Hail to the Chief (Mom Officer)
Liz, who blogs at Chief Mom Officer, is an invisible friend I met through the world of blogging about financial independence.
She first came to my attention via the Rockstar Finance forum, which is a virtual clubhouse for bloggers who geek out over personal finance.
I like Liz because she is thoughtful and considerate in ways I hope to be but never quite live up to.
When EJ from Dads, Dollars and Debts lost his home in the Tubbs Fire, Liz organized an impromptu blogger rally to create a series of posts on disaster preparedness.
I imagine she's the person who brings home-made cookies to book club. I aspire to be that person. Instead I bring wine to book club, but it's a lazy shortcut and I know it.
I admire Liz because she is tough as nails.
When her husband's routine surgery turned into a nightmare experience with sepsis involving a prolonged ICU stay and a months-long recovery, she continued to balance an executive workload, parenting three young boys, and supporting his recovery.
I respect Liz because she stands up for her beliefs.
I married a brilliant feminist. I dig tough broads so much, in fact, that we are currently raising one.
Nothing pisses me off more than thinking my daughter might be shut out or made to feel inadequate by virtue of having being born with ovaries.
Liz is changing the world into one where opportunities will be completely open to my daughter and her cohort.
When Mr. Money Mustache was taking questions on the big stage at FinCon18, Liz posed a tough one about perpetuating stereotypes of financial independence as a luxury affordable only to white male engineers.
To his credit, MMM suggested that referring future media inquiries to bloggers who don't fit that profile would be one valid option.
This may or may not have influenced a post-FinCon Wall Street Journal article on FIRE opening with a female attorney of color pursuing FIRE (a bright moment in an otherwise disparaging article).
Liz is all about making financial independence the logical option for as many of us as possible.
Because it should be. And because, as she's demonstrated, odds are good you'll retire before you were planning to.
Finally, I appreciate Liz because she is a whip-smart MBA happy to share her expertise.
Liz and I finally met at FinCon18, and there was something immediately comforting about her candor and deep knowledge of the business world.
I attended her talk on the Digital MBA, and I learned a ton.
I found out how many different ways I need to reconfigure my writing to increase my audience.
I realized how poorly equipped I was to run my vanity project as a business.
But most frighteningly, I realized how my small-time blog was a big-time liability waiting to happen if I didn't immediately put certain safeguards in position.
Like FinCon in general, her talk was attended by numerous high-powered and talented attorneys and CPAs who saw my Bambi's-mom-is-caught-in-the-fire look of desperation.
They were only too happy to provide me their contact information and suggest ways I might protect my assets while continuing to blog.
I'm in the slow process of following up on those recommendations (where did I put that nice CPA's card?) and making my blog as bulletproof as it can be.
Time to patch up the exhaust vulnerability in my Crispy Death Star before some happy-go-lucky Jedi in an X-wing fighter drops a rocket up my asteroid.
Comments 17
I enjoy Liz’s writing too and even though it is geared towards women, an XY can still learn from it.
Now you have me scared CD (as I didn’t attend FinCon 18). You definitely need to put a post out there sharing some of the tips you gleamed about making your blog bulletproof.
Author
Even though her mission is to help women, her message is universal. She’s about as generous as they come.
Hi CD,
That is why I will not monetize my blog. It would be more of a legal and accounting hassle than I need or care about.
More power to all you guys who do. I think many of you are at a different stage in life.
My poor husband would be likely be broke if he didn’t marry me. I am not kidding.
Author
My wife was my best decision (financial and in so many other ways), so I’m not in the least surprised.
There are still legal risks even if you don’t monetize. Is your privacy policy up to date? What if someone acts on your advice and has an unfavorable result? What if someone feels defamed or slandered by your comment? Do you own the copyrights for any photos etc.
I have thought of that as well Wealthy Doc. Tis why it will be lights out come the new year for my site. ?
Author
The blogosphere will be poorer without your voice in it, Dr. MB.
Oh my goodness. I didn’t realize Dr. MB stopped blogging completely.
I hope she stops by to comment every now and then on our blogs. It’s always fun to hear from her.
I have a sinking feeling that I am in one of those “known unknown” situations. Someone knows what we have to do to continue writing safely but I probably have a giant and naive blindspot!
I look forward to learning what you learned!
Hmm…
Now you’ve scared me. Maybe I should stop blogging…
Author
DMF,
Please do not stop blogging! The world would be poorer (and pay more for airfare!) if you did. While there are issues of compliance that bloggers with ads and affiliate relationships are expected to maintain (you can start by reading the FTC Endorsement Guides here – and you read correctly, that’s plural), my perception after speaking with folks smarter than myself is that the highest liability exposure comes from providing a service or product.
Since my attendance at FinCon was intended as a prelude to rolling out such a service, I wanted to understand the proper way to proceed without stepping on financial landmines. I learned the path forward exists, but the landmines turned out to be more plentiful than I’d imagined.
I promise to reveal more, likely in the new year when things settle down somewhat.
Fondly,
CD
Ha!
Yes, she gave a great talk.
I think I pounced on you to try to help some too. The professionals had already beat me to you though. There is something wonderful about helping someone who really wants to learn and is willing to admit they are a beginner. Too many try to pretend they are ready for anything when they aren’t. On the other hand, I bet you know a lot more than you think. I hope you post what you learned because we could all benefit from that.
Author
Wealthy Doc, please forgive my omission of your absolute generosity in sharing the benefit of your wisdom and referring me to others in the know.
You’ve got a deal – I’m in the process of finalizing a few changes as I roll out a new service (all, of course, while traveling to meet various family obligations over the holidays) but I promise to share what I’ve learned in order to pay it forward.
With gratitude for your kindness,
CD
Well, this was a fascinating blog and even more fascinating comments! Yes, please do post in the future about what you learned!
Author
I promise to share any intel I obtained with everyone who might stand to benefit!
Hey CD,
Sounds like you learned a lot from Liz and others at FinCon.
As others have requested, I would also love to hear more about what you learned from a liability standpoint with regard to blogging.
Take care,
Ryan
Author
Happy to share my findings in an upcoming post Ryan – thanks for stopping by.
Fondly,
CD