I’m happy to introduce, to those who haven’t met her yet, Marquita Herald to share her story in the Life of a Blogger series. I met Marquita and her wonderful blog over at Triberr. Marquita is an author, personal growth specialist, world traveler, avid reader and, well, I’ll sit down here on the porch and let her tell the story.

My introduction to blogging was born out of sheer desperation. At the time I was working as a district manager for a large direct sales company and responsible for recruiting and training hundreds of independent small business owners in the Islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and the Big Island. Budget limitations left me with few options for meetings, and members were so spread out it was impossible to get to everyone’s home, let alone provide in-depth training. The one thing they all had in common was a computer to place their orders, so I decided to explore ways to connect with my entrepreneurs online.

I started with a district blog, and later introduced virtual classrooms to provide training for those new to entrepreneurship, and advanced courses for top sellers and leadership. They loved the convenience and the increased attention, and I loved the feedback that told me this was keeping them motivated and making a positive difference in their efforts to grow successful home based businesses.

When I made the decision to go out on my own, there was never a doubt that it would involve blogging because I’d grown to love the benefits of the virtual format that allowed me to reach out and make a difference in people’s lives in the convenience of their own homes. I chose the personal growth field as my niche to fulfill my passion to inspire people to move beyond simply getting along in life, and accept the power we each have to create our own life experience.

It’s been 3 years since I launched my blog, and to this day nothing beats the thrill of hearing from a reader who has found the courage to create meaningful change in their life as a result of something I’ve written.  In fact, it was encouragement from my readers that led me to publish my first book in early 2012, and now a year and a half later I’ve published 5 more books based on the theme of living life by design.

From coaching entrepreneurs, to personal growth blogger, to published author; I’m thrilled that the recent launch of my new blog – The Business of Being an Author – brings my virtual journey full circle. Once again I’ll be teaching entrepreneurship skills, this time working with new authors to bridge the gap between their art as writers and the business of being an author.

Has your journey as a blogger evolved in any surprising ways? Do you have a clearly defined message that is at the core of your blogging? Have you explored other virtual opportunities to share your message outside of blogging?

See other posts in the Life of a Blogger series here! We would love to hear your blogging story! Email me and I’ll send you the Guidelines for submitting your contribution.