Q: I know this might be a bit personal, but I’ve always wondered what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to running a successful blog. Many readers probably assume you just write posts and complete home improvement projects, but from running my own small business I know about the ongoing “maintenance” like taxes, health insurance, and licenses. Would you be willing to share what it takes to keep YHL going? I’m sure other aspiring bloggers and small business owners would appreciate the insight. Thanks for the daily inspiration and all that “eye candy” as you call it! – Miranda

A: That’s a perfect question for our blogiversary. There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes to keep Young House Love running, and while some of it is tedious, it’s absolutely worth it because we get to do what we love. When we started, YHL was a hobby we used to keep friends and family updated on our projects. We didn’t have a business plan and didn’t expect it to become a full-time job. As the blog grew, we gradually learned how to run it like a small business—much of it by doing it and learning along the way.

One of the first practical changes involved hosting. Early on we used an inexpensive shared host that was fine for a hobby site, but as traffic increased it became unreliable and even caused site crashes during big spikes. We eventually moved to a dedicated server, which provided the stability we needed when thousands of readers visited at once. Migrating the site was stressful and time-consuming, and we did lose and have to restore some comments and images, but the site has been much more reliable since. The cost jumped from a few hundred dollars a year to several thousand, but it’s a necessary investment to support our audience.

We also host images separately on a cloud image server so pages load faster and we don’t risk having everything in one place. That service is billed based on storage and traffic, and it adds a steady expense. We tried cheaper image hosts at first, but readers reported blocked images from some workplace networks, so the cloud solution improved accessibility and reliability.

Taxes were another major adjustment. As business owners we pay quarterly federal and state taxes on every dollar we earn, which means setting aside a portion of income every three months. That change in mindset—from seeing all income as immediately usable to consistently reserving funds for taxes—was a tough transition. Hiring an accountant to manage quarterly filings is one of the best decisions we made. Quarterly preparation is more work and cost than annual filing, but the guidance and peace of mind are invaluable.

Health insurance also shifted from being an employer benefit to something we purchase as self-employed people. Finding coverage wasn’t difficult—we researched options and asked other freelancers for recommendations—but the monthly cost was notably higher than before. Still, having reliable coverage is priceless, especially with a child in the family.

Retirement savings are another responsibility we now manage ourselves. Instead of participating in an employer 401(k), we contribute to a SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) plan. Learning about retirement accounts and choosing the right plan was an important step; it turned out to be a manageable and even interesting process once we got into it.

We’re also responsible for business licensing and maintaining our LLC. There are annual fees and basic paperwork to keep the company in good standing, and local county and state websites are helpful resources if you’re just starting out. Our accountant and lawyer friends have also been great resources for navigating those requirements.

There are occasional technical and equipment expenses as well. We hire programmers to fix bugs, and we invest in faster computers, cameras, and other gear to improve content quality. Those purchases are fun, but they can delay home projects when funds are redirected to site needs. Running a home-improvement blog means regular projects and supplies—paint, hardware, and craft materials add up—so we budget and save for both blog and home projects.

So that’s a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to keep YHL running. It doesn’t manage itself, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything. We love sharing our projects and ideas, and we’re grateful for everyone who stops by to see what we’re up to.

Update – We often get questions about professionally blogging—how we built our site, grew our following, and turned it into a full-time job—so we shared details about how we started a blog, grew traffic, and made the transition to full-time blogging.