A couple of weeks ago I met up with a friend of mine. I was really grateful to her and her husband for having daughters and becoming my Girl Scout Cookie dealers. During the exchange my friend (who I hadn’t seen in the past year) asked me what I was up to. I mentioned that I was working part-time as a community manager in addition to working on my business. She also works as a community manager for a large organization. But, she was caught off guard when I said, I hate it, I hate so much and I’m working my notice as we speak. I truly hate working for other people. Then she asked me how long I worked there. I was a bit embarrassed to admit that it had been a whopping 4 months. My friend, nodded her head and then said the following. In 6 years when you feel the urge to work for someone else again give me a call and I’m going to remind you of this conversation. The thing is my friend runs a business as well and truly understood where I was coming from. In this episode, I’m going to share why making mistakes with your business is so important, the 7 lessons that I learned from this experience and how you can use my experience to better vet opportunities that may accidentally disrupt the online business that you’re building.
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Show Notes
On paper, this organization and the opportunity were a perfect fit for me. It was a locally based organization, focused on an area of interest that I love, had the same social equity and impact beliefs, has an incredible team, had very flexible hours I literally had to go in a couple of times a week, had health insurance and a solid vacation plan and even observed holidays that reflected the organizations mission and focus. Such as Claudette Colvin day.
So, why did I end up hating this so much?
The role went against key aspects of why I wanted to work for myself. When I worked for myself I had complete autonomy. I didn’t have to check in with anyone other than my clients.
- I had to be physically in a space. Now, it was only a couple times a week but I began to get frustrated because I realized that I’d negatively impacted my freedom to work from wherever I would like to. In fact, this week I will be going on my first road trip since this fall. And, I’ll get some work done while I’m gone and enjoying cross country skiing.
- Going to work was expensive-I have an online business. But, this organization was located across town. I ended up spending a significantly higher amount of money on the days that I went in. I ended up reserving my car share in order to get to the space on the days that I didn’t feel like driving over.
- Boundaries-In my personal business I’ve set some pretty firm boundaries. Unfortunately, my personal boundaries were constantly being tested.
- Even though it was just 24 hours a week, I’d really underestimated how much that time would disrupt my personal business.
- I was put in the position with a client where I couldn’t say what I really wanted to say to them. This was not because of a business directive. But, because I was working for someone else and didn’t have the latitude to say “Look, I don’t need your business and you would be better served by someone else.” Because I was working in someone else’s business and representing them.
Lessons that I Learned
- Be clear about the core philosophies that guide your business. Mine were
- Freedom
- Flexibility
- Income
- Creativity
- Social Equity and Impact
- This role impacted my freedom, flexibility, income, and creativity
- Trust your gut. I actually thought the role may be a bad fit by the end of the first week. But, I decided to give it a little more time. Even though my instincts were right.
- Time vs. Money-My goal with earning income is to earn as much as possible in as little time as possible. For example: My target goal per hour is $350.
- Be clear about your “why” If COVID hadn’t happened it’s highly unlikely that I would have applied for this position. I wanted people time.
- Clarity on who I want to work with and the ability to move quickly from people who are disruptive or problematic. In my business, I can offer a discount or an additional bonus and then move them on when things aren’t working. I hated not having that control and piece of mind. As a woman of color especially, I never again want to be in the position where I have to work with someone who disrespects me. Basically, where I feel powerless because of the position that I’m in.
- I truly learned what products and services I really enjoyed selling to my community. And, I discovered when and how I work on those products and how inspiration hits me. Not being able to work at my own pace was very enlightening.
- It’s important to make mistakes in your business-Those mistakes help illuminate what’s working and not working in your business and what you truly care about.
Let’s be clear, my former colleagues were friends before and after this situation. Towards the end they were teasing me about the stuff that drove me crazy. I worked a slightly longer notice so that the organization would have to find someone who would be a wonderful fit for them. I truly feel that holding onto this position was blocking my blessings and potentially someone else’s. In fact, the week that I gave my notice I ended up getting 3 or 4 new large projects by people who reached out to me. If you’re in business for yourself and you’re trying to figure out what is or isn’t working. Don’t be afraid to try new things. They may or may not work out for you. But, even making mistake provide powerful opportunities to learn.
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