09/02/2022
As I sit here on the 2nd Anniversary of Admin A La Carte… quite frankly, working my tail off, I have some thoughts to share.
1. Owning your own business is hard HARD! There is a lot of self reliance, self-motivation kinda stuff that goes into it. If you can’t sit in a messy house and work, a self-employed position may not be for you. What I mean by that is two-fold, not only do you sometimes have to work in a messy house and not be distracted by the mess to clean instead of work but you also have to be able to sit and work through chaos (which is much more than laundry to be done and dishes that need to be put away.)
2. You have got to be good at boundaries. Honestly, I am not, but I am working on them. Sometimes it’s a client that needs something and you have a hard time saying no even though it pushes into what little personal time you might have. Sometimes it’s saying no to doing something fun because you have work to get done. Sometimes it is saying no to a client that takes too much of your energy.
3. Imposter syndrome is real but you’d be surprised what you can do when you push through it. Two years ago when I left my job I was just planning on being able to pay my bills each month and, well, not really sure what else. I was working pretty solely for real estate agents since I was in my 9/10th year in the industry “officially” and I pretty much knew how to do just about anything anyone threw at me. Then came helping an online business open a physical location, fairly regular calls about website building, jobs that were bringing in more money etc. Never would I have imagined, let alone two short years ago, that I would be helping to run the production of a radio station and doing payroll tax projects on top of being the admin for a real estate agent almost as far across the country as you can get from me as well as quite a few local agents and businesses that I help as needed and for regular smaller projects. Another way imposter syndrome strikes is when it comes to setting pricing. I have found that the people that pay the lowest costs, complain the most about your pricing and those that see your value and pay the pricing that may be higher will be happy to pay and you will likely not even have to remind them of their payments. You are likely worth more than you are charging. Your knowledge, experience and more go into what your costs are. If something that you’ve taken years to learn how to do quickly doesn’t mean it should be really cheap because it’s quick. You deserve to be paid for the hours and experience its taken you to learn how to do it quickly.
4. You can consider yourself dating, or being married to your business. I am sure there are plenty of businesses that don’t require quite as much time and effort to start and maintain the right amount of hours and money that you need to be making each month. For me, I have pi**ed people off by constantly picking work over them. People aren’t paying my bills, my business is, so anyone who can’t understand that you are creating a positive foundation for yourself and your business may not be the supportive people you want in your life. I work pretty much 7 days a week, every week. Yes, I realize that isn’t a great work/life balance but I also rely on me. I don’t know how I would keep up a whole home/family etc. My dog is pretty happy sitting next to me and going for walks during the day but doesn’t need too much else thankfully. Sometimes, seeing the other people I see at different jobs, events that I am helping with and more is the most “life” I have, so I appreciate you getting me out of the house (office) and interacting with other humans.
5. It feels cliche to say, but self care is important. That self care might be turning off your computer at a certain time of night, taking a break and watching a tv show, getting a manicure or taking yourself to dinner (or meeting your friends for dinner etc.) Even if you can schedule some time to take a walk, it is important to do something away from the work. Because…
6. The burnout is real! You will work too hard, you will cry, you will think this too hard and you want to go back to a 9-5. You will want to give up, you will want to say a lot of colorful words, and you likely will. You will make mistakes, you will under-deliver. You will have real-life hit you hard when you’re busy. This will suck at times, but…
7. It is 100% worth it. Other than a scheduled appointment etc, I get to choose my schedule. I can hire someone to help lighten my load. I can “not work” if I choose not to. I can get a haircut in the middle of the day (it helps that I help them out too.) Other than my schedule, it is great to know that I built this all on my own. I don’t rely on others to pay my bills, though I have a great support system around me that help watch the dog when I work until midnight or need to pop out of town etc.
I want to say thank you so much for being a part of my business. From liking my page, writing a review, working with me, referring business to me and more.
I wish I could tag you all but I know I will forget someone. So here are a couple shoutouts:
The most referrals sent my way - Kathleen
The one who helped me jump off the cliff to start my business - Margaret
Helpers over the years - Ashley & Mikayla
Biggest one to push me through imposter syndrome - Lorisan
Best one to geek out with me - John & Haniel
Cutest swag model - McKell
And SOOOOOOOOoooo…. many more of you have supported and helped me in ways I’m so appreciative of. Just know you mean the world to me.
Thank you again for being a part of Admin A La Carte! On to year 3!
