You Can Do It

It’s true, you can break free from working for someone else, and escape from the work you don’t enjoy and are paid very little.

Working Three Jobs

Take me as an example, I had very little motivation at school and I knew I would one day be a full time mother, that was my plan and my passion. I worked as a secretary in the UK from the time I left school until my first child was born. I had a plan for how I would escape from my job, because I had a time frame when I wanted to start my family. I loved being a stay at home mother but after I emigrated from the UK to Canada I had no option but to take on the challenge of working three jobs that all had certain merits, but paid very little.

Like & Trust

One of the most important things I discovered when I was in need of employment was that if people like you and trust you they will refer you for a job vacancy.

The other weird thing I discovered was if no one refers you for a position you are interested in you still have a chance at being successful if you:

  • Are dressed appropriately for the interview
  • Smile

I knew I was dressed accordingly, but I had no idea until the hiring manager shared with me that it was my smile that got me the job! The position was a sales job in a store, something I had never done before in my entire life, but the manager trusted I would do well because he sensed I would offer great customer service.

The pay was awful and I worked 12 hour shifts and could never spend quality time with my children.

At the same time I was hired to clean in a local hotel and this job was referred to me by a friend, once again the pay was terrible but the hours fitted in with my work at the store.

The third job I worked at in my ‘spare time’ was selling vacuums. I disliked the hard sell approach and could only make decent money if I my sales were very high. I had no interest and no passion in this job at all and struggled.This made me even more stressed than I was without anywhere to work.

The Escape Plan

My means of escape from those awful brain numbing jobs where no-one appreciated me came about when I was diagnosed for the second time with breast cancer and had to have both my breasts removed. Sounds dramatic I know but that was my opportunity to go back to school for 1-year and discover my true passion.

The first step to your escape is to know your true passion, the second step is to work on goals to set you on the right path. I call this building strong foundations, some people call it hard work! It’s worthwhile, as you can see, because I succeeded and I want you to succeed too.

Now What?

Your first year in business will be tough, even with a budget to work with. A couple of tips I want to share are:

  • Don’t jump in and start spending money on marketing and advertising at this stage. Your brand has to be well thought out and may change over the next few years.
  • When networking don’t try and sell to strangers, build trusted relationships and never be afraid to ask for help.
  • Build your online presence as well as meeting people face to face.
  • Always follow up, follow up, follow up.

My Success

I have enjoyed a slow growth for both of my businesses and this offered me the chance to build those strong foundations. I highly recommend you do the same, it’s not a race, one day at a time works well.

As always I love to receive your emails and thoughts on my posts, thanks.