Welcome to the adventure. The challenge goes like this – is it possible to earn a living from the Internet – doing what you are passionate about?

I aim to find out – and I hope you’ll join me in this adventure.

Leaving the rat race

First off – why? Well, realising you’ve slammed into a career brick wall is something that can take quite a while to notice, and face up to, but once you do you really have to do something about it. I’d been in the same role, doing essentially the same job (IT Manager), for over fifteen years and, whilst the technology got refreshed once in a while and the work was enjoyable enough, in a small company there really isn’t much room for manoeuvre in your career and so it get’s you thinking – where do I go from here?

For quite some time I didn’t really believe the job was going to come to an end, as I felt the career issues might be resolved, but once I made the final decision it happened quite quickly and it was time to look realistically at the options. One option was to jump straight into another, similar role, and keep running, whilst another was to pursue my teaching ambitions – but then I got thinking – could I earn a full time living from what was effectively a hobby?

At this point – everything seemed to drop into place – that I should become a full time technology blogger.

One step back – two steps forward

I think I was born a geek, I have a passionate love for all things technology, from computer history to software development and IT management – but I also like to think I’m quite grounded in the real world and apply technology to solve real world problems – not just implement the latest “must have” for the sake of it. I also completed a Masters Degree in Computer Science (Internet Technologies) in 2008 which in many ways re-connected me with my passion for learning and teaching – an area I hope to move into one day.

I also love developing software which I am picking back up in the form of Flash and ActionScript, WebOS and possibly Silverlight – watch out for my first major project Star Cats coming very soon. Another passion is writing. Like most people my age I have a couple of potential novels tucked away in a drawer. However, I especially love writing about technology and have been a contributing writer to a number of online technology publications over the years, including IT Pro, Computing, BCS, Technorati and my own blogs. The problem has always been time – when you’re up to your neck in an endless line of work all day long in an environment where you spend most of your time fire fighting it can be difficult to find times to pursue activities you really enjoy. It can also be difficult to take a step back and look beyond the parapet – but every now and then the opportunity arises – it’s worth taking a peek.

The 7 P’s Of Planning – what were they again?

The first thing I need is a plan – what was it someone once said? “Failing to plan it planning to fail?” – sounds like good advice right about now.

Before I can do any of that, however, I need to reach into the pretty empty pockets, search down the back of the sofa, and raid the piggy bank to get a little more up to date with my equipment. I had to return all the equipment when I left my job which has left me quite light on the technology side, so there are three things that are required immediately:

• The first is to update my home equipment – which I’ll be writing about on a regular basis. One of the more immediate pieces of equipment I need is a new computer – probably an all-in-one touch screen (see Touch Screen All-In-One Desktop Computers – What’s Available?).
• Application Software otherwise the computer is going to
• The second thing has been to sort out my web hosting as many of the activities I need to carry out revolve around having a fast, reliable, internet platform and my old VPS solution was creaking at the amount of content it has to serve up. After looking at the options I opted for a dedicated hosting package, from Memset, with a number of bells and whistles (overnight backup, 24 hour support). It’s not cheap but it does mean I don’t have to share the server with other sites and Memset do have a good reputation.

So, the first phase of this new life adventure looks something like this:

• Get more technology writing work
• Get out and see more people and get “hands on” with a broader array of equipment
• Attract a supportive sponsor for this site – who will also be flexible enough for me to remain independent
• Build up the sister site to this blog, eggnchips.com, which focuses on consumer technology and has a heavy retro leaning
• Form an umbrella company (no – not selling umbrella’s!) to ensure everything is above board with regard to the commercials
• Sort out the “business end” of things, such as tax, NI, insurance, banking - all whilst connecting to my entrepreneurial spirit!
• Move into a business incubation unit which, if anything, will help focus the mind a little better!
• Launch the first commercial “project” – Star Cats – which is going into beta testing this weekend

The strangest thing, so far, about working for myself, after being office based for 20 years, is that I am doing far more hours than I ever did before! The family are getting used to me working from home too and with three little one’s running and crawling around the place this in itself is proving to be a big challenge.

In the meantime – all those “working from home” tips that have been skirted around on blogs in the past are now being put into good practice!

Check back soon to follow more in the adventure…