I used to secretly dream of running my own business, doing my own thing… it took me years to pluck up the courage to tell anyone – even my husband – that I wanted to quit the 9-5 and start my own thing. It’s really scary!!!

But I knew that I had to create a viable income, and a business that I loved rather than do the home > nursery > work > nursery > home juggle. I knew the hours, and the commute and the travel just wouldn’t work for me, and there had to be a better way. I was lucky enough to start up my business while on maternity leave, and that gave me the breathing space to birth my business.

Take baby steps, and don’t be afraid to build a micro business from something you love when you’re on maternity leave.

And if you’re back at work? Don’t just quit till you’re ready to make the leap financially… you could try working 4 days a week, and one on the business, and then cut down to working 3 days a week… and make it work for you.

[emaillocker]I was at the #Mumsnet #No7ready event earlier in the week with superblogger, #MotherPukka aka Anna Whitehouse. She described how she was upfront with her intention to make her blog pay from the beginning when she set it up.

She said she made very little money in the first 18 months, but then things began to happen. She was clear from the outset that she wanted sponsorship and branding.

“I’m not doing this as a vanity project,” she said. “Let’s be transparent, it was a business to feed my babies.”

I hear so many women that say they would love to make their blog or business pay, but they lack the confidence and belief in themselves to make that leap.

When I first started up my business, I would lie awake at night worrying about paying the nursery fees, and hoping that I’d cover all the bills. I knew that I was doing the right thing, but I didn’t have the confidence and belief in myself and my business. After what felt like ages faffing about (it was actually a few months), I hired a success coach, and it was as though my business went from amber to green. I took leaps in the way my business looked, my website went from amateur to pretty amazing, my advertising began to get notice, and of course the bottom line blossomed, and I’ve never looked back!

If you want to fly, you don’t just leap off a building flapping your wings. You develop a strategy to fly… you hire an instructor, and learn how to fly a plane in a simulator, and you take flying lessons, and after building up your hours, you are able to go solo. Building a business is just like this… you don’t just flap your wings and hope for the best – or if you do, you won’t get very far. You hire a team of people who can help you develop your skills, and you develop your mind so that you have the belief and the confidence to fly.

 Hiring a coach can help you to harness the passion in your business to skyrocket your success. When you have the belief in yourself, you can achieve anything. And I mean anything. It’s about being able to dig in and dig deep in the tough times, to succeed in the wonderful times.

Seriously, if you do one thing today that will change your life forever – start believing in you, and the possibilities for your dream, your business. Put your big girl pants on, and prepare for take off.

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