Sometimes the path to self employment is not out of choice but rather circumstance.
Michelle Milward had found herself out of work and overqualified for new employment. Being in a regional area on any normal day, opportunities for traditional employment are quite limited. Combine that with skills exceeding the expectations of the job openings and competing with younger local candidates, things get quite challenging.
Michelle decided to take matters into her own hands and together with husband Stephen, seized the opportunity and created Swabbin’ the Decks Cleaning Services.
While it’s still early days, Swabbin’ the Decks have begun to establish themselves in the local community of Sanctuary Point where they have taken a proactive approach of supporting their fello business owners, building trust and loyalty. Early results of their proactive approaches have resulted in with a number of opportunities through both private and commercial clients.
One of the great things about Michelle and her husband Stephen’s approach is that they don’t have plans for global scale and domination. Their needs are realistic and focused on their family and their lifestyle choices. This takes the pressure off and helps keep their goals attainable. It doesn’t have to be complicated, folks!
Life sometimes deals unexpected moments and Swabbin’ the Decks Cleaning Services is proof that you can turn a negative into a positive.
What did you get out of this episode? Here’s what I learnt;
1. Make it as easy as possible – When it comes to launching a new business its obvious that you want as many people to use your business. Michelle spoke of being as cheap and available as possible, however the most important thing is making your business easy for customers to discover and use. Remove all of the technicalities, don’t make it an overly complex process to begin with. Start small, keep it simple and the less hoops that people have to jump through to discover and utilise your business, the better the chances of getting the public on board. Remember to Just Get Started.
2. Creating income to cater for your specific lifestyle – This is more of a self development topic with some big picture thinking, however this is something to heavily consider at any stage. What do you want out of life? Do you want the car, do you want the beautiful big house, yearly extensive adventures overseas? Maybe its to put your kids through tertiary education or directly support some of the fundamentals in your family. Whatever it is, understanding what those desires are and the costs associated helps understand what you actually need to bring in financially to meet these needs and wants. By spending time doing this exercise, you may find that your goals are more attainable than you originally thought.
3. Community buy in – Once again, I’m a parrot and I’ll keep repeating this one. Michelle is another example of a business owner who has found early success by embedding themselves into the local area and ensuring that they are visible and available to help other businesses on their journeys. Having the backing of others in the community gives a healthy mental safety net when times get tough.
4. Every day is an opportunity – Regardless of what happened yesterday or what is happening right now, every single day holds opportunities. All it takes is being able to give yourself the chance to see them. Yes, there are days when we feel like throwing in the towel however having an optimistic, glass-half-full perspective attitude can be valuable throughout your Self Starter journey.
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Michelle and Stephen – Swabbin’ The Deck Cleaning Services, Sanctuary Point
