Dear Steemers,
Today I would like to shortly talk about how much one person can change the direction of your life. For the first time in a long time, I have a feeling that my life is going in a really good direction. And that is all thanks to @Susanne, my great colleague and may I say: friend and Girlboss-mentor.
(Sorry for the bad quality)
Very often, I have heard stories from very successful people in which they would look back on their career-path and admit it was just one person that pulled them through the ranks of the organization they were working at. Often it was one manager that believed in them, taught them the tricks, or someone who introduced them to the right people. And I have a feeling at this point in my life that I luckily bumped into a person like that.
So I am 30 years old and I have been working in the Marketing / Communications spheres for a couple of years now. I was born in the 1980s, and I grew up during the invincible years of the ‘90s, when the economy was great, when everyone I knew went on holiday three times a year, and basically everything was possible. In my childhood everyone taught me I could do anything I wanted – yes I am from that generation. Well, turns out: that was not entirely true. And it would have been smart if I knew what I wanted when I needed to make a decision too.
Also, other things have made it a bit more difficult to stay focused on one path. For example, this:
Globalisation people, all the stats can show differences per country, but still, companies are super international these days and they all want part in VC. At least some of the companies that I have worked for.
Back to the subject: so how did Susanne convinced me?
So Susanne and me are working part-time for the same company in Sweden and doing basically the same for our respective country’s markets. And we meet up a couple of times a year in Stockholm for some team bonding and to get the latest company updates. I had realized before that she did not see her job at our company as her primary or the most important one. This intrigued me a lot, so I asked Susanne to tell me about her company. Honestly, I never thought I would get a response that would actually show me the way to do the same so clearly.
It caught me a bit off guard, but for the first time in my life someone really convinced me to just go for it. She said: “just do it, start your own business! It’s easy! It gives so much freedom and you can do it from anywhere.“ It was like I just tuned in in one of those online talks, the one’s you can’t stop watching, that give you a spike in energy, and without the blabla. She was so open and honest about how she started her business, what she did to make it work, which of the hurdles were just in her head and never in reality.
The biggest lesson for me was: in new situations I always think I know nothing. I do not know where it comes from, but I feel like it is a better way to approach things. Unfortunately that does not really work self-motivating when you want to ask for a promotion or want to start your own business. I am that type of person (maybe it is because I am a woman?) that thinks someone will see I am a fraud right away, when I speak my mind, and that I do not know enough to call myself a professional that asks for money in exchange for her services. But because of the fact that Susanne and me have been working together, and she said I was wrong in thinking that and giving me one or two example why she was right and I was wrong, she knew how to take my biggest obstacle away!
Tusen tak Susanne! You rock! And you are setting an example for me, also to do the same for others in the future.
As per recommendation, when I came back in the Netherlands after our time in Stockholm, I followed a few courses on Udemy on how to start a business. And I made an appointment at the Chamber of Commerce. That was last Monday.
And last Friday I closed my first client!
I even still need to come up with a name for my business, and I don’t even have a website yet!!
All help is welcome! And I will definitely post more on this in the future if people are interested in how this us going to turn out..
But I guess it is important to be thankful first!!