WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT RUNNING MY OWN BUSINESS
“I wanted to finish the year happy”
December 14th 2018 I handed in my resignation. The decision didn’t come lightly but it had been on my mind for a while. It had been a rough week and I honestly couldn’t take one more day of my full time job. I was miserable. I didn’t want to get out of bed, my spark for life was diminishing and it was seeping into all aspects of my life. I wanted to finish the year happy. My husband and I had a trip to Tasmania planned so I was determined to close the chapter, go on holidays and start the new year completely free.
This week marks one year since making that decision and I can honestly say, it was the best decision I have ever made. From the moment I got back from Tasmania I had enquiries, meetings, new clients and plenty of work to keep me busy! It has been such a year of personal and professional growth. As the business grew, I knew I needed to seperate the two audiences I was serving. That’s where the rebrand was born. By creating Aesthete Studio and Aesthete Studio Lovers I was able to have two branches of my business, a space for clients to clearly understand the services I offered and how we could work together.
Over the past year I’ve learnt so much about myself and my clients. I’ve learnt that it is ok to be different, to do things differently and that people will hire me purely for these differences. It’s ok to be me. I don’t need to pretend to have it all together or to know everything and that it’s humbling to admit these things! I’ve re-learnt the importance of implementing processes to save time and deliver a better client experience, that outsourcing my weaknesses only makes me stronger and that growth is scary as hell but also rewarding. I’ve consciously surrounded myself with a team who know and understand my vision, who challenge me, help me and teach me. They also keep me accountable!
If you’re a client of mine and are reading this, I’d like to say a huge THANK YOU for trusting me with your vision. I genuinely couldn’t do this without you and I’ve loved being part of your journey so far! I hope we have the opportunity to work together again next year!
To those of you who have supported me along the way (both in person and online), listened to me, given me advice and encouraged me, THANK YOU! You’ll never know the impact you have on me, how your words lift me and remind me that I can do this and I’m pretty damn good at it too.
While I’m saying thank you, I think sharing what I’m most grateful for is a great way to wrap up. This year has been a little challenging personally but working for myself has allowed freedom and flexibility. Each time a situation has presented itself, I’ve been able to take time off with very little notice. If I were working for someone else, it would be a much harder process.
As I look to the end of an incredible year and start planning next year, I’ve realised that I’m still learning how to switch off, to seperate personal life and business life, how to arrange business around my life instead of my life around business but hey, I’m a constant work in progress!
I’m really excited to see what next year has in store, to start new projects and also finish ones that have been on the back-burner for too long now. I’m also looking forward to a little down time in the coming weeks so reflect on this year, see what I’ve accomplished, where I can improve and set some goals for next year!
With that, thank you again and until next time,
Jess x
If you’re a dot point kind of person, I summarised the key take aways below!
