SEC S10W6: Steemit, work or support?

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Steemit….

A word that crossed my path more than 7 years ago.

Growing up, my dad always told us that if something sounds too good to be true, it cannot be true. That is how I felt about Steemit when it was introduced to me. Call me inquisitive; I joined. I even attended a seminar that was held in Johannesburg by the Steemit team, Ned included.

Still, it just didn’t make sense to me. Cryptocurrencies didn’t make sense, full stop! Here I was an extremely busy business owner who could hardly find time for her family, let alone time to vote and write posts.

I wrote 25 posts over a period of +/- 3 months. The highest earning was 154.19 USD and the average earning was 11.84 USD.

I didn’t allow myself the time to learn more about Steemit, to invest more time, and to wine and dine the big shots in South Africa even though I had the opportunity to do so. I left Steemit never to hear from anyone in South Africa again.

Then, 1,5 years ago it was my husband who asked, "Why don’t you take another look at Steemit?" I now had more time on hand as we sold our main business.
And that, my Steemit friends, was the start of my second journey. A journey totally different from the first one.

That brings me to the questions of this contest, which I can now answer in all honesty.

Do I think we should consider Steemit a main job or a way to generate extra resources?

For me, both having a main job and generating extra income have their pros and cons.
I am also convinced that the answer will be related to two things;

1. the economy of the country in which the author resides
2. the needs of the person.

The economy of the country

Let’s take my beloved country, South Africa, as an example.

In a report released on June 27, 2023, Stats SA mentioned the average salary in South Africa as R 25 304 (SA Rand) which equates to +/- 1,331.78 USD or +/- 7481.25 STEEM.
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I must mention that this excludes the salaries of agriculture workers. I doubt very much in my mind that it includes domestic workers.

Never less, I can guarantee you that this is a lot of money and an amount not easily made up on Steemit in a period of one month if you are an ordinary Steemian.

Currently the top Steem Representative earned 643.675 USD, or +/- 3,608 STEEM, for the month of June 2023.
Read more

The needs of the person

As for the needs of the person, we all have different standards and circumstances. It might be that your family depends on your income, or it might not.

If you are living in South Africa and your family depends on you generating an income you won’t be able to commit to Steemit full time. However, an extra income will be welcomed in difficult economic times.

I’ve told you what the average salary is, and if you think it is high, think twice.

"A family of four estimated monthly costs are R 35,151.90 (SA Rand) without rent." This according to www.numbeo.com

This will be 8814.59 STEEM or 1902.19 USD.

It is clear that in South Africa both mom and dad have to work, and an extra income can close those holes that so often appear.

My answer: You can only consider Steemit as your main source of income if you have invested a huge amount of money in it. If not, you can definitely consider it for that extra income.

What is my main economic activity and/or what other jobs do I complement Steemit with?

Previously, I was a part owner of a company that we sold a couple of years ago. Both my husband and I decided to retire and decided to move to the coast.

It was clear that living at the coast is very expensive, and soon we took on some extra "jobs".

Let me shock you with the top 5 expenses we have as a family;

EXPENDITURE	SA RAND	STEEM	DOLLAR
Property bond	35,000	9514.30	1905.35
Medical aid (3 people)	12,000	3262.05	653.26
School fees (1 child)	9,000	2446.53	489.95
Insurance and assurance	9,000	2446.53	489.95
Water and electricity	5,000	1359.19	272.19
This equals to	70,000	19028.60	3810,71

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It is only after paying for these items that we can start living by buying groceries, fuel, entertainment, telephones, internet, etc.

The property we bought has a self-catering unit that I rent out to holidaymakers. The Dolphin Coast, where we are living, is the perfect holiday town with the result that the unit is delivering a nice income. So much so that we’ve started building a double garage, and shortly we will be adding a second floor where we will be living so that we can rent the bottom house, also to holidaymakers.

Just like with any business, renting out a unit doesn’t just happen. I have to advertise, be on various referral groups, constantly be on the lookout for opportunities, and keep my eyes on the trends. Is this not also the case with Steemit?

I also, occasionally, still consult businesses.

What is nice is that I have found "a job" and something I enjoy doing, from my computer, in my study, in my own home, and at my own time.

My answer: I do holiday letting, consult businesses, and perform tasks and grow my business on Steemit.

What would I do if STEEM fell to $0.00001?

I know that there will be plenty of Steemians who will panic. Will I? I don’t think so, but I will get worried.

After all, I am investing my biggest asset, my time. I would not like to see it go down the drain.

But it will not be the first time that I will experience something like this. On 24 October 2018, 29 March 2019, and 17 January 2020, we experienced tumultuous periods of trading with stock markets crashing globally. It was a very difficult period for us, as my husband had various open positions without any stop losses. I can say that we paid our school fees.

It was a time that I learned;

1. How to stay awake for 48 hours
2. How to make zillions of cups of coffee and tea
3. To trust the system
4. To keep on praying, and most importantly,
5. What goes up must go down, and what goes down will go up!

My answer: I won’t give up!

What would you do if STEEM reached $10?

Oh gosh! A situation we’ve found ourselves in plenty of times. A stock price rises, we sell, and guess what happens tomorrow? It even goes higher.

I am not going to bore you with another long story. No, I am going straight to the answer.

My answer: I will be in jubilation as I have made the right investment! I also know that I won’t be powering down. What if it goes to $12, $15, or even $20?

What do you use the resources you get with Steemit today?

I have a business, and the name of that business is Steemit, and for me to make my business successful, I need to look at three things.

1. Operational excellence
2. Communications
3. Financial management

As I said earlier on, I invest my time. This puts me and thousands of Steemians in a good position. We did not invest financially, with the result that we don’t have to withdraw funds to replace the money we’ve taken from our savings, or worse, repay a loan, etc.

For many, Steemit is literally their "bread and butter." It often gives me goosebumps when I read how Steemit is helping people to survive, keeping their heads under a roof, repairing their homes, paying the children's school fees, and so much more.

My answer: I am one of the lucky ones. I don’t have to draw from my Steemit account. All I need to do is manage my business by;
Posting and voting (operational excellence)
Commenting and supporting (communication)
Powering up (financial management)

In closing, is Steemit work or support?

Steemit takes a lot of work, as you cannot make a success of something if you don't work hard, but it cannot be a full-time job, not in South Africa.

Steemit is there to support and help everyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Just do it wisely and trust the system.

I invite: @kouba01 @aaliarubab @sailawana

CC: @apoy01 @saintkelvin17

Account summary:
Club100
Transfer to vesting: 1,983.045 STEEM
Normal transfer: 41 STEEM (Contest prizes and charity)

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