As with most people it was such a tough decision, particularly after having the safety net of a salary for so many years and with the added responsibility of children and a mortgage.
There were so many triggers that led me to the decision to go freelance,, but I think the ultimate one was….
I was sick of compromising on what I valued the most
and still do…. my children.
It was a beautiful summer, but as ever, the weather can be a little unpredictable and sports day at the children’s school was dictated by the weather.
With one child in the infants and the other in the juniors, one “sports day” was due to take place in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
As the date wasn’t 100% firm (because of the weather) I took the day off on the proviso that if it didn’t go ahead, I would just go into work as normal and swap it to another day.
The guys I worked for were perfectly happy with this arrangement, as they knew I more than pulled my weight on all the projects I worked on. However, this didn’t sit well with a couple of my colleagues.
These colleagues had tried to make my life difficult
Since I’d gone part time and worked school hours, they had endlessly tried to be disruptive. They arranged meetings (which I needed to be in) 30 minutes before I was due to leave work, knowing full well they required more like an hour of my time.
Anyway, on this particular occasion, they were insistent that a meeting had to be held the day after sports day, and it needed my 100% commitment to be there.
I was unwilling to commit
There was a reasonable chance sports day may be moved to that day. You would have thought I had committed a major crime when you heard the fuss they made.
Sports day did actually happen on the day it was due to….. in the glorious sunshine. I sat next to one of the mum’s who I had become friends with and told her my story in between cheering for the children.
She was blunt in her response
“Leave and go and work for yourself. You are already doing a bit of freelance work on top of your job, so just expand that. I will help you with your accounts and help you set the business up.”
So, on that glorious June afternoon I decided that’s exactly what I would do.
I’ve never looked back!
It’s not an easy journey as anyone who has done it will know, but it has incredible rewards…. the freedom and flexibility to focus on what I value the most.
I loved the company I worked for and was really sad to leave, but those women who deliberately tried to make my life difficult…… I was delighted to see the back of!
And my friend who gave me the confidence to leave….