Back in 2005 when I quit my job to “start my own business”, the vision I had was that of a freelance consultant and writer.
For the first few years, the fact was that I could make more money as a freelancer working for corporate and agency clients than I did as an Account Director at a leading PR agency.
But then I started to get bored. Bored in a way that only a high achieving, creative ideas kind of person does. So I decided to turn my papercrafting hobby into another business to keep me on my toes.
I don’t regret starting my second (or third) business at all because I learned a lot along the way. I had a blast doing it and it gave me some space to experiment. In fact, those businesses actually showed me how much potential I had, and how much I was wasting by not bringing it to my freelance business.
In 2013, I came to grips with the fact that I’d managed to trap myself as a freelancer. My income was at a point where it was more than replacing the salary I’d have in corporate or agency, but there wasn’t much room for growth unless I wanted to bill more hours. My hourly rate had been the same since the day I started my business, and I knew it was higher than my peers.
Maybe you can relate. There comes that moment in your business where you realize you’ve built a business that while it serves you, you feel a bit (or a lot) trapped in it.
This is the point at which we’ve got a decision to make. We can either continue freelancing and call it good, or we can step up and move into the role of business owner or CEO.
The freelance version of me would have never said I was a CEO, and I definitely wouldn’t have said I was an entrepreneur. (That said, what kind of person starts three businesses – yeah, that’s an entrepreneur.)
There are so many things you can do to graduate into that role, but it takes work. It’s not about flipping a switch or just pretending – you need to do the work to move yourself to that next level.
Here are some of the things that helped me take this step in my business in the last three years:
Working on My Mindset
I’d like to think I’m pretty self-aware, but once I started really looking at my mindset, I found some things I needed to work on. Things that I seriously didn’t even know were an issue that were actually messing with my head when it came to business.
For me, money mindset was a huge challenge. I grew up in a very middle class home, but was always surrounded by people with considerable wealth. I’d gone from a rich kids high school, to an even richer kids university and then right into working for 20-something startup CEOs making millions literally overnight at the height of the dot com bubble.
The baggage from all of that was a serious case of “I don’t want to make too much money because it will change me.”
You are likely different in terms of your mindset, but if you peel back the onion, you’re probably going to find some surprises.
When you run your own business, who you are as a person and your mindset greatly determines how successful you are, so you can’t ignore it or separate the personal and professional. It’s all one neat little parcel, so you need to work on getting your head in the game.
The book, Get Rich Lucky Bitch, is a must-read for money mindset as that helped me get started, and then my business coach Natalie MacNeil has worked with me on this to the point where I no longer automatically look for problems with people who are wealthy.
Investing in Coaching
Speaking of coaching, working with Natalie. and a couple of other coaches before her, were instrumental to helping me ditch my freelancer status.
I think coaching has been very effective for me as I’ve been very clear on what I need out of it. What I don’t want is a cheerleader or someone to hold me accountable for checking things off my list. A coach for me is someone to help me see what’s possible and hold space for a bigger vision when I can’t do it for myself.
That’s probably why Natalie has been such an influence on my business and my ability to grow out of freelancer thinking. While I’ve worked with her one-on-one, I will tell you this – she shows up for everyone in the Conquer Club and has this uncanny way to cut to the heart of the matter with care and a loving push.
If 1:1 coaching is too big of an investment for you right now, then look at group coaching. That’s actually where I started three years ago, and it was exactly what I needed at the time.
To get the most out of coaching and to help you level up your business, you need to understand what your real goal is and what type of support you need from a coach.
Not all coaching is the same, but having a clear idea of the fact you want to go from freelancer or biz owner to something even bigger is a good place to start.
Finding Support & Community
Even if you’re a solo show, it’s really hard to move things along when you’re doing it ALL by yourself.
Believe me, I’ve tried. And it didn’t work so well.
Things really started to change for me once I saw I was stuck. I went looking for support because I knew from my other businesses that having a group of people who had my back was a must.
Especially when you work with clients. If you don’t have any support to talk things out, run ideas by, or commiserate with when things get rough, you’re making it harder than it needs to be.
So, where do you get support to be the badass business owner you’re meant to be?
The answer is it depends. But in my experience, the best communities and all the benefits that go with it aren’t in massive free Facebook groups because it’s hard to wade through all the crap. And honestly, there’s no qualifier for entry beyond “has Facebook account”.
Paid communities offer a place for you to connect with smart, high quality business owners that will challenge you and help you move your business ahead.
I actually met Brittany in a paid community. And that’s turned out pretty great.
Most of my biz besties and mastermind buddies were also met in paid communities.
See a trend here?
Right now, my go-to paid communities are the Double It Society (yes, this is a shameless self-promotion) and the Conquer Club.
And I’m not just giving them lip service. I’m deadly serious.
These communities have attracted amazing people that make me smile, fill me up and ultimately help me grow as a business owner and a person. I’m proud to be a part of them.
I don’t say that lightly. If you’ve read this blog at all, you know we don’t go around recommending unless we believe in it 100%.
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