The Accidental Entrepreneur

Sometimes, people start businesses the right way. I admire those people, slaving away in their cubicles, pilfering away savings for ten-plus years, until they can satisfy their bank manager that their business plan is good enough for a business loan. Or, they save enough to live for six months whilst they try to build a business (which we all know should actually take two-to-five years!) I did neither of these things. In fact, it was only in the second year of my business that I even realised that I was running a business.

I got started in the strangest way — in fact it still surprises me to tell it. I can’t say it was easy, because I would be lying to you, but simply, I started working on my home-based business with a PC, an internet connection, a little bit of luck, and a willingness to learn along the way.

Of course I had always been interested in design and the web, but never really thought that I could make a living with it. When I first started university, the web was just this awesome new thing, the home of usenet trolls, Trekkies and other “no-life” folks. There were no guarantees of its success (ha!), and it makes me laugh today, to think that a Multimedia degree was somehow higher risk than a Politics degree. Yes, it’s hilarious and I am highly embarrassed. Feel free to mock me.

I got my degree, tried a few contract jobs, had my first child, went back to uni for Post Grad studies, tried a few more contract positions in the public service, and finally settled into a government policy position. It was nothing at all like I had aspired to, quite literally showing up to work on a project that had been stalled. It really wasn’t the life of political adventure that I had envisaged. I never really fit, was never very happy with just “turning up” — and pretty quickly, I had figured out that the words “family friendly” were just that: words. The Department had a work-from-home policy, but you had to jump through hoops to get it. They had Flexi time, where if you took it, it was frowned upon. I was not happy with this existence.

Then, I fell pregnant with my son. It was a complicated pregnancy, and I was hospitalised several times before his delivery. I had to resign from my job, and stay on bed rest for 3 months. Hello, internet.

I had been a fan of singer Lisa Loeb for many years, and had spent a long time around the fan community, and spent a fair amount of time writing out guitar tablature for the fans. I had set up a website for these, and used this (as well as my own personal pages that were a blog before the word blog became cool) as opportunities to learn web design. When Lisa’s forum admin went AWOL and I received a cease-and-desist from Lisa’s management about the guitar tabs (I told you it was bizarre!), it somehow ended in me being in charge of the site, and in forging one of the most valuable friendships I could have made. I gradually built up a client base from that little bit of luck and friendship, working for a lot less than market value, and built up a portfolio of solid work.

Before I knew it, the opportunity to go back to work came and went, I was offered several excellent policy positions, and then, in late 2006, I realised that I had inadvertently built a business as a freelance designer. And the weird part is, in early 2007, I turned down what would have been my dream job three years before. Yes, it was at that moment I realised that I was living the dream — finding work as a designer, finding balance between work and family life, and yes, getting paid to play with Photoshop all day.

As we approach the end of 2008, I am running a business that makes me a healthy living and producing high quality work for other small businesses. Of course, in those four years I have made many, many mistakes — some of them abysmal. And I often think that if I had put more thought into the actual businessy stuff, that everything would be easier now. But at the same time, it is an adventure, and anything can be achieved with the right mindset.

So if you are sitting at home, baby in arms, or a toddler running amok, wondering if you can possibly consider opening a home-based business — of course you can! All it takes is for you to jump in feet first, find your passion, and go from there. You’ll never know where you’re going to end up.

Don’t worry, I’ll guide you along the way, and help you avoid some of the mistakes I made (and sometimes continue to make…) The next article will help you take that first leap, and give you some resources to inspire you to create a business that suits you.

Have a question? Email work2.0@babblebaby.com.au