I was pretty excited when in my mid-20s, I had the opportunity to move to Denver from our head office in Calgary and manage the US operation. I felt like a hotshot. I had a corner office with my own admin assistant, I drove a sports car and I wore designer clothes. I really thought I had it made.
With my lack of experience and the economic climate combined, within a year the business went bankrupt. I had no choice but to move back home, humbled and overwhelmed.
With no money and nowhere to go, I was fortunate to come from a large family, and my brother let me move into his basement bedroom. It was a time when there were no jobs to be had, and I needed to make money to support myself. It took a little bit of ingenuity and chutzpah to get back on my feet.
I had enough money to get some business cards printed and to make it look like I was doing well, I rented a mailbox located in one of the downtown office buildings. I had checked out all the buildings, and this one happened to have a private women’s club on the main floor. For a very small fee, I was able to have a membership so I could use the beautiful restaurant for business meetings. So now I had great-looking business cards, an address from one of the most expensive buildings in town, and a private club to hold business meetings.
The first time I met a client, I didn’t have enough money to pay for lunch. I was happy they only ordered coffee.
I did all of this because it just wasn’t done to work from home. Forget the virtual workforce. You either looked the part or you didn’t play. Oh, my gosh, how things have changed.
It took a year of hard work, but in the end, I was in an office. I had two business partners, solid cash flow, and had saved enough money to follow my dream and my future husband to Africa. (That’s a story for another day.) It would never have happened if I hadn’t worked from home.
What I’ve learned is that you can’t always believe what you see. I learned to trust myself and realized that I could get through anything if I was willing to work hard, use my imagination, and stay positive.
I’ve learned about trust by making mistakes and doing some things right, and by studying some of the most trusted people in business. Now I help others. How can I help you succeed? Click here to book a call.