I’ve just launched my new business website and I couldn’t be happier! It’s been a long journey and I am thrilled to be sharing my work with you. I first became involved with freelance work when I was living in England and working for a University as an administrative assistant. An opportunity came up to do some freelance work – transcription of tapes for a research project. I thought it was a good way to make some money on the side so I took the job. Over the course of a few months, I was getting other offers from the University community, and also a few business owners I knew, to do some freelance secretarial work, bookkeeping, file organizing, course transcription and writing.
Now, this wasn’t enough work to allow me to quit my job, buy a sailboat and head for the Caribbean (sigh), but it was certainly enough to pad the entertainment budget and make some valuable new connections.
Fast forward fifteen years. I now call Nova Scotia my home (again). I’ve got a solid network and have enjoyed a career I’ve loved which kept me integrated in the business community. Now, I have the opportunity to go back to that idea that struck me from the beginning – helping businesses near or far succeed and grow. I love the freedom of working for myself and having a (mostly) remote business. It’s not quite as glamorous as this….
Photo by Bruce Mars from Pexels
…but I do get to wear fuzzy slippers or my favourite comfy shoes when I’m working at home. (*Disclaimer: these are not an exact representation of my favourite comfy shoes. My favourite shoes are crocs and yes, they are very pink). I promise I will never wear these to meetings at your office, even if I REALLY, really want to. You’re welcome.
Photo from Pixabay
I’ve had a wonderful few months of networking with local businesses and learning about my own launch challenges. One of the biggest recent hurdles I experienced was putting my business model through the paces I would ordinarily reserve for clients – Lean Canvas, growth strategies, SWOT analysis and design thinking exercises. Why is it always harder to do for yourself what you do regularly for others? This is one of life’s great mysteries. A conversation I had with a local entrepreneur unknowingly helped me to reframe my business model and focus on the core areas I love helping businesses explore. A new addition to my list of services involves exploring the area of mental resilience and work. I have personal and professional experience in this area and have been sharing my experiences for several years by doing public talks and through my own touring comedy show. Despite all of the different business services I offer, this is the one thing I get asked about the most. I feel passionately about building mental resilience in this busy world and believe we still have lots of room to grow together, exploring ways of improving the quality of life of entrepreneurs.
I participated in an exciting research study by The Mindset Project on the mental health of entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada and although I think we mostly have an idea of how stress and mental illness can adversely affect our work, it’s still staggering to see the results of the study and the impact stress has had on the lives of local entrepreneurs and their businesses. Being one of those people affected, I have made it my mission to help other business people find ways to tackle the stresses and help manage their work better to increase their chances of achieving everyday quality of life and that “holy grail” of goals – work/life balance.
Please share your own tips for work/life balance in the comment section and contact me if you’d like to discuss how to build a resilient workforce in your own business.