As I look to the pile of papers sat next to me, I feel a mix of emotions. I have just completed my self assessment for 19/20, this is the first time I’ve done it in the same year and not last minute the following January about 5 days before the final date… so I am bragging a little here, and sat before me are all the previous years tax returns.
For those reading this that might not know me that well, I have been self employed for many years now whilst I have been employed by another company. It started off with me face painting in the family stand for Rangers football club. I got the job because this beautiful little girl asked me to face paint at her birthday party (she attended the nursery I worked in and I used to paint for fun with the kids) to which I happily did. I knew her mum worked for Rangers so when I was asked how much… I simply asked for a signed poster for my husband. Then we all know the Kevin Bridges joke about the £20 face painter for Rangers when they went into administration…. well I ended up getting the job after the previous was, eh, let go!
It was there that I got the bug for earning extra money on top of my full time wages, and gave me a sense of accomplishment. So from there I started selling PartyLite candles, which I just adored and still buy off my old upline, and I would party as much as I could! The night before I flew out to New York to get married I had a party, and I’m still friends with the woman that held that party. The wages I earned that night bought my Tiffany & Co necklace that I always wear. It felt so good to be able to have a little more financial freedom. A could of months before I gave birth I did my last party and snuffed out my candles.
A few months later I decided to take the plunge and really get out the comfort zone and started selling Younique make up online over social media. I did this for 3 years, and made money that was spending money for New York again, a trip to London and some gifts at Christmas time. I put the hours in and I worked at my business. I wasn’t interested in building a team so I never really tried, I was happy to help others if they needed or wanted it but it wasn’t my priority. No I do understand that more under you means more earning… I got the whole business model but it just wasn’t for me. However in the last 5-6 months I really didn’t enjoy the ‘selling’ side of it and hated messaging people for sales, so I decided to step away from it.
So here lay the paperwork of all my previous self employed ventures and I felt sad, sad because I felt I had failed. Failed because I wasn’t ‘a millionaire’ quoting Del Boy there!
Then on Facebook I made a comment on someone’s live about how I never sent out the ‘copy and paste’ messages that says something along the lines of ‘hey hun (I really hate being called that) I’ve seen your profile and you would be amazing doing what I do….’ you know the ones I mean! I then commented that I had left network marketing become I hated sending messages. She commented that she didn’t realise I had left and then said ‘ah sorry it wasn’t a success for you’.
Not going to lie… this made me so angry! How dare she say that I was a failure! Just because I didn’t have a big team or make my millions, didn’t mean I wasn’t a success. Over the years I have helped to pay off our first car, (I took out a loan and paid off £4K in a year) bought myself Tiffany & Co Jewellery, helped pay for my wedding in New York, spending money for another trip over there, trip to London and gifts for my daughter…..
So where did I fail and where was I unsuccessful??
So instead of looking at these papers with sadness, I am looking at them with hope. I worked hard with those ventures (I’m still a face painter for Rangers… best job… but thanks to COVID I cant work at the moment) and I got from them what I needed at that time. So I didn’t fail, I might not have found what my niche is just yet, but all of these ventures have taught me life lessons that I will put into practice when the time comes.
So if your struggling, and your feeling like your failing… trust me your not!! If you are trying your best and putting yourself out there, then you my friend are succeeding where so many others have been to scared to try.
Don’t measure your work against someone else.. you don’t know them, their why or their circumstances. So focus on you and keep going. Equally, if you are a self employed millionaire… go you!! I am 100% behind you, but please remember that others are still learning and it is hard! So please be kind with your words, we are all doing our best!
This photo was taken in 2015… days after our wedding day where I bought my necklace, two rings entangled together. The clerk loved that we were Scottish and just married so treated us to champagne and cake in Tiffany’s.
The motivating mum 