Although you hear so many stories about self-employment being stressful, a major cause of burnout and that most small businesses fail within their first three years, going freelance has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.
In this blog, I want to share a little of my business journey and why being a small business owner has helped me to find the happiness that I would have struggled to find being an employee.
Working as an employee has always been a challenge for me
At the start of my career, the world of employment was difficult for me as I was recovering from a mental breakdown and trying to complete my degree with the Open University. Although I had some fantastic roles in project management that I absolutely loved, there were still challenges for me.
These challenges only grew when I became a Mum. I found that my priorities had shifted and I didn’t want to work full-time. My role at the time involved travelling to London regularly which was difficult to balance with a young family.
So, I chose to take a lower-level part-time admin role for a while that would allow me to balance parenting with working. Problem was, that balance in itself was a challenge. I found that the childcare wasn’t always reliable and that nursery would call me for even the slightest sniffle. It meant that work weren’t too impressed with me when I had to take time out due to childcare or taking care of those coughs and colds!
Something had to change with my work-life balance
After having my second child I knew things needed to be different and although I tried going back to work no one was happy with the logistics needed to make things work. I felt like I was being pulled in so many different directions that I was unable to be my best for any of them.
So, I decided to start my business, Banks’ Business Solutions.
When I started my business, it was still challenging but I soon realised that I was now able to take control of my schedule, be the Mum I wanted to be and also take the holidays I wanted to. Travel is really important to me and being self-employed means I’ve been able to hit the road as a ‘digital nomad’ and work as I travel.
I love my job. In the 8 years I have been a business owner, things have changed and evolved as I’ve found my confidence and I now work on my terms, my way and choose the clients who align with my values and that I can provide the most help to.
I have so much flexibility and as long as I have my laptop and Wi-Fi, I really can work from anywhere. This means I have the work-life balance that is right for me but I genuinely find happiness through my work helping other business owners with their technology and digital business needs knowing that it’s helping them with their work-life balance too. I feel that I’m exactly where I need to be and I am so glad I got out of the corporate world and dipped my toe into the world of being a business owner. If you are where I was 8 years ago, I urge you to give it a try!
