Back in February 2021, when I had to make the tough decision of looking for a job I had to really dig deep and evaluate my skills as to an employer my CV would look a little sparse.
I was also very reluctantly doing the job hunt and so was looking at jobs that would only require the bare minimum hours. Eventually I realised I just had to bite the bullet and look at full time jobs.
My business would be ok as most of it was evenings or weekends and so wasn’t going to suffer. In my gut I knew it was something that I’d been putting off for a long time and should have done sooner.
After weeks of rejections I finally got the phone call for one of the jobs who decided to take a risk and so I started the following week and handed my notice in to my pub job pretty instantly.
I’ve been there just over 2.5 years now and I’ve realised that it’s actually helping me in my business.
Communication
It’s helping me ensure my message is clear as I’m having to communicate to different departments within our company but also to our customers. This in turn is then helping me with my communication for my business, making sure that what I mean is coming across in my wording
Timing
There’s elements to my job that have a time limit on them so I have to ensure that I focus and get them done within that time frame or if I can’t do it within the required time frame, it’s done within a reasonable time. Eg if a customer emails us, they get their answer no later than 48 hours from contact.
This is helping me be productive in my business as I don’t have endless hours to get lost in the scroll hole of social media. I get 30 minutes at lunch and then the few hours from when I get home to when I go to bed.
When I first took on the job I set an expectation for my customers of when I could be contacted and when they could get a response. I’m also finding that actually by not having all the hours I want I’m achieving so much more!
Finances
This may sound like a strange one, but for me I’ve had money challenges for a while. I like spending and then worry when it comes to paying the bills how I will manage them!
Now because I’m actually earning and getting paid full time its teaching me how to save the money for the bills going, what I can keep for me to just spend and then what to keep for those uh oh moments, like when I needed the dentist as my wisdom tooth started playing up, previously I would have just wacked it on the credit card without a care where as I was able to pay for it out right.
Mindset
As much as I would love to be full time self employed and some people would have said “oh you don’t need a job, just market yourself more” etc, I knew that to keep my business alive and to one day be full time self employed this stepping stone was needed!
It’s also forcing me to get out of bed and get dressed as I have to be at work to start at 8:30, I think most days I’m actually there 8:15.
I have to ensure I’m looking presentable, as whilst yes it’s an office job, they still expect you to look smart. This then helps me with business as my mind is in a better place I’m able to respond to positive and negative situations a lot better.
I’m sure theres more comparisons and lessons I could find but then you’d all be bored! I hope you’ve enjoyed this and maybe I’ll be back writing more soon!
For now, go and have a boogie and #releasethebutterfly
Charlotte x
