In a past life I worked at a major university as a student services coordinator. I worked with incoming international students learning English as a Second Language. These wonderful students were from all over the world and ranged in ages from 17-65. That range of ages also compounded the issues that I would have help them with in my role. Here’s a quick snapshot of what I worked on.
- Training other administrators
- Managing and training student assistants
- Dealing with all aspects of our students’ immigration needs. SO.MANY.NEEDS.
- Coordinating student events
- Marketing.
- Data entry
You get the picture. It was a lot of freaking work. By the time I left the university I was working with around 600 students at any given time (give or take) it was way too much and I was burnt out. In fact, a couple of years before I took the leap into online entrepreneurship one of my student assistants told me about The Four Hour Work Week. Weirdly enough, at the time for some reason I just didn’t buy into the premise of the book.
I wasn’t ready for it.
While I do think that 4 hours a week sounds still a bit aspirational, I DO think that it’s possible to work a much more paired down work week (eventually) with online entrepreneurship. To be clear, a short work week like this won’t happen in the first couple of years of your online business. But, it’s absolutely possible to design a business that helps you design the lifestyle that you would like to live.
At the end of 2014 I took the leap and initially landed into self-employment. I worked a variety of jobs and projects for a number of years until I began designing and selling my own products.
Every small win mattered as did every failure. Those cumulative experiences are a necessary part of the entrepreneurship journey.
The Brand Building Lab is the space where I get to geek out about all things online entrepreneurship while uplifting voices of color and allies who are doing the work…but may not get on center stage for whatever reason.
I wanted to earn a living while at the same time enjoying my life and being of service to others. It hasn’t been easy but I’m glad that I trusted my gut and started this journey.
Welcome to The Brand Building Lab-your future starts now!
Michelle
