When I decided to become a part time Freelancer

How it all began 

There is no exact sign which will tell you what to do. I have thought of starting my own business in the past but never got much further than the ‘idea’ stage. Sometimes I would even look up information to put in my business plan but it never came down to anything concrete. 

Decisions, decisions, decisions 

Despite enjoying my current job, I was at a crossroads in my life where I needed to decide if I was going to choose a different path which would lead me to a new challenge. Don’t get me wrong. I really love the company I work for and love my coworkers even more. The company had grown rapidly in the past 3 years and I was closely involved from the moment I joined. After a few years, the position I started in had changed and currently, together with a freelance bookkeeper, I am responsible for the financial administration of the company. 

Energy returned…

After a short and succinct meeting with one of the directors of the company, I dropped one working day almost immediately. I was really pleased and secretly not surprised taking into account how flexible they are. Shortly after reducing my working hours, my energy and creativity returned which in turn gave me the space I needed to be able to concentrate on making an informed decision about my future. Luckily my husband ‘pushed’ me to pursue this road even though it meant a cut in my pay check by one quarter. Without him I would still be doubting because it felt like I could not ‘handle working that much’ and silently I thought I was a failure. 

New beginnings 

Two weeks later I started fast tracking my investigations. As mentioned before, my energy was back and my creativity was taking place in my life again. I noticed this in the small things. I was still napping a lot to catch up on the lost sleep of the past months (sleeping poorly is apparently also a sign that you need to change something in your life). I was enjoying the small things more and choosing for myself more often. I had started a small vegetable and herb garden a few months ago and was slowly watching the plants grow. I took time to nurture them and that was one of the things I really enjoyed doing and was searching for in a job. My nature is to investigate everything and try it out, see the outcome and enjoy. Planting a garden was new to me and I had to see if my ‘hard work’ would pay off. 

At that moment I knew I needed more and to create that I needed to take things into my own hands. That was when I decided to become a part-time freelancer and Shelley's Office Support was born. A few short months into the process and I am still figuring things out and learning a lot, but even this experience has made me wiser already. 

The story continues

Slowly but surely, I will take you through the beginning of my journey from registering at the Chamber of Commerce, attending sessions organised by the Tax Office, getting a logo created and more. One of the first things I am proud to reveal is my new website which can be found here. 

Hopefully I will e-see you all again soon. 

Cheers, Shelley