On Turning 2 Years Old!

It's officially been 2x years since starting JMK & Co and what an experience it's been!

From crying over rejected proposals, to crying tears of joy over winning contracts that have literally been a lifeline during the infamous famine part of the freelancer cycle. In this article, I'll aim to distil the four lessons I've learnt these last two years.

So buckle up and prepare to come with me on the journey of JMK & Co!

Lesson 1: Embracing the Challenges of Running a Business

Full Disclosure: Being a business owner is no joke.

Those words are the first thing that came to mind when I began brainstorming an intro to this article as, as much as I enjoy being a business owner/Consultant, it can't half be difficult! And that's with an additional 5+ years of experience behind me as a freelancer/ sole trader: Doing finances, finding clients, pitching proposals etc can all be draining and monotonous activities, that frankly can sometimes feel like a complete waste of time. However, I was fortunate that early on in my new venture, I realised the importance of having an entrepreneurial mindset and embracing the challenges that come with running a business: In essence, I learnt to see obstacles as problems to be solved, rather than challenges sent by the Universe to test my patience.

P.S. I also frequently remind myself how fortunate I am to be in a privileged position where I get to work all week on building a consultancy that I'm proud of.

Lesson 2: The Necessity of Providing Support

Acknowledging the importance of providing support to others has been one of my more recent lessons, that became particularly prominent towards the end of Year 1.

If there's one thing that's been an unexpected lesson I've learned from this journey, it's the idea that a concept, framework, or piece of knowledge that's second nature to you might be a completely foreign concept to someone else - Maybe even a game changer! For me this titbit came to light when I reached out to a newsletter creator answering a question they asked in their newsletter re how to get on top of their overwhelming to do list - More specifically, I provided them with a framework I religiously use called the Ongoing Stack Rank [hyperlink OSR URL] (which was a gamechanger for me) and it seemed it was a gamechanger for them too! So much so, they shared the article with their 300+ subscribers the next week which for me felt like a massive win and reaffirmed to me the importance of knowledge sharing.

So if ever you're thinking if that thing that seems like common knowledge to you is worth sharing (whether in-person, or online) share it! As you never know how much of an impact that golden nugget of knowledge could have on someone's business, or life.

Lesson 3: The Power of Networking and Community Involvement

Being in business/ consultancy communities has undoubtedly been the building block of my business development strategy.

Back when I first decided to go back full time into self-employment; by pivoting from freelancing part-time, to becoming a full time consultant, I knew I'd need to be within a community of like-minded consultants who also specialised in this niche. Fortunately for me, months beforehand I'd came across a community on Slack for freelancers and agencies that also served purpose driven organisations, so I was able to join that group. From there, I've gone on to join several other groups and it's fair to say that the majority of my work has came from me being an engaging and interactive member of those groups.

So nowadays I make sure to continue engaging and interacting with others in the group, as a way of paying it forward.

Lesson 4: Making Each Day Fun

Finally I've come to my favourite thing on the list: Making each day as fun as possible.

As someone who works from home the majority of the time, I'm fully aware as to how boring it can be to sit at the same desk day in day out, looking out of the window and seeing a dreary grey sky: Which is why each each day I choose the following 5x things to help differentiate my days and add a bit of fun/ playfulness into my work day.

1. A background video to be playing on my second screen whilst I work. My preferences are lifeat.io. lofi.co, or good ole YouTube.
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2. A Spotify playlist to match my mood and/or the work I’ll be doing for the day. Currently loving Big Desk Energy - Curated by the Founder of no-code newsletter platform beehiiv.
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3. 3x Critical Daily Actions aka the 3x tasks that I would be disappointed if I don’t complete that day.
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4. Self care & wellness things i.e. What part of my day can I romanticise and make feel that bit more luxurious e.g. cooking a nice dinner, watching a favourite series in the evening etc, having a walk through a local park etc.
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5. My favourite of all of these however is thinking of what workflow I’ll be working to throughout the day e.g. 3-3-3- method 60 or 90 minute sprints, Bento Box method, time blocking, or Workcycles - In my mind completing tasks within a predefined workflow makes it much easier for me to finish them.
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And there we have it 4x lessons I’ve learnt in my 2x years of business, thanks for coming with me on my blast to the past and give me a shout over on LinkedIn if any lessons resonated with you.

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