The desire to change our current circumstance is an underlying root cause of discontent in many of us. Some of us want to move, have more free time, to work for ourselves or build our own business. What holds us back is fear of the unknown, the fear of not having an income, the worry about making new friends, the question… how on earth do I do it? We are missing a vital step… planning your transition.
Earlier this year, I had a bit of a reality check. I was diagnosed with the early stages of cataracts and I knew I didn’t want to spend the next few years driving three hours a day three days each week to get to a job that didn’t fulfil me. It prompted me to sit down and think of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to be working. Working with autonomy and remotely was top of my list as was helping people to grow and realise their personal and professional goals. The freedom to pursue my own projects was second. My current role was not providing any of the top three things I wanted out of a career. What was I doing!
The thought of running my own business was not a scary option for me, it was the right move and I had previous experience as I have spent most of my adult life working as a sole trader or with my own business. So that was an easy decision to make. How to transition to that status again as a single woman without a substantial safety net required a bit of extra thought. Being the sole breadwinner with a mortgage and leaking roof, (but luckily no dependants at home) I knew I had to be up and running as quickly as possible.
Every step of my transition has been carefully thought through. I have deliberately sat down and identified my weaknesses, where I won’t be earning, what my minimum hourly rate will be, and how to create and price packages. I’ve considered the time of year I will be launching, planned out my first nine months, and thought about where I can create a passive income.
I began with raising my profile on LinkedIn while playing around with WordPress to create my website. I haven’t been as disciplined on LinkedIn as I would like but I have doubled my followers… and this continues to grow. I’ve targeted everything to my new direction, and I try to post on average four times per week, blogging monthly. WordPress has been interesting. I went through about six templates before finding one that I liked and am comfortable working with! I’m in the process of building an online blog for another project… and only mildly dreading it!
I’ve thought about my target market and considered the social media platforms I feel will reach them, so I’ve created pages and am active on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and I am considering Tik Tok. My blog that I am in the process of setting up will be targeted towards crafters, so I am definitely looking at including Pinterest in its social media mix. I don’t want too many platforms as content needs to be catered to each and it becomes very time consuming. ‘Keep it real’ is my mantra. And don’t underestimate how difficult it is to build up a following on some of these platforms! Sharing these with your friends is a great place to start as they will then share with their network. I owe a couple of my friends dinner with how generous they have been with getting my name out there!
I couldn’t take on a side hustle to build as I don’t have the time. However, I have been able to start blogging and building up content on my website that I started sharing once I handed in my notice. If you are planning to go the side hustle route, make sure your employee contract is okay with that. The last thing you want it to fall foul of company policy before you are ready to leave!
There are so many things to consider when you are transitioning to working for yourself. You will not get everything right and you will miss things out, but if you have made the commitment, you have to accept these as things to overcome. Do listen and connect with other people who are self employed. Do look for a side income to tide you over while you build your business, if leaving your current company. Alternatively, will your current company let you contract or go part time?
Network, do courses, listen to people, get feedback, and be open to continually rethinking what you are offering and how to offer it. Get your core services established, then play around with additions. See what is popular, see what isn’t. If it doesn’t provide a benefit to your business financially or promotionaly, it isn’t worth pursuing. You need to learn to step away, you need to learn to think on your feet.
The legal bits are a bit boring and technical, so reach out to an expert to ensure you and any contracts you will be using are compliant, and check you are covered correctly by your insurance. When I had my previous business, I left purchasing the insurance to a business partner who bought the completely wrong package that left us with next to no coverage! Won’t make that mistake again!
Going into self employment is a huge deal. It is a leap of faith, but done right it could be the best decision you have ever made. Having said that, it’s also not for everyone. Whether you want to change your career or go out on your own, my message is simple this: Don’t let your imposter syndrome stop you!
©Fiona Doney 2024
kanyini.co.uk 