I want to share my experiences so far.

Forced Decision Time

So, you are at a career crossroads. Something has occurred that is out of your control and suddenly you need to decide how you are going to make a living. You still need to eat, pay the bills, possibly support a family and you might have a handbag shopping addiction. All your fears of not being able to do something different to what you have spent over the last decade safely doing pop into your head. Where to next? Let me share my recent experience in the abrupt change of direction on what I thought my career would be.

Realisation to planning

The realisation that you have many usable skills may be a no brainer for some, for others the ability to see those skills as interchangeable into other fields can be daunting. Not wanting to stay in my current industry but knowing I wanted to still support the people in it, I came to realise that my skills could be best utilised in my own business.

It is always important to narrow down all the variables to what you are actually going to focus on and kick off with. Too big too early and covering too broad an area can set you up to fail. After consuming many books, videos, and articles on how to start your own gig, I felt that I was in a good position to narrow down my initial business offerings. One of the best things I did prior to launch was talk with a coach. I put my money where my mouth was and found a safe space to air the worries, bounce ideas and seek advice.

I also decided that I wanted to find a partner. I could go out on my own but the idea of kicking off something with a like-minded person who could be a complement to my skills was a great way to go. Sharing the administrative burden was also an advantage.

The third-best thing I did was found a great accountant. There are so many small business, tax and insurance rules that can be overwhelming. Having the right professionals to back you is essential.

Research, research, research

There are so many sites available Australia wide that can help you with your set up, templates, guidance, and local laws. Set yourself some uninterrupted time to read and watch as much as you can. Talk to your friends and acquaintances in small business to see what they did to set themselves up or what the business they work for does that you can learn from. We have set up on our website a resources page, because we wanted to share and overtime expand, to include all the great books and media we have used to help guide us in our everyday.

One of the big painful things, is the amount of bureaucracy that overlays everything. Be patient and rejoice when something happens quickly, as they are small wins that don’t occur often when setting up a business.

Planning to go live

Now that we had a practical business idea that we genuinely loved it was time to promote it. This is where our great networks came in and we were able to test ideas, services, and pricing. We were blessed with a very supportive network and the community was very welcoming and happy to share. Don’t be afraid to leverage all your connections, they will tell you if they are not interested or do not have the time to assist you, but you will never know unless you try. Be ready and open for the feedback you are going to receive, some of it can be confronting.

As I write this, we are 7 months in. The learning curve has been very steep, but it has been a fun challenge, because it is ours. We have already done reviews of the ideas we had compared to the reality of what has transpired.

To conclude

I could talk for hours on all the great people that motivate me and the resources that I have consumed to get to where I am now. But there are two that I want to highlight today.

In addition to the books we share on our website, I am a big fan of Matt D’Avella, while I am a maximalist rather than a minimalist, his well delivered videos are some of my best go to for quick consumable learning content. In a recent video, he covers the timing of behaviour change and how this links to motivation. Whether it is starting your own business, side hustle or minor change I encourage you to have a look at his YouTube channel.

A local expat, Michael Bungay Stanier has may great resources on coaching and self-motivation. A great way to work out what you want to do and how to achieve it is by working through his How to Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters*. Gives you practical ways of working out what you want to do, and how to set yourself up to achieve it. This most recent book was released a little after we launched the business, but I have since used it to streamline some of the areas we are looking to expand and achieve in the coming months and years.

Keep at the front of your mind not to be too hard on yourself, and you don’t know until you try. You can’t always predict how others will respond. Keep going!

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