Welcome to a new feature I’m going to be doing on here, called “Work at home Wednesday.” Each week, I’m going to feature a different Smart Spending Spot reader and what their job or career is, something that is either work at home or starting your own business. This will hopefully give all of our readers an insight into what these different jobs are like, if you are thinking of switching career paths.

If you want to be featured on Work At Home Wednesday, click that link and fill out the form.

This week, we meet Jo-Lynne Shane–an awesome blogger, community manager, social media consultant, brand rep and more. (No, she didn’t put that on the google doc, but I know her so I added it in.) She has her own business called JLS Media.

Short description of what she does:

I don’t do short well, but I’ll give it a go. :-) I’m the founder and author of the lifestyle blog, Musings of a Housewife, where I write about food, fashion, fitness, family travel, parenting . . . . and pretty much whatever interests me at the moment. I also own Eat Local Philly, a website to support locally sourced foods in our region. I write regular articles for Therapon Skin Health and Family Your Way, and I occasionally take on other short term freelance writing gigs. I am a Community Leader for Udi’s Gluten Free Foods, and I help with their blogger outreach. I am brand ambassador and social media manager for a small company called Rose Romano’s Gourmet Italian Toppings, where I manage their social media networks and blogger outreach initiatives. And I also facilitate the Philly Social Media Moms community of local bloggers and women in social media. I used to do blog designs, but that pretty much went kaput when I started getting busier with blogger outreach and social media consulting.

How did she end up doing this type of work?

That’s a very good question, I wish I knew! All I can say is, this career evolved from a very spontaneous and not-at-all-strategic decision six years ago to start a blog. I continue to pursue it because it enables me to earn an income from home while my kids are under foot. I love my flexible schedule and being my own boss.

Would you mind sharing your income?

Well, it’s more than enough to pay for our groceries, but not enough for my husband to quit work and be a stay at home dad. ;-)

Jo-Lynne stated that she work approximately 25 hours each week at this work-at-home job.

What do you like best about this job?

I love my flexible schedule and that I can pretty much talk about myself all day long and call it a job!

What unexpected hurdles or obstacles did you have to overcome?

It takes a long time to build to the point that it is actually worth the time expended, and the income is not as dependable as I’d want if I was the primary wage earner in the house. It can be done as the primary wage earner, but it is not the norm. Most of us doing what I’m doing are supplementing their family’s income, so I view it as a bit of a luxury. Another hurdle is simply getting people to take you seriously. Most people don’t “get” what I do.

How long do you see yourself doing this?

Forever, I hope!! I know it will continue to evolve, but I hope to have a place in this space for a very long time.

How do you see yourself advancing or growing in this position?

I’d like to eventually narrow down what I’m doing so that I don’t have so many different gigs. I have already started to do that by walking away from a site that I started, putting Eat Local Philly on hold for now, and quitting the design biz. I would rather have a few largish gigs than so many little ones. You should SEE our dining room table at tax time! I collect 1099s like some people collect stamps!

What else do you want people to know? If someone is saying “Hey, I can do that!” what do they need to know before doing it themselves?

When I started out, there was no precedent for what I’m doing right now. I didn’t set out to make a career out of it — at the time, there was no such thing. It just kind of happened as the blogosphere evolved. But nowadays, if this is something you want to do — any of it — blogging, freelance writing, social media consulting — you really need to have goals, a strategy, a plan, and you should be motivated and self disciplined. The good news is, there are tons of resources now to guide you — something I didn’t have. There are websites and and webinars and conferences galore. So decide what you are passionate about, and then look around for resources on how to get started, and give it a try! You really have nothing to lose. It costs almost nothing to start a blog, and you can work on it in your spare time until you see if it’s something that has earning potential or not.

One of the features on Musings of a Housewife: