What it took for me to finally take the leap and go full-time with Calibrated Concepts

Six months ago, if you were to ask me what I did for a living I would have told you that I was a legal secretary by day and a virtual assistant the rest of the time! I worked on my “little” business for 18 months on the side while holding down a full-time job. Then things started to shift for me and soon it was apparent that I was tired, unfulfilled and not very happy in trying to manage both. Still, I didn’t feel that I was ready to make the transition to being self-employed full-time. 

It took a few things happening all in a fairly short time frame before I felt like I could AND should take Calibrated Concepts on as my only form of income….

Scaling to the point where doing both wasn’t sustainable.

My business had grown so much that I was spending my lunch-hours taking client calls and I was working every day before and after my day job and I was putting in several hours each weekend. I was having to turn down clients and tasks because I didn’t have enough time or because I wasn’t available during business hours! I was working as much as I could and still enjoy some semblance of a social life, but it was getting harder and harder. Which lead me to...

A bit of burn out. 

I started to be really disenchanted with my day job, which was really hard to admit, because I was working for some of the nicest employers you could ever ask for. But my actual responsibilities weren’t what I wanted to be doing and I started to resent that I didn’t have the time I needed to invest in taking my business to the next level. 

Additionally, I was sick of working every morning, night and weekend. I was tired of always being a bit scrambled in trying to keep track of everything. And I missed having time to slow down, time to spend with my husband and time to have a social life! So I invested some of the money I’d earned in some… 

Coaching to get through my limiting beliefs and my biggest fears. 

When I decided to invest in a 90 minute intensive session in July I really just wanted someone to help me formulate a plan. Someone to help me set a vision because I am such a detail-brained person that I sometimes struggle seeing the bigger picture. Little did I know what it would release! It made me realise that I was long overdue for making some big changes in my business. 

So I started cautiously by asking my day job if they’d consider letting me move to part-time employment. They took some time to carefully consider my proposition, but in the end it wasn’t going to work for them. So I put in my notice, thinking I’d find some part-time work to make up the difference. I never needed to! I put out word that I was taking my business full-time and within days after I officially left my job I had enough work to keep me busy and be financially stable. 

I later decided to pay for 3 months of coaching to help ensure the first few months went well and I had support for the hardest moments of making it on my own. It’s been invaluable to have someone in my corner helping me to brainstorm ideas, guiding me through my fears and set boundaries to make sure I genuinely enjoy the journey. 

Changing what we’d earmarked our savings for.

Paul and I had been saving to buy a starter house. Something that we could rent out when we eventually go back to the States. However, it became clear that it probably wasn’t the best investment for us at this stage. So that meant that we had a financial cushion in case things didn’t go to plan! 

As you probably know by now, my biggest goal with Calibrated Concepts has always been to be location independent.

These last few months I’ve finally made that happen! I can work from home, my coworking space, a coffee shop, another country and I am so grateful and proud to have made this happen. I have the coolest and kindest clients who are putting incredible ideas, services and products into the world and being a tiny part of all of those impactful things is the best feeling. 

I’ve got big plans to continue growing Calibrated Concepts with resources, services and opportunities for small businesses to get shit done, learn to grow their business in a way that feels good for them and to learn to outsource so they can enjoy their businesses and their lives more. I can’t wait to share it with you!

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