A typical day at work for me can be anything from meeting clients and agreeing the scope of their work project, to attending networking events and working on my various businesses. I will often work on projects during the day, attend events during the afternoon and develop my other ventures in the evening and weekends. I tend to keep my days varied when possible and mentally schedule in my workload for
the coming week on a Sunday afternoon with a cup of loose leaf tea. By mentally preparing for the challenges and workload of the week ahead I am able to meet deadlines and keep clients happy.
What do you think are the three most important skills to succeed in your career area?
The three most important skills in my chosen career path have to be without any doubt Resilience, adaptability and ultimately passion; without these skills it’s difficult to be an entrepreneur.
Was this something you planned to do or did you change direction at any point in the past? If so, what was that and was it easy to do?
This career was something that found me and was accessible to me given my lack of formal educational quali cations. Working for myself allowed me to develop multiple skills which I would have possibly never be able to grasp had I decided to just work as an employee. My direction drastically changed after attending a one week coding course where I learnt the basics of coding HTML and CSS, I was able to develop my coding knowledge as well as business acumen. I was fortunate enough to find a mentor who helped me to develop my business skills.
What do you love most about working in your career area?
The thing I love most about working for myself is having the ability to take time out from working when I need to relax and being able to have complete exibility to work whenever I feel it suits me best. For example I like to be able to take the mornings off some days and work into the evenings some other days or get up early and finish at midday when the sun shines. I love the freedom of deciding when and how I work.
Are there any negative aspects of working in your career area that people considering it should be aware of?
Yes of course being self-employed is great but it also comes with additional challenges. If you work for someone else your wages are guaranteed and you only have to focus on your role within the company. If you choose to be self-employed you have to consider many things from your sales, marketing and project management of your work to ensuring it’s completed and invoiced within agreed deadlines.
What training / qualifications did you undertake for your current role or are you currently undertaking?
Qualifications are incredibly useful if you want a job, less so if you want to be your own boss. Once you set out as self-employed you are judged on the merit of your skill and talent not by a piece of paper! You will however keep up with the changing market and adapt by learning new skills and pushing yourself to pursue new opportunities. The training I undertook was largely self- taught, I attended a one week coding boot camp which gave me the skills and confidence to learn further using online tutorials and communities.
Is there any other information that would be of interest to someone thinking of this career?
If you want to work for yourself and set your own work schedule then you will need to be a self-learner open to being flexible and beyond all else driven. This will enable you to hit the ground running. You may also consider finding a mentor someone to guide you on your journey and give you the wealth of their experience on decisions you may feel unsure about or apprehensive about making.
