Now that 61 days of 2024 have passed it made me sit and reflect on the last 2 months in business and the last year as well if I'm honest.
March .... honestly when did this happen?
I remember knowing January doesn't exist, February was like hitting the ground running and now suddenly it's March, wtf.
I had majority of January off with my kids to enjoy the sunshine, beach and being a snack bit*h for their school holidays. February came with a bang and made me an honest women in business after sunning myself most of January!
Collectively in February i was a busy bee!
3 Content shoots
8 1:1 client mentoring sessions
2 sold out workshops
1 free webinar and a tonne of content created & scheduled for myself & retainer clients.
It's been a big month to say the least and March is shaping up to be the same.
Crazy to think this time last year (2023)
I was sitting with thoughts about quitting my part time job and going full time in my business.
I had so many reservations but to be honest the biggest one was money.
I've always worried about money. Maybe worry isn't the right word actually, probably more like ... i spend a lot of time thinking about money.
Not for wanting more, i actually don't care about money - i do care about stability & that was why i was having sleepless nights over the same thoughts night after night.
At this point in time, my business was growing and growing whilst i was working part time 3 days a week. As the enquiries came through I had to keep saying no to so much, i knew if i kept saying no it would stop coming and I'd have missed my chance to go all in.
I organised a mentoring session with Amy (also a SMM based in Victoria) to try and get some clarity on my business and help me create a plan to leave my job. We worked out the financials and even tweaked the way i invoiced my clients and my back end of business ... which at this point, didn't exist if I'm totally honest. I had a website, a full client roster and i was just busy doing the do.
Clarity from Amy made me see the bigger picture and that i was well on my way to that financial stability i needed.
A few weeks passed and i had a session with my counsellor, she made me see the bigger picture from a mental state more then financial aswell.
She asked me if i was happy, what did i actually want, how i wanted to spend my days, what else was holding me back?
To answer all of them but the latter the most - me, I was holding me back.
I already knew i had it all there, Amy had helped me see it clearly & financially i was good to go. So with that in mind and the mental clarity i needed, i left my counselling session drove to my job and i quit.
I was absolutely terrified to do it. I LOVED my job, my colleagues and the flexibility of my role ... but that was it. I knew i needed more and my business was giving me that.
Four weeks later i re-branded my business to Socially Flourished, went all in and have never looked back.
Whilst my rebrand was exciting and gave me a new flair of confidence, a week into my freelance life - 2 retainer clients ended their contracts - the cost of living crisis we had landed in where showing in their cashflow and understandably, my services where the first to go.
Shit, shit, shit - what have i done, Is it too late to go back? Will i look like a failure?
Amongst many other thoughts of what the f*ck moments i sat and took a breathe knowing this wouldn't be the last time this happens. So head down bum up i continued on and within the month i had gained back the 2 clients lost plus an additional 3 - manifesting at it's finest (as well as a lot of late nights and lead nurturing).
My whole point here, get out of your own way.
Money will always come and go - it is the way of life. If i really did need more of it i would have just gotten a job knowing i would NOT have been a failure but more providing for my family during an economic crisis!
If you are currently working a side hustle and wanting to go full time within it here is my advice:
Take a good look at every side of your business and see what is holding you back. Work on getting those to a point of comfort and then you'll be ready.
Invest your time into upskilling and outsourcing the parts of your business you hate - this was a huge part for me especially when it came to the backend of my business (insert Louise from www.pdhq.com.au for being my absolute fairy godmother when it comes to automations and my CRM software)
Get a good accountant and start putting your tax money aside straight away get into good habits now and you won't get caught out!
Lastly, just give it a try.
What else have you got to lose but time .... and the time is going to pass us by anyway, just as quickly as the last 61 days of the year have already.
If you're thinking of going all in but need an extra set of eyes or advice, reach out!