A look at my day, five months into my entrepreneurial journey

You know I launched my business in July, and here we are at the end of the year, and I thought I'd share a look into how things are going five months into my entrepreneurial journey. December is a time of reflection - looking back at the year, appreciating accomplishments, and letting go of things that no longer serve me. It's also a time to think about what is coming and looking forward to new beginnings.

Here I am - five months into consulting, 149 days of learning, trying, adjusting, and trying again. Twenty-one weeks of building my business, designing my website, attending trainings and webinars, and making changes when things go awry.

Heading into the new year feeling so grateful for this journey. Keep reading if you'd like to learn what I've been up to!

My Daily Routine and Time Management

I wake up most days and get started around 8 AM, though client meetings, coaching sessions, and on-site work vary that routine.  I have learned that working ON and IN my business is important to keep the client pipeline active.  Finding the right balance is challenging in a couple of ways.  When I am not busy with client work, there is a lot of time to spend ON my business. 

Working ON my business means:

• Social media content creation – I decided to post every weekday on Linked In, Instagram & Facebook (full disclosure, I am abandoning Facebook in the new year, it’s not working for me). This is working for me - and I am gaining followers, interacting with new people all over the world and I don't even know who the lerkers are - watching from the shadows.

• I post a weekly article on my website.  It’s usually longer and I keep my tone conversational, like having a coffee chat with a friend or colleague.

• Sales stuff – I work to come up with templates, offers, and freebies (content giveaways) – that I can use in my articles and content.

• Client outreach – sending emails, scheduling calls, and attending networking events that can help me stay top of mind when people need comms help.

When I have a lot of client work, working IN my business looks more like this:

• Schedule meetings with clients to discuss their projects, offer ideas, and understand their needs.

• Block time to focus and produce the strategy and content my clients need.

• Reach out to experts, research online, and find the information needed to deliver.

• Produce the things my clients need.  This could be messaging, strategic frameworks, meeting agendas, and working/listening sessions.  Sometimes I write, other times I crank out questions, scenarios, and ways to get the information I need from employees so we can figure out what’s going right and what needs to change for their organization. 

I worried when I started consulting that these daily tasks would be a drain on me and leave me bored.  The opposite is true – I love this part of the job.  I am still learning how to shift and scale the balance, and December is the first time I’m really busy with client work, where I need to MAKE time to work ON my business – but I’m figuring it out.  It’s been fun.

Client Interactions and Communication

One of the best parts of what I do is the time I get to spend interacting with clients and potential clients. This means responding to urgent requests, setting up interviews, drafting content, and strategizing client communications.

Some of the things I’ve gotten to do so far include a rollout plan with messaging to guide employees through an acquisition, proposing a plan to help engage and excite a team working for a small(ish) company during a time of rapid growth, planning a major charity event that hosted more than 250 people and raised more than $57,000 in one night, crafting a holiday message for a CEO, and hovering over a workbench gathering process and procedures so I can document the technical build. 

The best is going into meetings where I get to meet the people I’m communicating to and with. I love planning listening/discovery sessions where we get to dig in and see what’s causing the disconnection and then figure out how to bring people together so they enjoy their work, see their impact, and be more engaged and productive. 

Networking and Business Development

Networking is critical as a consultant.  In my corporate roles, networking was more about team building and industry connections.  As a business owner, it’s a whole different animal.  If I’m being honest, it sometimes feels like I am slacking off and I have to remind myself that networking is about being connected to potential clients and others who can support and refer me to potential clients.

I enjoy this part of my job, but it took me a hot minute to find the right place to network.  When I started, I visited chambers of commerce, rotary clubs, small business associations, and groups focused on hard-core referrals.  I found I enjoyed every meeting I attended, and the people who invited me or who took the time to meet me were all lovely and gracious. 

Ultimately, I found 3 groups that fit me and my business best and those are the three that I nurture, and attend regular meetings and events.  The three groups that work best for me don’t work for every consultant – but that’s the beauty. Keep looking till you find your people. 

Two of my groups are local and offer a ton of in-person connection.  The other is primarily online and we have virtual gatherings and meetings.  I’ve made lots of new friends through all these groups and now, in a way, I have colleagues.  They are around to share ideas, sort out questions, offer suggestions, and just be supportive. 

Challenges and Work-Life Balance

Managing my work-life balance is important. I can see myself getting to a place where I am grinding constantly and don’t pick up my head for hours, or days.  This happens in all jobs, you work long hours, you eat lunch at your desk, and things can be stressful. 

It’s weird when it happens to me now because I don’t mind it as much because I am my boss.  I get to pick my projects, and I pick the ones I want – so it doesn’t feel as much like work.  In addition, both my kids left for college this year, so it’s just me and my husband at home with our 5-year-old pupper!  So having work to focus on actually brings me a great deal of joy and satisfaction. 

I imagine there will come a time when I have to turn down a project because I can’t fit it in, but my network has provided me with excellent people to whom I can refer that business. I also plan downtime to prevent me from burning out because not working ON and IN my business – even for a short time – means I don’t nurture clients and I don’t get the business I need to keep growing. 

Right now, I am writing this entry at 5 AM in Monument, Colorado where I am visiting my sister and her family for a spontaneous getaway we planned 10 days ago.  This trip would not be possible if I didn’t have the flexibility of freelancing.  I’ve cleared my schedule and plan to work a few hours each morning while the family sleeps. I’m attempting to stay on the eastern [time zone] schedule.  We’ll see how that goes.

Overall, I’m loving life as a small business owner and embracing the freedom of freelancing.  It’s taken some time to get things rolling, but I’m underway now and can’t wait to see how next year shapes up.  I’m going to make a note in my calendar to post another update in December 2025, so I can see what’s changed and keep moving forward in this entrepreneurial journey.