What My First Month of Running My Own Business Has Taught Me

A month ago I took the leap of running my own business after years of working as a paid employee for organisations. I swapped the comfort of being part of a team for the excitement and uncertainty of building something of my own.

These first four weeks have been something of a rollercoaster. It's been busy, challenging, incredibly rewarding and full of lessons I didn't expect to learn so quickly including….

Relationships really do matter

I am a people person and I've always believed in building genuine relationships throughout my career but this past month has reinforced just how valuable they are.

The conversations, connections and trust I've built over the years have been instrumental in helping me get started. Many of my first opportunities have come through people I've worked with before, recommendations from trusted contacts or introductions from my wider network.

But those relationships don’t just help you find work, your network becomes your biggest cheerleader, sounding board and support system. Running your own business can feel lonely at times, but having people you can turn to for advice, encouragement or simply a chat makes all the difference. Never underestimate the value of investing in relationships!

You'll be busier than you think

One of the biggest misconceptions I had was that I'd somehow have a little more breathing space but the reality has been quite the opposite.

When you're running your own business, your customers are relying on you. Their success becomes your priority and you want to deliver the very best work possible. Every project matters because every client has placed their trust in you.

It's a responsibility I genuinely enjoy, but it does mean those coffee breaks I imagined with friends during the day haven't quite materialised! Thankfully I've still managed to make time in an evening for a wild swim or a gig at the Piece Hall in Halifax - picture at the top of the article for evidence!

Loving what you do changes everything

One of the greatest things about working for yourself is the variety of projects you have the opportunity to work on. Since I started this no two days have been the same and that's exactly what I was hoping for.

Working across different challenges, meeting new people and solving different problems has reminded me why I chose this career in the first place. It reinforced my passion for pharmacy and healthcare and reminded me how much I enjoy helping organisations improve and make a difference.

That feeling of excitement when starting a new project hasn't gone away, if anything it has grown.

Stick with what you know

When you're starting out, it's tempting to try and be everything to everyone. I've quickly realised the importance of staying true to where my expertise lies.

My background is in pharmacy and healthcare and beginning my business in the sector I know inside out has allowed me to hit the ground running. I understand the challenges, speak the language and can add value from day one.

There may well be opportunities to diversify in the future, but building on years of knowledge and experience has been the best possible foundation for my business.

Nobody warns you about the admin!

Perhaps the biggest surprise has been just how much happens behind the scenes because delivering work for clients is only part of the job.

There's invoicing, planning my own content, updating the website, networking, managing social media, responding to enquiries, organising finances and all the other tasks that keep a business running.

When I worked for someone else, many of those things happened without me even thinking about them but now they're all my responsibility.

It's a reminder that running a business isn't just about doing what you're good at, it's also about making time to work on your business, not just in it.

One month down...

It's only been a month, so I know there's still so much to learn but if these first few weeks have taught me anything, it's that taking the leap was absolutely the right decision for me.

I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported me, trusted me with projects, shared advice or simply cheered me on. I am looking forward to the future, to continuing to learn and grow as well as continuing to do work that I'm genuinely passionate about.