On June 1st, 2016, I woke up, rolled over, opened my laptop, and began working. This was my first day as a full-time consultant, after nearly 3 years of juggling full-time employment with building a consulting business. Today is my five year anniversary.
What started as a Tumblr blog developed in a moment of boredom in 2011 to share my thoughts on Reproductive Justice, feminism, and women and girls of color led to me filing as a Limited Liability Company business in August 2013, with my eventual departure from my employer on May 31, 2016.
I’ve worked with some pretty amazing client organizations and partners along the way. I’m still amazed that I can say, “I worked with this organization?“
In 2017, I shared 10 lessons learned during my first year of full time consulting, and not much has changed with these lessons learned five years later.
The days where I grew in frustration knowing that I had a fragmented life (doing something I no longer cared for and building my business) seem like a distant memory. I still look back on those days with gratitude because that period was one of the hardest yet rewarding of my life. Starting and running a business became less about being my own boss and more about having an idea and giving myself permission to see it through.
I will be honest and say that I’m not as inspired by what I do.
When a hobby morphs into something that enables you to pay the bills, your work-life balance is impacted. That’s my biggest lesson learned.
I still enjoy what I do. I still wholeheartedly believe in my mission. But the excitement that was there five years ago is no longer there.
I thought that changing my services would liven things up or adjusting who I want to work with. I can still do these, but I realized that the biggest culprit was putting more focus on the business and not…ME.
Over the years, I’ve struggled with the realization that since 2013, my personal life has been on the back burner as I chased my professional dreams. That’s a long time.
Though I struggled to compartmentalize my professional life, there was a benefit to juggling both a business and a job. I knew how much time I could devote to my business during the week, and had ample time on the weekends. I had more focus and drive because I knew what my end-goal was.
I’ve struggled with the blurred line between my work and my personal life. When I had a 9-to-5, it was easier for me to not think about my job after 5pm or on the weekends. Running a full time business? Not so much.
Have an idea in the middle of the night? Pick up my phone and captured it along with some notes. I can work for hours at a time, with small breaks in between for food, naps, and snacks.
Non-business related activities somehow are centered around the topics I focus on in my business.
I’m not burned out, and I have plenty of support from colleagues and mentors. While I’ve always known that you shouldn’t create your life around your business, somehow I lost sight of that.
Everything I do is for my partners and clients. Now, during the next five years of my business, I will prioritize my personal life and have my business fall in line. I want to prioritize having experiences that are just for me.
I’ve developed a list of personal goals for the next five years. Identifying my personal goals has made me feel more inspired, more excited for what’s to come. Instead of wondering what else needs to be done for my business, I’m asking myself, “How can my business support my personal goals?”
Some of my personal goals will help me become a better business owner. And some of my goals will impact the future of my business. I don’t intend on shutting my business down anytime soon; however, I am open to my business looking differently. five years from now.
There you have it. Five years of full time consulting under my belt and my biggest lesson learned is that I need more work-life balance (like everyone else). I’ll continue to share insights on this journey, especially when something major happens.
Raise Your Voice: How do you regain your inspiration after you’ve lost it? Share below in the comments section.
