About Me
Hi — I’m Janice Campbell, and I’m glad you’ve stopped by! I’ve been writing and speaking on homeschooling , entrepreneurship, and writing for many years. I’ve learned how to earn a home-centered living through my Everyday Education business, and I’m grateful that I’ve been able do it in a way that allows me to care for the people and things that matter most in my life.
Because I love literature, some of my posts will include tidbits from my favorite authors. I hope you’ll enjoy getting acquainted with them. One of the things you’ll see is the way in which good literature can beautifully express the heart of a matter, and how this in turn can help you become more expressive in your thoughts and writings. And because reading is an essential part of becoming literate, I’ll also include reviews of good books and other resources, new and old. Of course, you’ll learn a little about my Excellence in Literature curriculum as well and other things I’ve written, too!
People sometimes ask how I arrived at my focus on home school and home business, and how those two are connected. For me, they are inseparable, because I believe that institutions are deeply unhealthy places to be, and one of my goals is to educate, encourage, and equip families to step outside the mainstream and lead a simpler home-based life. I wish you joy.
About Doing What Matters
I believe that the most important things in life are faith and family, and over the past few decades I’ve tried to craft a life that focuses on those things. In literature and history, I saw examples of families who led quiet, home-centered lives, with each family member involved in the productive life of the homestead. This was not at all unusual until the modern era.
Current conventional wisdom suggests that it is now impossible for a family of six to survive on a single blue-collar income, and the advocated solution is that both adults in the household must work outside the home. This was an unacceptable solution for our family, so I began to research how to create an income income from home.
Throughout history, I saw that women often created several small streams of income that waxed and waned with seasons of the year and seasons of life. My own great-great grandmother made money at different times in her life by breeding canaries, selling eggs and produce from her garden, and doing custom sewing, including duplicating designer garments and creating patterns from magazine photos. Because the family lived on a ranch, income was seasonal, and at certain times of the year, Great-grandma’s income was the only cash in the house.
In Proverbs 31, I saw another example of a kind, wise woman who spins, weaves, and sews to create beautiful garments for her household and the marketplace; purchases and plants a vineyard; trades profitably; and cares for her family and those who are less fortunate. I loved the fact that she was able to contribute to her family’s income while staying home and doing a variety of beautiful, creative projects.
As a child, I had been bitten early by the entrepreneurial bug. Every year, I circled the neighborhood with my little red wagon and sold avocados from our backyard tree. When I got too big to be seen in public with a red wagon, I began making custom macrame bracelets with names beaded in. Marketing was easy – I made one and wore it, then took orders!
Calligraphy was next, and I earned an income by addressing wedding invitations, writing out poetry, certificates, invitations, and more. Eventually, I taught calligraphy at craft stores and the local community college. As the boys grew older, I returned to my childhood love of writing, and began to write articles and eventually books. This led to speaking invitations, and many years of full time writing and speaking.
Random bio-facts, things I’m thankful for, and other stats:
- Four grown sons, much beloved; three dear daughters-in-law; three sweet grandchildren
- B.A. in English from Mary Baldwin College
- First website (Everyday Education) begun: 2001
- First book sale: 2002
- First e-book sale: 2005
- Favorite book: Honestly, that would be like choosing a favorite child, but if you really want to know, how long do you have?
- Director of the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors from 2007 – 2017
- Countless: Number of mistakes made since beginning to write professionally in the 1980’s
- Measureless: Blessings and joy in the journey toward doing what matters.
How to contact me: Janice (@) DoingWhatMatters (.) com.
About the Doing What Matters business model
In recent years, I’ve spent a lot of time answering questions about home-centered business. Things like “Where do I start?” “How do I get a blog going?” “What does a blog have to do with microbusiness?” “What’s a platform?” “Do I really have to market?” “How do you make an e-book?” and many more. This blog began as an answer to those questions.
Foundational principles of the Doing What Matters business:
- The most important thing is to create a life consistent with your deepest values.
- Working from home allows you to lead a more sustainable life by learning how to make and fix things, rather than throwing out and buying new.
- Start small, avoid debt, and use earnings to grow.
- You usually do better at something you enjoy, so consider your joys as you decide what your streams of income might be.
- Multiple small streams of income, including those that are seasonal, can be more interesting, simpler to create, and often more stable than a single large stream.
- Organic, content-based marketing usually works better than paid advertising.
- The Five-Stage Business Model provides a simple framework for a manageable micro-business that has the potential to grow and shrink in different life stages.
