What Darrell did...

Not long after he left the military, Darrell became an insurance agent, first on the East Coast, then, to help his parents through their final illnesses, he came home to the Midwest. To earn a living while he was always there for his folks, he set up shop at home by starting a new agency from scratch.

Building a scratch agency is hard work but it wasn't new to him; he'd successfully done it before. But this time it was different; he met lots of resistance in getting a toehold in this new market. Nevertheless, he worked his plan every day, making cold calls, networking.

Darrell did non-insurance things, as well, to recharge his batteries when they ran low, re-energize his spirit. He mowed his own lawn, joined the VFW, helped relatives or neighbors in need.

Meanwhile, a county away from Darrell's digs, I busily tried to get a toehold, too, as an independent insurance agent working from home. That was the road I'd mapped out to reach financial security for my children and me. With the residual income I'd earn, I could then settle down to the writing life, and be at home for my kids.

One thing led to another. The next thing I knew, I was having lunch with Darrell---up until then a total stranger---and two agent friends of his. Table talk centered on insurance, and how we could get our piece of the pie. Darrell and I became business friends then and there, and for the next five years of our business alliance, he taught me more about the insurance business than I could have imagined. Going into the insurance biz, I'd been skeptical of insurance people and their ethics. Observing Darrell, however, I recognized I'd met a man of ethics, someone who was a credit to the insurance world. He was the best possible example for a newbie like me.

Over countless pots of coffee in my kitchen, we held planning sessions, then implemented them. Some of the joint ventures failed, a few succeeded. Through it all, Darrell kept to his daily routine, determined to succeed, believing he would. It was yet another powerful example; so beneficial, in fact, that Darrell's ways sit in my head even now as I work toward a successful life as a writer.

I relocated to another state five years later but Darrell and I kept in touch. I was overjoyed to learn, a few years later, that the tide had finally turned in his favor. His determination and his plodding ways had paid off.

And so it is with writers trying to build a successful writing business. We won't ring the bell every time, and we will get discouraged and wonder if we're in the right profession. If we keep examples like Darrell in mind, though, we'll be reminded that success isn't always in a hurry to arrive. If we plod and plan---#1, writing; #2, marketing---we'll arrive, too. Darrell was discouraged oh-so-many times, but he'd never allow himself to give up. ("To do what?" he asked me once.)

Try Darrell's way...plod your way to success as a work-at-home writer.