mostly on a timetable that suits him best. If he can’t sleep, he will work from his home office. If we want to take a break in the middle of the day and go walking in the park, he will work a little bit after dinner.

I, too, have been able to live a life I had always dreamed. I have the flexibility in my work to be able to help my parents out if they need me. I can take care of the home, go to a Bible study and visit friends in the middle of the day. If Bobby and I want to take time to go somewhere in the middle of the week, we can. We have freedom to set our own schedule.

Doing well, despite the pandemic

Bobby surpassed his annual journalism income on Nov. 15 in his second year of business. He ended the year, grossing 28% more than his best year as a reporter or editor. No one is giving employees 28% raises.

He is now in his third year, and he matched his journalism income at the end of April. Though, things slowed down a little in the third quarter.

Even with the ups and downs of 2020, we have been able to thrive. The pandemic led to a couple clients slowing down the amount of work needed from our company, but it provided new opportunities, too. We added some clients that provided additional revenue.

Is there a life after journalism for you?

If you are considering moving on from your journalism career or if you are the spouse of a journalist who needs to start thinking about doing something else, let me tell you, there is life after journalism! 

Here are some things that you may want to do before taking the leap:

• Crunch the Numbers. Whatever you decide to do, you will need to know where you stand first. Are you able to go three months without income? How much can you cut out of your budget, at least at the very beginning, to be able to make it? I did several different practice budgets to see how we’d be able to make it should the profits were slow in coming.
• Practice the Budget. As I said, when we decided that Bobby could go out on his own, we had about three or four months to try living on the budget we would follow after Bobby left his journalism job. We put as much as we could into our savings account to help cover the shortfall between my pay and our expenses for the three months.
• Start Saving for Bad Times. There’s a reason why they say “save for a rainy day.” The reason is that the rain will always come. In the case of finances, that means things will pop up that you didn’t plan for. Income won’t be as expected. Vehicles will break down. Set money aside while you can because you just never know what’s going to happen in the future.
• Be Cautious of Spending in Good Times. When you have a good month or two, it’s easy to think you can reward yourself for your hard work. While maybe going out for a nice dinner can be justified, you don’t want to go crazy with spending. You will never get ahead if you spend everything you make. We worked to reduce our spending so we could pay down our debt faster.
• Embrace Change. When Bobby started out on his own, he launched Wooster Media Group LLC, a search engine optimization, content creation, and social media management company. Later, he launched AfterJournalism.com as a way to help other journalists and earn a passive income. Then, with a friend, he launched FreelancersBenefits.com, a site that offers telemedicine services and a free/discounted prescription drug program (disclaimer: It is not insurance). He markets the product to freelancers, gig workers, and independent contractors. For us, change has been a good thing, and he would not be involved in all of this had he remained a journalist.
• Appreciate Your New Life After Journalism. If you or your spouse has been a journalist for a long time, it may take a bit of adjustment to get used to life after journalism. You probably don’t have to be on high alert now. You can stop and smell the roses instead of looking for the next news story. Enjoy exploring your new opportunities and appreciate where you have come from.

The rest of the story

Bobby has been self employed for over two and half years. I have been working with him for almost six months. I can honestly say that things are better than I ever thought they could be. 

I think the preparations we took before starting these ventures were why things have gone so well. So, if you are thinking about leaving journalism, take time to crunch the numbers and practice with a new budget. If all that goes well, then take the leap. Because there really is life after journalism.

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