One thing that I have had consistently asked of me this past year is this:
Are you happy?
Exactly one year ago today I left my corporate job and decided to go full time working for myself. I was burned out, emotionally exhausted, and needed to make changes in a lot of aspects of my life. At this time, I was so scared to take the leap, but after lots of conversations with people in my support system, it was the right decision for me both personally and professionally.
Here I am one year later, and I am still learning and growing each and every day. However, I have had the most transformative year of my life, and I have grown in ways I never expected.
Here are my favorite takeaways from this past year:
Mental Health is IMPORTANT:
One year ago I walked away from a lot of toxicity in my life all at once. And let me tell you, it was SCARY. I had to put my mental health first, and I got back into seeing a therapist (therapy works, y’all). I worked on being able to talk about my emotions with loved ones. I drove up to Grand Forks, North Dakota and spent a month with my grandma and grandpa… because I COULD! I chose to take a year to do things that made me feel HAPPY. I traveled a LOT, connected with friends and family, and chose to let life take me where it takes me.
I have found how important it is to always check in with myself, my therapist, my friends, and my family. Across all facets of my life, I frequently am asked this question: Are you happy?
Coworkers are SO important:
At my previous job, I met some truly amazing people that became really great friends of mine. Connecting with them every day was something I missed a LOT early on. I realized that a huge part of having coworkers was the ability to socialize and touch base consistently with people that genuinely care about how you are doing, not just professionally but personally as well. I was able to keep in touch with a lot of old coworkers, but I then created my new group of coworkers, and found a number of other small business owners to connect with, work with, and touch base with. Now, we touch base weekly and work as each other’s support system, sharing our ‘wins’ every week, the ‘rocks’, or challenges, we have coming up, ask each other questions and cross-collaborate.
My group of ‘coworkers’ consistently ask each other the most important question: Are you happy?
It’s important to have unbiased support:
Anyone who really knows me knows that my Dad is hands down one of my favorite people in the whole world. He supports me in everything I do, and if you ask any family member of mine, you’ll know the tangent conversations we go off on when it comes to ‘brainstorming’ the future. MegoMedia was started after one of our ‘brainstorming’ walks around the neighborhood back in 2017.
My Dad has become the ‘board’ for my business, and has pushed me to have touch-base meetings on a regular basis to have unbiased opinions and evaluations of how things are really going. We talk about financials, logistics, goals, milestones to achieve them, and so much more….
Every time my Dad (aka my ‘board’) and I talk, he always asks me the most important question: Are you happy?
Don’t be afraid to say NO:
When I left my job, I had a moment completely and totally FREAKING OUT. I was now fully responsible for all of my income and my ability to live.
I definitely made my fair share of mistakes as I figured it out, but what I ultimately concluded was this: Say NO to the things that don’t make me happy.
There were clients that didn’t mesh with my way of working, and there were clients that treated me more like their punching bag than their marketing gal! It’s okay to say NO!
There are different types of work and projects that I genuinely do not enjoy. Rather than say I would do it, I found the right people to fill in the gaps. Say NO to things that don’t make you happy! And pass them on to the people that do… I’ve learned that usually more opportunities come your way when you do 😉
Open yourself up to new opportunities:
When I talk about new opportunities I mean this both professionally and personally.
Personally: I wanted to do things I LOVE, things that make me happy. One particular opportunity that is very near and dear to my heart… I have a deep passion for caring for others, and particularly individuals impacted by Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I was able to incorporate volunteering on a weekly basis at a local nursing home, working with individuals in their Memory Care Facility. I have built beautiful relationships with the individuals there and really rekindled my passion in this field.
Professionally: The obvious answer to this is saying ‘yes’ to new clients that fit into my ideal client framework. However, I have also had the opportunity to run with a few new business ventures of my own.
The Full Stride Academy: I have had the opportunity to work with a great group of women to build out an academy of classes for business owners to be able to execute on their own marketing and business strategies. We are still building this out and evolving the academy, but we are so excited for where the future may lead!
CommComm: With a former coworker of mine, Cathy Von Eschen, we had the bright idea one day to start a new business to provide self-service, affordable marketing and social media options for small businesses. We have spent lots of time formulating a business strategy and timeline, and are excited to launch the first phase of CommComm THIS MONTH. It is crazy to think of how far we have come in such a short period of time, and we are SO excited for the opportunities that lie ahead.
A constant reminder that I have given myself as new opportunities present themselves is this: Does this make you happy?
There is a clear theme as I reflect upon the last year…. happiness.
So my main takeaway from this year…
Are you happy?
My answer: YES
In honor of Mother's Day.......
If you've made it this far, I wanted to make sure I shared an honorable mention of my mom, Beth Bethke. She recently has started doing some work for MegoMedia in her retirement and she is crushing it! However, before I posted this blog, I sent it over and had her review, and her comments were worth noting ;):
"I think you have figured out one of life’s most important secrets, if you are happy at work you are likely to be happy in the rest of your life! Fantastic blog Megan! You make your momma proud!!!!!!!!!!! (Even though you obviously love your dad more than you love me.)"
For the record, I love her equally!
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