A Renewed Sense of Purpose
It's the first of the year which means many of us are starting new routines, creating new habits, or working towards something new in general. For me I'm working to create a brand that encourages men to prioritize their mental health, trying to figure out how to monetize it, and balancing those things with investing more time with my family and friends. I've alluded to it in previous blogs, but I have spent a lot of my time over the last decade working. I'm talking leave my house at 5:00 a.m. a lot of days and get home after an outing at 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m. and be back up by 6:30 or 7 the next morning to open a store. That didn't always leave a ton of time for family and friends. In addition to keeping that type of schedule when I was at home, I was constantly distracted by how I was going to get to the next level, climb the ranks, and be promoted again. It was a never-ending cycle of chasing a carrot that was getting more and more competitive to reach and it was making the time that I did spend with family or friends way less valuable than it should have been.
I don't want to give the impression that my job was the bad guy by any stretch because I was very driven by my work and had it not been for some unfortunate circumstances, I'd likely still be there. Sometimes our greatest opportunities are found in the midst of our most challenging moments. Losing my job gave me an opportunity to figure out who I was, what I valued most, what I was passionate about, and to think through how I could maintain that core identity while creating something that could sustain me financially. It was in that space that The Lockman Lounge was born. I found the mission to be fairly clear and it came to me pretty naturally. I wanted to help men focus on prioritizing their mental health because it's dear to me and my family for a host of reasons. Outside of Man Therapy, and HeadsUpGuys, I've found very few sites solely dedicated to men's mental health so I knew I could make a positive impact if I'd put in some work.
The Birth of "The Lockman Lounge"
Creating the brand for The Lockman Lounge has been fun. I've enjoyed selecting the layout of the website, building it with the help of wix (shoutout wix because they really do make this stuff easier), and choosing what the logo will look like. I've enjoyed creating social media accounts that promote things consistent with the brand identity and I've really enjoyed connecting with a few people who have been encouraged by some of that content. As I continue creating content on the social media platforms the hope is that it will lead people here to the blog. I hope that we can have an engaged community of members who support one another, provide resources to one another, and encourage one another each day.
My vision for this thing is to normalize guys dealing with emotions while maintaining attributes that we embrace as men. Things like strength, being a provider, being a protector, independence and self-reliance. Sidenote, if anyone is triggered, please don't be. I mean that sincerely. I don't think that only men can exhibit these characteristics but my goal for the community would be to normalize men expressing emotions while still maintaining their core identity. I would encourage ANYONE who is feeling like they are struggling with their mental health to be active in our community, seek help, provide insight, and sit at the proverbial table with us. A core value for The Lockman Lounge will be that we don't discriminate against anyone and that we work diligently to understand the viewpoints of others even when they don't coincide with our own. As I grow this brand I'll develop a mission statement, values or pillars that the brand holds at its core, and a roadmap of sorts for how the brand will evolve.
The Challenge
Here's the challenging part: I have no idea how this thing should make money. That's the honest truth. Monetizing blogs isn't actually a very difficult thing to do according to a ton of creators out there. The issue I've run into is making these posts rank on google for content that generates income, while staying true to the purpose of the brand which is to help men prioritize their mental health. I don't want any article to come across as, "Hey fellas I'm glad you're here and I care a great deal about you. I want you all to focus today on prioritizing your mental health. Now check out these golf clubs!" I mean, I personally find value in those posts but don't ever want them to come across as a cash grab opportunity. The golf clubs, workout equipment, or fishing rod & reels are useful tools that can be used while enjoying those hobbies and taking time to enjoy those hobbies is something that I believe is vitally important to men's mental health. Therein lies the challenge.
The coolest thing about a challenge is that I'm still super driven to win. I won't let that drive push me to neglect my personal life the way I did for the past decade, but I will absolutely work to figure out how to solve the riddle while still having time to spend with the people I love. This is going to be a great community, full of encouragement and positivity. I will find a way to make it monetize through SEO with affiliate marketing, social media content, or I'll create a great product to sell that will help the core ethos of the brand. I have no idea which one of those options is the best or if there are other options that I haven't yet considered but I'd sure love your input if you have any!
The most important thing to me about a month ago when this journey started was to launch! I didn't want to kill several weeks and find myself back in a situation where I had done nothing positive in the midst of a pretty significant loss in my life. Hundreds of views, 7 countries, and 15 articles later and I am incredibly thankful that I jumped in headfirst. Please bear with me as I work out some of the functions of the site. My ask of each of you is that you keep coming back, keep reading, start interacting (with the blog and the socials), and that you help those you know to prioritize their mental health along the way. Do something positive today friends and thank you for reading.
John
About the Author:
John Lockman is passionate about promoting men's mental health. Having lost a family member to suicide at an early age, he is committed to raising awareness about the disproportionate number of men affected by this devastating issue. Through his own personal experiences and his website, www.thelockmanlounge.com, John hopes to help men think differently about how to prioritize their well-being and become more comfortable acknowledging and processing their feelings in a healthy way.
In addition to his passion for mental health advocacy, John also has almost two decades of experience in the business world. Most recently, he oversaw roughly 100 million dollars of annual revenue and was responsible for managing a team of 75 employees. In this role, John had a significant impact on customer service, profitability, employee retention, and marketplace growth. With his wealth of knowledge and experience, John is a seasoned professional with valuable insights to share.
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