Day 14 of the blog challenge and I’ve been tasked with explaining how I got into doing what I do!
Many years ago I played a lot of sport, but injury forced my to quite. At the time I worked in a job with crazy hours (4am start) so that I could finish at lunctime and head off to the gym in the afternoon. After quitting sport I was left with a huge hole in my day after work, so I decided to make use of the time and give myself some better prospects.
My father ran his own book-keeping/accountancy practice at the time, and I’d always had a head for figures so it seemed like the natural thing to do. I selected a course that seemed best suited to my needs and began to study hard in the afternoons.
Fast forward a few years and I have passed my exams and have a full time job working in a finance department, yet I wanted to use my new skills more so decided to set up my own business alongside my main job. I was open and honest with my employer about what I was doing, and assured them that it wouldn’t interfere with my daytime job. The plan is to eventually work part-time during the day once I have built up my business to a level to allow me to do so. The next logical step is full time self-employment.
Of course there are problems that have been encountered along the way. The two hardest to begin with were staying awake during the afternoon and adjusting back to studying as it had been around 4 or 5 years since I had left school. The main problems I face now are attracting new clients and marketing my business. It’s tough to keep the work/life balance in balance and some evenings I’ll come home from work to find myself working until 10pm. But I enjoy it so it’s worthwhile.
How did you come to be in the industry you are?
