Another one bites the dust

I might have used that title for another blog entry before, though I'm sure the subject itself was totally different.

This morning I met up with a Conveyancer that is part of my networking group I meet with. We all have one on one meetings with each other regularly in order to keep our relationships fresh. Well, today I met with our groups Conveyancer and what an interesting discussion was had. I discovered a few common interests such as our dislike for packaged food. And we also discussed actual business, which is what we're really there for.

However, some of the questions I ask people in our group usually lean more towards what you don't want from your business rather than what you're after. People know what they want, it's often than not they don't know what they don't want. The reason I ask them this is so I can avoid sending them a customer they will hate for the rest of their lives. I only want good clients in my business, so it's only fair they receive the same.

The discussion went on and eventually this person realised something. They didn't want to be doing their job. They just sort of fell into it by way of being handed some work and told to do it, then later in life they had kids, so they went and did what they knew best, the same job. Life went on hold. However, they soon realised that if anything, going back into the industry meant not having a life at all. So they opted out of it all and started to work from home... someone has to pay the bills.

It turns out, this whole time they have just been going with the flow and have ended up here. Questioning their career, their life and their situation.

The story was too familiar.

If anything, it's only motivated me more to keep pushing in the direction I am longing for, rather than just longing for the change to magically appear. It was also a breath of fresh air to meet someone who is going through a similar experience. The other thing that was funny was that we both had similar beliefs, assumptions and issues with the networking organisation we're both in.

I hope she ends up happy with everything she's working hard to achieve.

Business Networking

I'm part of a business networking organisation. I have been for about nearly 2 years. I won't lie, it has been a great experience. I have learnt a great deal about business in a short time, and have picked up a lot of information that helps me every day from the people in my networking group.

When the group first started, it was nice, fresh and exciting. These days not so much. And in actual fact, the changes being made go slightly against my grain. Why? Well, I'm a pretty easy going guy. I go with the flow. I don't and never have liked rules and regulations. Hence why I had a terrible time at school. However, all these rules and regulations are starting to appear at my network and the sad part is, it's taking the fun out of it.

Now, I run my own business, and if it's not fun then I'm doing it wrong. That's my theory. The day I feel like it's work is the day I throw in the towel. I won't lie, that day is coming closer. There have been times when I've thought about it, and there are other times when I'm not. Though I mostly enjoy my day working on people's computers.

At the moment my business is changing though. I'm not sure if it's the right direction, but I'm taking it where it wants to be. And at the moment, it's leaning away from the current IT service role it provides, into a more interesting online sales type of role.

The competition is fierce, but that didn't stop me starting up my IT support business. One area where I am also about to change is, and I have made my mind up about this already, to abandon my business networking organisation and perhaps go with another one that is a bit more flexible.

It's a bit of a catch 22. If I leave, it's a big part of my business I'm leaving behind. If I stay, I'm unhappy with an inflexible system that doesn't allow my creativity to shine through with other ideas. I did find another organisation that seems to be a bit more suitable for me. It's a bit more upper class, however, it's a bit more flexible and more in line with the ideas of my business model in which my business will be surviving in shortly once I make all the changes.

It's not often that I'm a little frightened or apprehensive about something, but for some reason I am now. Is it because I'm older? Because I have more to lose if I fail? I know I can start again if the proverbial hits the fan, but do I want to? It's frustrating. So frustrating all I can do is laugh about it, hopefully laughing all the way to the bank.