Dear RWC Worm Friends,

While may not seem like a whole lot has changed here at Red Worm Composting this year, I can assure you that there has been a great deal going on “behind the scenes”, so to speak.

All those wonderful words of encouragement and support that readers have continued to share with me have been humbling to say the least, and it’s finally led me toward something of a “tipping point” with this project. Not to put myself down here (haha), but I’ve literally never in my life worked on something that has felt like it really “mattered” to other people…until now. As such, and given the fact that I am definitely in one of my main “passion zones” with this worm composting stuff, I’ve decided (once and for all) that my work here is something that’s definitely worth pursuing more seriously.

“What about your worm business, Bentley? Isn’t that what you’ve been focusing on as a ‘career’?”

Good question!
🙂

There is no doubt that I LOVE entrepreneurial vermicomposting, and that I’ve had a LOT of fun with the business side of things. There is also no doubt that the revenue generated has been really helpful (crucial, in fact) in terms of allowing me to continue developing this website, and just generally helping to “keep the wolves from the door”. While I originally expected that my own “real world” vermicomposting business (up here in Canada) would grow to the point of basically becoming my primary focus, I’ve come to realize that it’s my “work” HERE (RWC) that actually gives me the greatest sense of satisfaction and enjoyment. I love having the opportunity to write about my goofy experiments and “hair-brained ideas” and having it all translate into something meaningful/interesting/educational/inspiring for all sorts of like-minded “worm heads” around the world!

So, what’s a worm composting blogger to do?

I’m certainly not going to throw myself into the worm business, only to see future development of RWC fall by the wayside! Nor am I going to stick it to my family by blindly chasing after my dreams (especially given the fact that our second child is expected to arrive in just over a month)!
My solution? To throw myself into some projects that will allow me to do what I love (to educate and inspire via my writing), while also helping to generate additional revenue for the RWC project. Of course, it’s also vitally important that my normal blogging, video creation and…uhhh…{cough}…newsletter writing, not be tossed out the window either!
🙂

OK, OK – I’ll be the first to admit that my poor “newsletter” is ALWAYS the first thing to take a hit for the (RWC) team when I get busy, and I do sincerely apologize to all those of you who have been waiting patiently for something to arrive in your inbox these past few months! In all honesty, I am still not 100% sure what direction I am going to head on that front, but I DO actually still recommend that people sign up for the email list if you are not already a member! Why? Because, in doing so you effectively attain “extra special” status in my books (ALL my readers are of course “special”!), and even though I might not write to you for periods of time, it definitely doesn’t mean you aren’t important! Membership still has its “privileges”! (nudge, nudge, wink, wink – Haha)

Moving on…

With ALL that heavy stuff out of the way, I now want to talk about some of the exciting things I have in store for RWC readers in coming weeks: 3 Interviews, 1 Contest, 1 Guide, and a “Book” (and a partridge in a pear tree?).
🙂

3 Interviews – I am very pleased to report that I have convinced three wonderful worm women (say that three times fast!) to take part in written interviews for the site. It’s been a while since I posted my last interview, so I’m really excited to bring things back to life on that front. All of these lovely ladies have inspired me with their dedication to the field, and I have little doubt that our readers will benefit from their words/experiences as well. They are all what you would consider worm composting “professionals” (this is basically their “job”), but they come from different backgrounds, and have created businesses centered on their own unique passions and talents.

1 Contest – We held our very first “official” RWC contest – the “1000 Facebook Fan Fest” back in the spring and it was definitely a whole lotta fun! I hinted at the fact that I wanted to come up with a BIGGER, BETTER version, namely the “5000 Facebook Fan Fest”, but nothing more has been said about it since then. Well, buckle your seatbelts, folks! It’s HERE (almost)! Should be a blast! While we may have “only” gained another ~400 or so new fans since the spring, I’m feeling pretty optimistic that we can still hit 5000 in a matter of months rather than years!
😉

1 Guide – you’d think with all my work on this site that I would AT LEAST have some sort of worm composting guide available! Sheesh! I know I’ve provided lots of information about worm composting on the site, in videos, and in the…uhhh…{cough}…newsletter – but it’s a little all-over-the-place, to be totally honest! Aside from that, some of this content was created literally years ago, so it might not really reflect where I’m at with my current perspective on vermicomposting. I can’t tell you how many times people excitedly report that they’ve created my “Deluxe” worm bin (featured on YouTube), assuming this is still my favorite worm composting system in the whole world (let’s just say I’ve “moved on” from my Deluxe worm bin days! haha), or who have sent me emails inquiring about some suggestion I made back in 2007! LoL
Needless to say, I really need a resource that summarizes my current overall vermicomposting philosophy (and methods), and provides me with the opportunity to educate readers about a variety of topics I don’t really write all that much about on the site (since I’m too busy writing about my goofy experiments, and hair-brained ideas)! Well, the good news is that I have been putting together a fairly substantial worm composting guide – the only problem is that it may still be some time yet before it is released. In the meantime, though, I’ve decided to put together a compact version for my wonderful, patient…uhhh…{cough}…newsletter list members!

One “Book” – Yes indeedy, I am actually getting quite close to putting the finishing touches on the first “official” RWC eBook. Let me say right off the bat, that this probably isn’t be the type of “book” that most people would be expecting (it’s not a “how to” guide), but in thinking about it a lot more, since starting to write it earlier in the summer, I’ve come to realize that it’s probably a really good place to start (he said with a facial tick, while chewing his nails nervously)! In a sense, it lays the groundwork for all this other “stuff” I’ve been working on and have planned for the site.

So yeah…that’s basically where things are sitting these days. Probably a bit MORE info than a lot of people felt like getting hit with on a random Wednesday afternoon, but hey – that’s me! Mr. Unpredictable!
You might say I’m kinda like a box of chocolates…ya never know what you’re gonna get (but I’m always sweet! Yuk yuk!)

Over and out!
8)