To fly or not to fly

The persistent quest to work for yourself.

In 2012, I found myself jobless with a 4-month old baby. The thought crossed my mind about venturing out on my own as a freelance project manager, but as quickly as it came into my mind, I squashed it right back out. Too risky. I have a newborn. A little human is depending on me. What if it doesn't work? 

So, I moved my family back to my hometown of Houston and took a long-term contract job at ConocoPhillips. I felt great about my decision because it was a safe, secure financial decision. Somewhere deep in my bones, though, I was still seeking something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. My hours at ConocoPhillips were long and hard. I barely saw my son and my husband. That's who I was doing this for, right? So why didn't it feel right?

I went on to work at a SharePoint shop followed by a remote project management position at eHouse Studio in Charleston, SC. I loved my job and I love the company I worked for, but it still just felt like something was missing. I think I felt it. They felt it. My family felt it.

That itch was begging to be scratched.

"Just try it out," the voice in my head kept saying.

There's a reason for everything. I had to trust in that...even if I had no idea what that meant or what it held for my family and me. It had been four years since the little voice told me I could do it on my own. A lot can change in four years. 

I grew as a person. I had so much more accountability and humility than I had once had. I understood more fully the value of listening. I had been exposed to corporate America's inner workings. I took on the challenge of a massive SharePoint intranet redesign and content strategy. Everything and everyone I talked to about it was telling me to do it. Now was the time. 

So I did it. I flew out on my own.

It was terrifying and liberating and exciting and stressful all at the same time. I didn't know what I was doing. I'd never been my own boss or subcontracted work to anyone on my own before. The only way to figure out if I could do it was to dive in head first. And that's exactly what I did. Fortunately, I knew of a company looking to redesign their site and I quickly landed my first major project, assembled my team of rockstars and we were off to the races.

And here we are today. After a very fast 5 months, my first project out on my own has launched. And it's beautiful. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself: Nook Sleep Systems. I even wrote a little case study about it for your reading pleasure here.

I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride at what has transpired over the past 6 months. I'm in a constant state of awe at what my team put together and delivered. I couldn't have had a better first client if I tried. The stars aligned and I listened to that voice and I'm so glad I did. 

I'll wrap it up with a shameless plug. If you have a site you need designed or know of a company in need of a redesigned website, please send them my way!