Mar
19
2013
Last Sunday I spoke to a dozen whip-smart, super-sweet, way-driven JFEW Scholars from Macaulay Honors College so they can articulate their awesome to friends, family, HR people and prospective bosses. This is such a visual of what I want Year 3 to look more like. (photo by Deb Cooperman)
Traditionally, these posts have been videos, but I just felt the need to write this one instead of recording it. And while I was resistant to that at first, I’m listening to it because, well, I’m the boss! And I have been for 3 years. Today. Which blows my mind.
Year 1 was about finding my footing, my rhythms, my Hells Yes’ and Hell Nos, my Say Yes To It All because I was set on building building building. Then, Year 2 was going to be one of Investment, but instead it became one of Taking Care, of Relief and Release, thanks to my boob cancer.
And Year 3? Well, I see it as The Year I Ask For Help. The one where I make Big Choices, like…
…aiming to make the large majority of my tasks revolve around writing, speaking and coaching (right now, my time is split 50/50 on average between billable and non-billable work)…
…having Arwyn, who has worked with me for almost 2 years now, step into more of an Operational role…
..putting my money where my mouth is, trusting that outlaying it now will lead to freeing up more billable time in the future…
…spending 2 full days Skyping it up with Arwyn to plan my 2013 projects (as opposed to telling her in our biweekly calls, “Oh, I’m gonna do this now! And then this! And maybe we should try this?..”) and nail down specific systems to eliminate the back-and-forth that often happens now…
…committing to quarterly 2-to-3 day strategy sessions to have more eyes and ears around what worked, what didn’t, and what needs to happen moving forward (as opposed to doing it all myself)…
…finding a social media strategist to help me streamline my efforts and hooplah (no, I don’t wanna call it “marketing” or “launches” or “sales”, thankyouverymuch) and someone else to implement it for me…
…becoming a published author…
…stepping into my expertise at helping creatives figure out what they wanna do when they grow up by creating an affordable signature program around the work that I’ve done (which you can make sure to be kept up-to-date on if you sign up here)…
…passing off tasks I’ve been holding on tight to, like client scheduling and set-up, billing, and email communication…
…saying No more often and really owning my need, want and desire for more Space…
…creating a business that can run in the very capable hands of my team members, minus the things that only I can do (namely speaking, writing and coaching).
Man oh man are these scary things to do and say. To me, they mean Growth and Sustenance, and while those are both positive things, I’ll be out of my comfort zone for sure. It’s about stepping into being The Manager as opposed to being The Doer, about relinquishing a fair amount of control, about trusting those who I hire to work with me. And not that I don’t trust them now (I totes trust you, Arwyn!), but it’s a place of trust where it’s giving over as opposed to working alongside, and that’ll be new for me.
Year 3 is gonna be an amazeballs one, guys. I just really feel it. And because I want everyone to experience what I’m experiencing – and have their own 3rd Entrepreneuriversary in 2017ish – I’ve decided to offer some extra support for those who purchase An Effective Escape: Leaving Your Day Job Without Living In Your Parents Basement this week. You’ll get email prompts twice a week for a month to make you extra accountable to work through the 68-page workbook, and then I’ll hold a live Q&A call to answer your specific questions and help tie up loose ends. Click on over and see if it calls to ya. And for those who’ve already bought it, check your Inbox to see how you can join us.
Ooh! And don’t forget to join Bryn Taylor, The Re-Stylist, and I over on Grown-Up Goods at 4p Eastern today. It’s gonna be the bestest.
As my friend and former Golden Goddess Deb Cooperman says, “Thank you. More please.”
TAGS: I Quit My Day Job: The Updates!, Michelle's Memoirs
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Big Congratulations Michelle on your 3rd Anniversary. Love how you are reaching and growing and expanding towards every single thing that is a yes in your life and business. You are such an inspiration. Wonderful post. And such a lovely photo of you… a very successful and confidant young woman.
Oh Suzanne, you always leave me with the biggest smile on my face. So many thank yous!
Amazeballs! I love that you wrote this rather than putting it on video. It holds YOU accountable. Re-visit this page next year and see how you surpass this list! Good for you for letting go.
Sharon
Yes yes yes! I knew there was a good reason for it
You got this in the bag, lady! I can totally see that happening for you this year
Thanks, cheerleader! Love having your pompoms raised for me
YAY! I’m so proud of you Michelle – you’re amazing!!
Mwah!
First off–Congrats on your 3 years of freedom! I’m actually celebrating my 1 year of freedom tomorrow!! I can’t wait to be at year 3 (and beyond!) That’s a lot of exclamation points, but that’s how excited working for myself makes me. It’s always inspiring to see other creative entrepreneurs who’ve stuck with it and made it happen. I think you have a lot of amazing stuff planned for this year, and I wish you lots of luck.
Happy entrepreneuriversary to you today, Jennifer! And I know what you mean ’bout all the excitement/exclamation points – I can’t help it, either!
I LOVE it. It’s so helpful to see your progression and knowing that your first full year was one of finding the footing too. I’m going through year 1 right now and have just enough work right now to quit and have clients for two months…but I’m SO scared. Eek!
Thanks for this post!
Lauren, that’s amazeballs! That’s a great “waiting list” – hope you’re so proud of you!
This is amazing! I’m going to steal like, half of your bullets and make ‘em my own.
Do it, do it!
Congrats Michelle -yay to year 3 and onwards!
Thanks much, Annching!
Michelle, you rock! Thank you for sharing this with us! I’m still at the veeeeerrrryyy beginning stages of my woman of the world journey (to quote a phrase from a certain special someone) to becoming a life coach, but being able to learn about where you’ve gotten and where you’re going inspires me to aim for these days someday myself! How very exciting for you. Delegating is an amazing skill, and when you’re good at it (which mainly means finding trustworthy people and then trusting them), it’s the best! It’s one of the many things I miss from my previous job…
Good luck, and I can’t wait to be inspired by you even more than I already am!
Oh Leigh, that’s amazeballs! Please let me know if I can be of any help at all along your life coaching journey. In the meanwhile, I’ll continue to bare it all right here
Congrats on your 3rd Entrepreneuriversary, Michelle! You’re such a wonderful inspiration in soooo many ways~
Are you going to start a Women of the World Club someday? Save me a seat
Aw, thanks lady! And you are SO part of the Club!