I have worked all my adult life, give or take the odd month in between contracts. Until I started my own business I took for granted my regular wage slips and the ease in which money would flow into my current account at the end of each month. It never occurred to me to work for myself until my fourth round of being made redundant and with a string of small children in tow, I wanted to create a lifestyle where I controlled what hours I worked in order to be home to share my time with them.
Dreading the thought of having to drag myself to an office for eight, nine or sometimes ten hours a day, I decided to launch my own business and Lifestyle magazine was born. It wasn't a decision I took lightly. In fact 20 years previously I planned to set up my own magazine, a what's on guide to the area I lived in, but plans fell through because I lacked the nerve to step out of my comfort zone, I lacked the confidence to go it alone and so limped on for another decade and a half until the time was right for me.
Stepping into the unknown is kind of scary. Would people read the magazine? Would people advertise in it? Would I be able to sustain the payments on my mortgage and feed my children? The alternative was to go out to work and always be a slave to someone else's dream.
I have always taken risks, from walking into a travel agent to booking a return flight to Sydney on a whim, to buying a property without viewing it and by only seeing it on an internet website.I have since learned that you can only grow and develop by stepping out of your comfort zone and so with a giant leap I took the first step and hired a designer, wrote some articles and put together the first edition of Lifestyle magazine.
Working for yourself far outstrips being a paid employee. The freedom that comes with being your own boss is unmeasurable. I recently went on a press trip with a bunch of journalists working for national and regional papers. They all had to take the time off as holiday whereas I didn't have to consult anyone. As we all flew home they discussed whether they needed to be in the office the next day. My office is wherever I choose to be that day, I work from a laptop so can be anywhere in the world for as long as I wish. My annual stay in Cyprus for the whole month of August doesn't affect my business in any way.
Being able to be at the school gates everyday to pick up my children has been the ultimate benefit, being able to spend time with them and take them to their after school activities is the ultimate payback for working for yourself.
I am incredibly disciplined, I sit for hours and work, I can start at 5am and I can finish at 11pm. But I can also go for two hours lunches with friends, catch a movie during the day or spend a leisurely morning shopping if I wish. I basically do what I want.
When you work for a company your time is their time. Your salary potential is capped. While the flow of income fluctuates considerably from one month to the next, and a lot of time is wasted chasing invoices, I could not go back to the employment sector. I would feel like my wings were clipped.
Yes it's incredibly scary working for yourself, yes it is incredibly lonely working for yourself but I wouldn't change a thing. I have lost friends, made new friends and certainly enemies but that's what makes life so thrilling. Opportunities are endless when you work for yourself. Ultimately I have just created a lifestyle so I can enjoy time with my family. Nothing else matters.
Last week I went scuba diving for the first time in my life. I sat on the edge of the boat ready to flip backwards into the water. For a moment I was terrified, even though I can swim, the thought of hurling myself backwards scared me. One.... two... three.... and four.... and I did it. Once underwater I was in awe of the wonders of the ocean that presented themselves to me and thought to myself why did I hesitate to throw myself off the boat? The views from the bottom of the ocean were incredible, my eyes were opened to new opportunities and sights I hasn't seen before. It left me wanting to see more.
In parallel to running my business, I can't wait to see what's around the corner.
#no1andgoingstrong
Dreading the thought of having to drag myself to an office for eight, nine or sometimes ten hours a day, I decided to launch my own business and Lifestyle magazine was born. It wasn't a decision I took lightly. In fact 20 years previously I planned to set up my own magazine, a what's on guide to the area I lived in, but plans fell through because I lacked the nerve to step out of my comfort zone, I lacked the confidence to go it alone and so limped on for another decade and a half until the time was right for me.
Stepping into the unknown is kind of scary. Would people read the magazine? Would people advertise in it? Would I be able to sustain the payments on my mortgage and feed my children? The alternative was to go out to work and always be a slave to someone else's dream.
I have always taken risks, from walking into a travel agent to booking a return flight to Sydney on a whim, to buying a property without viewing it and by only seeing it on an internet website.I have since learned that you can only grow and develop by stepping out of your comfort zone and so with a giant leap I took the first step and hired a designer, wrote some articles and put together the first edition of Lifestyle magazine.
Working for yourself far outstrips being a paid employee. The freedom that comes with being your own boss is unmeasurable. I recently went on a press trip with a bunch of journalists working for national and regional papers. They all had to take the time off as holiday whereas I didn't have to consult anyone. As we all flew home they discussed whether they needed to be in the office the next day. My office is wherever I choose to be that day, I work from a laptop so can be anywhere in the world for as long as I wish. My annual stay in Cyprus for the whole month of August doesn't affect my business in any way.
Being able to be at the school gates everyday to pick up my children has been the ultimate benefit, being able to spend time with them and take them to their after school activities is the ultimate payback for working for yourself.
I am incredibly disciplined, I sit for hours and work, I can start at 5am and I can finish at 11pm. But I can also go for two hours lunches with friends, catch a movie during the day or spend a leisurely morning shopping if I wish. I basically do what I want.
When you work for a company your time is their time. Your salary potential is capped. While the flow of income fluctuates considerably from one month to the next, and a lot of time is wasted chasing invoices, I could not go back to the employment sector. I would feel like my wings were clipped.
Yes it's incredibly scary working for yourself, yes it is incredibly lonely working for yourself but I wouldn't change a thing. I have lost friends, made new friends and certainly enemies but that's what makes life so thrilling. Opportunities are endless when you work for yourself. Ultimately I have just created a lifestyle so I can enjoy time with my family. Nothing else matters.
Last week I went scuba diving for the first time in my life. I sat on the edge of the boat ready to flip backwards into the water. For a moment I was terrified, even though I can swim, the thought of hurling myself backwards scared me. One.... two... three.... and four.... and I did it. Once underwater I was in awe of the wonders of the ocean that presented themselves to me and thought to myself why did I hesitate to throw myself off the boat? The views from the bottom of the ocean were incredible, my eyes were opened to new opportunities and sights I hasn't seen before. It left me wanting to see more.
In parallel to running my business, I can't wait to see what's around the corner.
#no1andgoingstrong
