It’s been a couple of months since I waved goodbye to my permanent full time job and plunged into the world of freelance marketing - well I say plunged it was more of a measured step, I’m not really one of life’s risk takers but it’s fair to say even though this move was well thought out there is still an element of risk and the unknown when starting out by yourself. And so now I’m just over two months into my business journey I wanted to share just four things I’ve learned and which I hope might encourage anyone considering starting their own business to make the leap.
My pipeline needs to stay full Ok, so I knew this anyway, I wasn’t coming into this with no business knowledge but I was still surprised at how many leads just didn’t work out, particularly as they came to me relatively easily once I’d shared the news about my business with my network I spent the first week or so just following up leads and enquiries, which was a great start but of course they didn’t all end up as clients, there was a point where my pipeline was so full that I had the thought that I couldn’t possibly fulfil all that work should it all come in. I’ve realised now that’s a great place to be in. I’ve been amazed by the people around me I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by and have the support of a fantastic family but beyond that I have been amazed by the support which has come from people in my professional network. The positive reactions of so many people and messages of support when I announced I was going it alone were such a confidence boost right at the start and since then I’ve been overwhelmed by support, from people I have worked with for a short time, people i worked with for years and people I don’t know that well, all of whom are all pushing work opportunities my way, sharing my social media posts and generally supporting my business, I’m genuinely amazed by it and hugely grateful. My ‘black book’ of contacts is priceless Sure, when I’ve moved from job to job in the past it hasn’t been the most fun transferring all my contacts every time, in fact it is downright boring but over the years that contact list has grown and grown and now it’s full of journalists, photographers, videographers, events people. podcast producers, web developers and pretty much anyone you could need as a marketer and I’ve called on quite a few of them already in the past couple of months. As an in-house marketer I always focused on how valuable a trusted supplier can be for a business but this is even more true now I’m going it alone having people I can trust to deliver client work alongside me really is priceless. I’m really proud My last point and perhaps the biggest one for me, is that I’m immensely proud of my business and the work it does and whilst I knew I’d be happy with my choice to go it alone , the sense of pride I feel has been surprising. It’s a strange feeling because if you’d asked me in almost any role I’d had before I’d have probably said the same thing, that I was proud of the work I did and the results I achieved for the business that employed me but now I’m proud in a completely different way, I’m proud of the work I do for my clients and how that quality work represents me as a business, I’m proud of my clients and what they’re achieving and I’m proud that as a business I only work with clients whose businesses I believe in and whose values match my own. and that’s it, just some learnings from a couple of months in, no regrets and full of excitement for what’s next for my business. Looking for no nonsense strategic SME marketing for your business head get in touch [email protected] for more info or an informal chat.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Want to hear more from us, and our clients? check us out on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
|