A year on…..and why following my gut was the right thing to do.

29th May 2019: I had just walked away from a well-paid job that allowed me to travel the world, (mostly in business class) WFH when I wanted and came with all the shiny benefits of working for a large corporate organisation. However, I was miserable, I resented the travel, I was lonely WFH all the time and I even hated the benefits and felt they were a trap. All I knew in my gut was that I had to leave and I had to work out what made me happy.

29th May 2020: I have my own business, I am 37 weeks pregnant and I am more in control of my life than I have ever been. Two things that I didn’t believe I would have when I walked out the door of that shiny job last year. I have just finished off a contract with an amazing organisation and I am happier than I could ever have imagined.

What I have learnt over the last year, is that I would not be where I am today without those 5 years at the large corporate. I learnt so much from the people I worked with, from colleagues who were at my level (I hate that word but it is such a thing in the corporate structure) those who were above me and actually the most from the one at the very top. I learnt about strength from women in working in a male dominated world, about working hard for what you believe in and about being kind.

I know that 5 years isn’t a long time to work somewhere, but it had such a huge impact on who I am, and how I want my career to turn out and gave me the strength to take that leap to be a business owner. I am beyond grateful to those who I learnt from and those who I wouldn’t want to see ever again. They both taught me something in equal parts.

Over the last year I think some might say I been lucky, I have managed to secure and take on a number of contracts and have some really loyal clients, this is something not many people have in their first year of business. I don’t think it is luck, I think it is about believing. When I left my previous job, I was so low on energy, on self esteem, or belief in myself that I just knew in my gut that I had to leave. I wasn’t left with any other option than to get on with it, find work and believe in myself. What I worked out really quickly is, that I knew what I wasn’t going to accept, I was no longer going to accept working long hours with little gain. October 2018 saw me working 15 hours a day for 3 weeks and crying on my kitchen floor the night before a 3am pick up to fly to Barcelona. A period of my life that nearly lost me my husband. I was no longer going to accept some weird politics that exist in some organisations that mean people don’t tell the FFFing truth. I was no longer going to accept people being rude to me, and I was no longer going to hold back on what I wanted to say in fear of what people thought of me. And this all came from looking back at the good and the bad of a job and really working out where I wanted my life and career to go.

As I close out and plan to go on maternity leave for a period of time, I am beyond proud of myself. I am proud of the organisations and teams I have worked with over the last year for allowing me to grow and giving me the space to be just Alys and I am really proud, and grateful to my clients for going on this journey with me.

As I look to 29 May 2021, I will have a little one in tow, and I have no idea what my life will look like, but what I do know is that if I believe in myself and follow my gut, everything will work out just the way it should be!