It was a year ago almost to the day that I started this
blog. My goal was and still is to share with you some of the things I learned
during my many years as a business journalist and editor that might help your
small business. Little did I realize at the time that I’d become a
small-business owner myself. It’s amazing where life can take you in just 12
short months.
I wanted to share with you some of my reflections from this
past year.
In an earlier blog, I mentioned that I fought becoming a
freelance writer/business owner tooth and nail. I was motivated by fear, not by
success. A bad way to go, indeed. I can happily say that’s behind me, although
the specter of the fear of failure does creep up now and again. Just the other
day, I talked with someone about a part-time job. The hours were all wrong for
me, but I left feeling crazy for turning my back on a “sure thing” for this
silly writing business I fancied I had. Not a minute after I got home, the
phone rang with a potential client inquiring about my services. Message heard,
loud and clear.
The transition from a “cubical creature” to a business owner
was not an easy one for me. One of the most important things I’ve learned is I
have the power to set my own schedule and to work as much or as little as I
want. That identity shift of who and what I am has been monumental. I still
catch myself sometime referring to myself as being unemployed. I am not; I have
a small business. It might be very tiny, but it is a business, I’ve made some
money and new clients are coming.
Really owning this choice of how I want to work was
difficult and I’m still learning it. Again, fear was a motivator. Early on, I
took on a lot of concurrent work and was on the fast track for burning out very
quickly. That wasn’t the way I wanted to run this business. During the
following months, I realized I had worked flat out for all of my adult life.
There’s nothing like a cardiac surgery going badly in OR and needing
uncrossmatched blood from me to get the adrenalin running. Long hours of
managing computer system installs and even chasing news stories were also a
part of my career picture. When I looked back on what I had done, I realized
for the first time I could make the choice that I didn’t have to run a daily
marathon if I didn’t want to. That was an awesome choice to have.
That choice was also scary for me. Self-employment work
balance is a double-edged sword. As a freelancer, the checks only come when you
write something. No words, no dineros. No duh. I had to learn what as an
acceptable level of income – or lack thereof. That’s a big change of mindset
with big real-life ramifications (e.g. loans, taxes, retirement planning, life
insurance, etc.).
During the past year, I’ve learned who my true friends are,
people who have your back no matter what. When you’re a reporter, you get a lot
of “friends” because of a perceived easy access to free advertising. When you
no longer have a press pass, calls sometimes aren’t returned quite so quickly –
or at all. That hurt, especially when I received that kind of response from
people I had known and trusted for years. That also leads to growing a thicker
skin, something essential as a business owner.
I’ve learned that it’s OK, even expected, to admit you don’t
even know what you don’t know. That’s when I reach out to my resources to ask
for help. I’ve noticed I’m starting to get as much business from consulting as
from writing services. It was time to build that into my pricing structure
certainly, but more importantly, I needed help learning how to support my
clients by providing an appropriate amount of resources without cutting off my
nose to spite my face. The Center for Women’s Business Advancement at Southern
New Hampshire University and the Small Business Development Center are going a
long way to helping me better serve my own customers.
While many people yearn to work from home, I find it a bit
lonely. I’ve learned I have to get out and network, not only to build contacts
and to meet potential clients, but for my sanity. And it may sound mundane, but
I also learned to balance CK Creative work with housework – and when one should
take priority over the other.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is my value.
I think most new business owners take any contract because of the fear no
others will ever come again. I certainly thought the same way. I had a
potential job lined up was still waiting on the particulars, including how much
I’d be paid. I was soon faced with turning away jobs that I had signed
contracts for or keeping this potential job I knew little about. I had to let
that one go and it probably caused a bit of bad blood. I did my best of offer
suggestions of other professionals who could take on the job only to find out
they were considered “too expensive.” In other words, I was cheap. Needless to
say, I learned to have my ducks in a row before I agree to work – and that I am
a professional, not a chump.
Lastly, I’ll admit to everyone who will listen how incredibly
blessed I am to have even had the opportunity to learn these things and have these
choices. If my life were different, I’d probably be feeling just as blessed if
I had a job at a fast-food restaurant. I’ve never been one to take the good
things in my life for granted, but I am more grateful than ever that what began
as a very dark chapter in my life has turned into perhaps one of my life’s
biggest blessings.
Cindy Kibbe is owner
of Cindy Kibbe Creative Communications, a writing services firm based in New
England. She was an editor for a regional business publication for nearly a
decade. She can be reached at cindy@kibbecreative.com.
