Tag Archives: Entrepreneurship

It’s 4am and I’m tired 

9 Nov

This post was written about 3 weeks ago. It had been a busy week and I hadn’t got much sleep. On this particular night I decided to pass the time by writing.

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Its Friday. 1:09am to be exact. I’ve been in bed for an hour. It was a late one tonight as I was preparing paperwork for a meeting tomorrow.

My daughter’s fast asleep in her crib by my bed. Her little sighs and yawns are no longer cute at this hour. Each sound seems to fill the room, preventing me from falling asleep. But to be honest she’s not the reason I’m awake. I just can’t switch off my mind.

There’s so much to do

I’m currently juggling motherhood, my relationship and my business. It’s likely that I’m not excelling in all these areas but I like to think I am. In my short 3 months of being a mother I’ve already developed the “I can do it all” approach often taking on more tasks than I can handle. Being a new mum and an entrepreneur has its challenges.

It’s now 4am and I’m tired. 

We’re both awake now for the night feed. I’m currently writing this post using my phone with baby in my left hand and phone in the right whilst balancing the bottle with my chin! If motherhood has taught me anything that is to be creative. I’ll do all I can to juggle looking after baby and the million other things that needs to be done. I tweeted the other day…”I’m mastering the art of multi tasking” but am I really? Let’s be honest I can only really focus properly on one task at a time. I may feel like I’m being productive because I’m busy but the reality is I’m probably spreading myself too thin…

She’s now been fed and the good baby that she is she has gone straight back to sleep. But my mind’s still awake…

I’m thinking of my client meeting tomorrow. “Have I got all the paperwork ready?”, “will I close the sale?”. I think perhaps being an introvert also means I’m highly analytical of my actions. Each action I take usually requires a long drawn out analysis asking myself “should I have done that?” “What were the other people thinking?” “Did they perceive me well?” “What can I do better next time?”

It’s now 5am and I’m awake

The birds are singing now and tiredness has left me. My thoughts have kept my company throughout the night and now I’ve been awake for an hour just “social media scrolling”. I like to mentally plan my day and I usually do this while scrolling through instagram ‘liking’ pictures of motivational posts hoping that somehow it will change my life. lol

There’s probably not much point falling back asleep at this point.

It’s now 7am and I’m tired again

I managed to fall asleep again but the broken sleep is getting to me. I just know that today will be difficult and coffee will be needed. However, today I can’t stay in bed even if I wanted to. My client meeting is at 2pm out of town and yes little one is coming with me. So I better start getting ready.

Maybe I’ll get some sleep tomorrow night…

Nat

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What’s stopping you?

5 Oct

“I just need that million dollar idea” “I don’t have enough money to start a business” “I don’t have the right skills”

There are probably a million more reasons why people don’t pursue business or become an entrepreneur. We’re all waiting for the ‘right time’. We tell ourselves that we need to reach a certain level before we act. We put things off for years thinking we have all the time in the world! Some of us are probably even waiting for the stars to align and for the world to stop spinning before they decide to chase their dreams. It’s all ridiculous. There’s no right time! You can plan as much as you want but anything and everything in your life can change in an instant!

That’s why I’m asking the question “What’s stopping you?”

What’s stopping you from leaving your job that you’re so unhappy in? What’s stopping you from applying for that business start up funding? What’s stopping you from working on your passion in your spare time? What is it?

In the past I have asked myself these same questions…and yes I came up with excuses. I could’ve written you a book containing all my reasons. But when I revisited these reasons…each time the answer pointed back to me. I was the problem (still am).

I’ve been on this entrepreneurial journey for about a year and a half now. I have tried and failed at a few things including making and selling gift hampers, tutoring and setting up a concierge business. I’m not bitter about any of these because they have taught me invaluable lessons. But it dawned on me the other day that the greatest challenge I’m facing on my journey is my mind set! That’s right. It’s not my competitors. It’s not the amount of resources I have and it definitely isn’t about my skills (I have 2 degrees for goodness sake!). The common denominator was always ME. Each time I came to a hurdle or a setback I would get discouraged and give up and move on to the next task.

So I asked myself how badly do I want it?

And honestly before I had my daughter…deep down I would have answered not that much. I may not have admitted it but that would have been the true answer. I realised I didn’t want it that much because when I came up against trials I was quick to back down. I was quick to say…well maybe this isn’t for me and I would give up! But since having my daughter, everything I’m doing has so much more purpose. I look at her and I realise I’m not just living for myself anymore…in fact, this time next year I’ll be a wife AND a mother! I have responsibilities. I have to be accountable.

That’s why I’m starting to look at entrepreneurship in a different light. It is the ultimate teacher of perseverance…I thought it was a career choice for the talented and the highly skilled. But when I really started to understand it, I realised that it is just a test of mental strength and whether I’m willing to keep going right to the end!

What ideas have you never put into action? What’s stopping you from achieving them today?

Leave a comment down below!

Let’s chat

 

 

 

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5 ways to increase your earning potential as an entrepreneur

20 Jul

In previous posts I established the limitations of self-employment and the restrictions it can have on your earning potential.

But the question is…how can you increase your earning potential as an entrepreneur?

Delegation

First up is delegation. Having people work for you not only helps to spread the work load but allows your business to reach a wider range of people. Bringing people on board to work for you gives you more time to focus on working ON the business, rather than IN it!

Systems

Now that you’ve taken yourself out the equation you can replace it with systems. Creating a system is a great way to ensure your business remains running even when you’re not there. The success of the business is no longer solely reliant on you, it is now reliant on the system. This ensures that your business can be run and managed by anyone. This is advantageous because it helps to create continuity.

Distribution

If done correctly, distribution can take your business from 0 – 100 ! If you have a product your main aim should be to put it in front of as many people as possible. That way it increases your chances of sales. No matter the idea or product, with the right marketing and distribution your business can take off! Obviously it takes a lot of hard work but when you look at the examples of successful businesses you can see they have mastered the art of distribution e.g McDonald’s.

Ownership

This way is more for the creative ventures such as writing, painting, music etc. By creating a unique product which you claim ownership over, means you have the right to sell this on for profit. This means that even after the original effort has been completed you can still benefit from the work you put in. For example, writing a book may take you months or even years to complete but if written well, could provide you with regular income for years to come.

Repeatable services

Creating a business that requires your client to come back month after month will help provide your business with a steady income stream. For example, monthly subscription services are a great way to gain that commitment from customers. It not only provides customers with a guaranteed service but it also helps stabilise business income. Gaining commitment from customers through direct debits is desirable to help generate a regular income for your business.

So there you have it! 5 ways to get you thinking about increasing your earning potential as an entrepreneur. All of these suggestions can contribute to your set up for a lifetime of residual income.

Please share any more tips below!

Natalie

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Being self-employed is restricting your earning potential, and here’s why

13 Jul

In a previous post I spoke about why leaving your 9-5 job to be self employed was a waste of time. This post has been written to expand on a few concepts presented in that post, one namely being the restriction on your earning potential as self-employed.

We have always been taught about exchanging our time for money. Time = money. This is because we have been conditioned into a system that rewards us with a specified amount of money for the time and effort we put into a job. So as a self-employed person, working 8 hours a day means that person would receive an income equivalent to the time spent doing the job.

It’s clear how this concept works. It follows a simple formula.

Hourly Rate X Hours worked = Income

Therefore, time spent not working means there would be a loss of income.

But when you really get down to the details, you begin to realise that self-employment can be restricting your earning potential.

Let’s use the example of a private tutor that charges £20 per hour for their services. They work 8 hours a day and at the end of the day they earn £160 as compensation for their time spent doing the job.

20 X 8 = £160 per day

But let’s say the tutor has continuous work coming in for the week and they’re able to work 8 hours each day. We can now calculate their income for the work week.

(Hourly Rate X Hours Worked) X Days Worked = Income

(20 X 8) X 5 = £800 per week

Simple right? So the tutor could potentially earn £800 per week.

But let’s say for the purpose of the example that this tutor could work an extra 2 hours each day, taking it to a total of 10 hours a day.

(20 X 10) X 5 = £1000 per week

Now this tutor has increased their weekly earnings by 25% by just doing an extra 2 hours per day!

But let’s continue to push this tutor to their limit. Let’s say they can work an additional 2 days a week. So in total they’re doing 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. They’re putting more time in so that would mean more money right?

Correct!

(20 X 10) X 7 = £1400 per week 

The tutor has now increased their income by 40% by doing an additional 20 hours over 2 days.

We could keep pushing this tutor. Let’s say they can work 24 hours for 7 days (unrealistic but let’s go with it for the sake of the example).

(20 X 24) X 7 = £3360 per week 

The tutor would have now increased their weekly income by a whopping 140% ! That’s amazing right?

Now if we extrapolate this formula and calculate their earnings for the year based on working 24/7 for £20 per hour we can see they will earn £174,720 for the year!

What a nice salary I hear you say!

However, the reality is…no one can work for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…even if they tried.

The example above has obviously been exaggerated to show you that as a self-employed individual charging an hourly rate you are capping your earning potential. In reality we know that self-employment income can fluctuate so we should expect that the earning potentials are a lot less favourable than what you see here.

But the problem with working for an hourly rate is there is only so much you can earn in a given time. If the tutor was physically able to work every second of the day based on the £20 per hour, that tutor could only ever earn £174,720 for the year. Yes, they could increase their hourly rate, but then again there would be a cap on this too. Essentially, their maximum earning potential will always be proportionate to the hourly rate set.

But what does this mean for budding entrepreneurs? Well if you only charge an hourly rate for your service you are essentially capping your own earning potential. You’re limiting your work to the confines of time. The calculations show that you will never supersede the maximum if you work under the time=money system.

So, we (as entrepreneurs) need to become more creative and innovative with our service. We must look at ways to stretch our time further. Unfortunately, we cannot physically be in two places at once, nor can we alter time, but we can consider other methods that will open up unlimited earning potential!

Come back next week where I’ll give you tips on how you can increase your earning potential as an entrepreneur.

Natalie

 

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My reality of failing

18 May

If you’re a fan of motivational speakers such as Tony Robins and Les Brown you’ll be familiar with their mantra on the importance of failing. These speakers amongst many others always stress that to be successful you must fail; because failure is a way to learn. I’ve heard it many times and I thought I believed it, I really did…but I soon realised I was lieing to myself.

Let’s talk honestly about failing. It’s a horrible feeling. Possibly one of the worst. It can create insecurity and doubt in the mind. It can make you question your actions and stop you from pursuing your dreams in an instant.The subtle reminder of past failures can become quite tormenting. It suggests to you each time that you’re inadequate, you’re the reason why you haven’t made it and you’re ultimately the FAILURE. But for those that are ambitious you need to accept that failure is inevitable! It’s something you HAVE to deal with. Working towards your goals means a lot of trials and errors along the way! But your drive and determination is what will keep you going despite the guarantee of failure.

Personally, I don’t fail well. I’ve grown up with a ‘little miss perfect’ complex. I never really stepped foot out of line at school and I minimised risks wherever possible throughout life. I thought that staying within my comfort zone meant that I would avoid failure. I went through school doing minimal work and came out with OK grades. Setting my standards low was a way to protect myself…because if I ever did fail I could justify it with the fact that I didn’t try my hardest so it didn’t matter.

But this post has come about because I recently experienced a few obstacles, setbacks and barriers. I still don’t like to fail and even though I push myself each day I’ll be honest, the thought of failing haunts me each time.

I’m currently building a business in financial education and along the way I’ve hit a few hurdles, barriers and road blocks! (to say the least) which has discouraged me on so many levels. Paperwork and admin are an essential part of every business and it must be done correctly to ensure accuracy. I was met with a task where I had to complete some paperwork in a short space of time. I wasn’t completely familiar with the processes and I felt a bit overwhelmed about having to complete it quickly. I got it wrong; a few times and I made errors. I wanted to quit. I contemplated giving up and justifying to myself that this business venture wasn’t for me. But I could see a trend and I told myself I can’t give up this time round. So I stuck at it and completed the paperwork. I put in 100%!

So it’s important that if when you fail you realise that it’s all apart of the process. If the journey to the top was easy…a lot more people would be up there. So remember to keep your mental state in check. Be honest with yourself. Give 100% and don’t make excuses! If you’re met with failure, acknowledge it and keep it moving!

[As always, I write these posts as motivation to myself. I’m still learning. I’m still developing but hopefully along my journey I can help you all too!]

How do you cope with failure? Leave a comment below or drop me an email

“Let your dreams guide you”

Nat x

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