A letter to myself at the start...

21st April 2022

Dear Me (past time me),

I cannot believe that you have given up a corporate career – all that work, time and effort that went in… but do you know what? I am ridiculously proud of you. You won’t know it yet, but you were miserable before, making this change and taking this scary step is worth every single minute of pain and doubt you’re feeling right now.

And the circumstances, the pain and the bullying? Well, those are scars that will never leave you but they will fade and they will be the reason that you become strong and confident and secure in what you do – there will be ups as well and downs and because of everything that happened you will have triggers that faze you occasionally. Don’t worry about it, no one is perfect and every downhill is followed by a climb back up so you’ll get back on top sooner or later.

I’ve been doing this longer than you and I’ve gathered a few of my top tips (5 in fact) that I thought you’d benefit from hearing:

1.       Don’t compare – every one is different, everyone is at different stages. Comparison is a waste of time and energy and will only make you feel awful. Focus on you and your own goals because that way you will only see success or opportunities for improvement.

2.       Build relationship – people are everything, meet people, talk to people, don’t be scared to get out there (although a room full of strangers can be pretty darn intimidating!) because those relationships are what will help you grow and flourish as a business and as a person.

3.       Say yes and no – say yes to things, even if you don’t know how to do them you can learn but also learn to say no, I know it can be scary when you’re not earning much but don’t take on tasks that you don’t enjoy or clients that are bad for your mental health just because of money.

4.       Take breaks – this is a big one and I’m only just managing it 7 years down the line. It’s okay to take time out – whether it’s a day for your mental wellbeing or a week’s holiday with the kids. Take time off, put your out of office on and relax. Honestly, as hard as you work you’ll need it.

5.       It’s not personal – life hasn’t always been easy, you’ve (we’ve) taken knocks and got back up, business isn’t personal, losing clients isn’t personal. Do your best and all times and recognise that people do things for their own reason not yours (or your projected reasons).

This journey is like a rollercoaster – and not the horrid kind that makes you throw up – you’ll have moments when you want to quit and moments when you really want a pair of shoes you can’t afford… but you’ll have freedom and ownership of your future, you’ll be able to spend so much more time with the children and doing things you love – even if that means a later night working or the occasional weekend getting your head down. There will be training and development and there will be growth – not just for the business but for you. I cannot describe the person I am today because I don’t think you’ll believe me… just trust that everything happens for a reason and the person you will grow into is someone I really love and someone I know you’ll love too.

The good news is that you’ll also be able to buy the shoes too… lots and lots of shoes.

Good luck, have fun and I’ll see you soon.

Danielle