Up, Up and Away!

Hi- and welcome to this first edition of my blog- through which I’ll be sharing news and reflections on my journey into self-employment, also learnings and resources that can hopefully be of use to you- wherever your own journey is taking you!  

In this first outing, we’ve got:

1…A Milestone to Celebrate!

2…Learnings… So Many Learnings!

3… A Possibly Life-Changing Productivity Tip!

Let’s dive straight in!

1…A Milestone to Celebrate!

Can six months really have passed since I signed up ‘officially’ as a self-employed person?  So much has happened since that it is hard for me to believe- but the calendar does not lie, and indeed it was on the second Monday morning of September 2023 that I tiptoed gingerly onto the government’s HMRC website to register my fledgling new business.  Approximately three-and-a-half minutes later, ‘Jonathan Baker Consultancy’ was no longer a mere notion in my head, but an actual bona-fide entity In The Eyes Of The Law.  Yikes and Double Yikes!

If three-and-a-half minutes sounds like a pretty short timeframe over which to cross such a transformational life threshold- well that’s because it is!  It’s certainly shorter than the more like three-and-a-half weeks that it took me to complete possibly the most headache-inducing stage of my journey so far- choosing the name for my business!  Even by that September Monday Morning, three potential monikers remained highlighted on my ‘shortlist’- but eventually I plumped for the first one that had ever entered my head!

Later on that morning, I was talking on the phone to my mother, who gave the seal of approval: ‘Oh- I like that name!’. ‘Well that’s not really surprising’, I replied- ‘after all, you did once choose it for your first-born child!’. 

On balance- we agreed my mother (wise woman though she may be)- was in no position to give an objective view on the matter at hand.  What do you think of the name though?  I do hope you like the cut of its jib.  After all- now we have this website up and running emblazoned with its name- I think it’s here to stay!

2… Learnings- So Many Learnings!

OK- so now I had equipped my fledgling business not only with a name but with a lovingly hand-crafted web presence to boot!  These would be the last major challenges involved in getting this enterprise properly underway, right?  

Well- as it turned out- yes and no!  Because if there is anything I have realised during these first six months, it is that as learning devices go, there is really no substitute for real-life experience- and that when our well-laid plans don’t pan out in practice quite how we may have plotted them out in theory- well, that experience can lead us to the most valuable of all learnings! 

As the value of my day-to-day trial and error dawned on me, I started to keep a reflective journal of my ‘self-employment journey’- and had soon filled a note-book with track-tested insight on topics such as: time-management; networking; finding/keeping customers; pricing; business planning; keeping on top of finances- and more!

I now know more certainly than ever that the learning will never end- which is fine by me, as learning- and the personal growth that I get from doing so- is one of my greatest joys in life!  I also love helping others to learn, grow, and achieve truest purpose.  And so- I will be sharing my learning with you over the coming weeks- via this very blog.  The very first of these ‘bite-size’ pieces will be dropping next Monday 18th March- and the topic will be one of relevance to all of our journeys: Time-Management. Watch this space!  

3… A Possibly Life-Changing Productivity Tip!

 I certainly love finding new sources of practically-actionable insight online- and one of my favourite all-time discoveries has to be the work of Oliver Burkeman.

Oliver’s academically-backed but accessibly-down-to-earth writing specialises in helping us navigate the ‘always-on’ modern work culture while protecting our preciously finite wells of time, creativity, and sanity- and this piece - on how by limiting ourselves to three or four hours of focussed concentration daily, we can not only get more quality productive output achieved but emerge as happier human beings in the process- really caught my eye.  Not only because it advises spending the remaining daylight hours playing tennis and drinking cocktails- although that did help, I will admit!

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