4 Interview Questions for Problogger Darren

Critiqued by Cowboytf | July 5, 2008 .

Back in May, I had the chance to ask, Darren from Problogger Blog Tips, some questions. He has done a ton of interviews and, I’m sure, has been asked every question possible so I had a hard time thinking of something to ask. I decided to go with the 4 questions below. I absolutely admire what Darren has accomplished in the blogging world with problogger.net but I adore the photography side of him. If you get the chance, visit him at Problogger Blog Tips, Digital Photography School, and his photography forum!

1) How many projects have succeeded/failed in the last five years that you set out to accomplish? To what do you attribute the failures?

Over the years I’ve been involved in starting 10 or so projects. Around 5 of them have continued with some success to this day.

There are a number of things that probably contributed to the failure o those that didn’t take off but in each case I think I probably could have made better choices with a little more forethought and planning. I tend to start lots of things in a small way and go with the things that work - perhaps a little more time analyzing opportunities before I launch them would help.

Having said that - my impulsive decisions quite often pay off too so maybe too much planning and analysis in the early days could kill off the impulsive passion that I often start off with.

2) What sacrifices have you or your family made for you to get where you are today?

I actually see very little of what I’ve done in the last five years as having been a sacrifice. The way I’ve built my business has been to take lots of small cautious steps and to not get too far ahead of myself at any point. For example I started blogging as a hobby but only transitioned to it as a paid thing in very small incremental steps. I went from hobby to full time blogger over a couple of years and only ever decreased income from other jobs (by giving up shifts etc) as my blogging earnings allowed it. In this way there was never really any period where we went without financially.

The only other real thing that I’ve ‘lost’ in my work is time - however I find blogging to be a rich experience and it’s something I would do (and did do before I started) for free. I do lose a little time from my family but when I compare the time that I’m away from home traveling with the accumulated time that my friends spend at work doing over time I feel like I come out in front - especially considering that i work at home and see my family throughout the day.

3) When you’re gone, what do you want people to remember you as?

I just hope that what I’ve done, either in my work, involvement in faith communities, family and friendship circles etc has enhanced people’s lives in some ways. A lot of what I attempt to do is to create spaces for people to grow and live to their potential. I’ve done this through my involvement with churches, it’s what I attempt to do in my blogs and in other aspects of my life.

4) What are your favorite charities?

I sponsor children through both WorldVision and a charity called Compassion. I also have been a supporter of Oxfam and Movember through events on my blogs.

If you could interview someone in the blog world, who would it be and why?

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2 Comments so far

Scott July 8, 2008 10:26 pm

That is wonderful to hear Darren is involved with charities like Worldvision. So many of the big bloggers seem to focus on affiliate marketing and building out brands. Great to see Problogger take on some wonderful charities as well. Good for him. I’ll have to check out Darren again and subscribe to his site.

Scotts last blog post..Jeub Family Inspiration
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4 Interview Questions for Problogger Darren…

Learn about the other side of problogger - darren rowse, such as, his failed projects, his family, charities and more!…