WORKING FROM HOME IN A SMALL BUSINESS ~ PART 1

The best way to start your small business is to do it while you are still working so that you make the transition smoothly within a deadline with savings, training, experience & a plan with a clear vision for work which is suitable for you.

In addition, you need to become very self-motivated, as well as disciplined to achieve your goals. This is definitely not for everyone, as you need to be a calculated risk taker & be able to ride the waves of success & failure while developing resilience on the journey.

I realise now in retrospect, I was constantly discovering my talents & refining my skills as I worked for big companies, before I became self-employed again. I had been previously been self-employed for over 10 years in partnership with my husband before I got divorced.

I disliked working for others even when the salary & perks were substantial. However, I do acknowledge that the training I received while working for two big established companies was exceedingly good.

Both Edgars in Adderley Street & Elna in Cavendish Square were valuable experiences. This was part of the foundation for my own business.

For a decade I was in training for what I would become, during this time while I was working & training full time for a Management position in these companies, at night I was either waitressing or taking training courses to prepare for change.

I knew I was not able to use my full potential for a long time before I actually took the risk, but I began to know that one of my main motivations in life is to be able to constantly be learning and growing.

This understanding of myself made work bearable because I developed the view that whatever I was doing was a stepping-stone to my future, even though I was experiencing dead ends and enduring a glass ceiling at this time.

I did a part time training course in Small Business Development sponsored by a generous boyfriend who recognised my potential. The most valuable gem of wisdom that I received was the need to find and fill an already existing demand in the current market.
I gave myself a deadline of six months in my last job, which ensured I would get unemployment benefits on a good salary to add to my savings. My last working day was the end of August 1990. 

Making my first memorable, self-employed day the 1st day of September (traditionally the first day of spring!)

Now each year I am celebrating my anniversary, and this year this year is my 27th year of successful self-employment!