I often agonise over content for my regular blogs and have finally decided to blog the truth - not really revelatory, but interesting all the same.
Not the truth of secrets best kept in the cupboard, but the truth of how I am managing as a sole trader, business owner and someone who reached retirement age but who also still very much wants to reach her full potential.
Like many people I dreamt of being my own boss. Having experienced good, bad and indifferent management styles, I always thought I would be the best boss in the world - the jury’s still out on that one. As I am my only staff member, I work myself hard and don’t reward enough, but that’s another story.
By the time I left my last job as an employee more than 14 years ago my confidence in my ability to carry over my skills to another environment wasn’t very high. I had been working as a full-time journalist in a rural newspaper. The paper’s paid journalists did a good job of handling local news and there weren’t many opportunities for freelancing once I left my role.
I had a lucky break when I was offered some media work in local government as a contractor, first taking on the development of their Facebook page alongside some media releases. I was offered a place in the Federal Government’s New Enterprise Incentive Scheme and completed a Certificate III in Microbusiness Operations, which essentially left me with a business plan, followed by regular mentorship support. Work came in from private businesses needing media assistance or website and brochure content and then more opportunities to work with local government arrived.
At the same time as being on NEIS I found free information sessions on aspects surrounding the digital economy delivered by great facilitators at the Polaris Centre at Mawson Lakes in South Australia - an initiative of the Salisbury Council and funded by the Federal Government. My attendance put me on a list which led to an invitation to sign up for an eight-month Coaching for Success Small Business program - one of the best things I have done so far in my business journey.
The monthly group meetings and the monthly one-on-one mentorship proved invaluable.
Over the years other opportunities came along - leadership training through the National Rural Women’s Coalition, more leadership with the local Regional Development Board’s Emerging Leaders Program and the amazing experience of Venturedorm - an entrepreneurial accelerator program through the Flinders University New Venture Institute which came with ongoing learning opportunities and mentorship.
I grabbed every opportunity I could find to network and collaborate with others. A chance meeting at a conference in South Australia’s Barossa Valley led to another opportunity and a pivot into coaching and mentoring. I had already been providing mentoring to my clients without formally recognising it as such and I soon found I loved running workshops on business-related topics and helping business owners improve their strategies, knowledge and skills.
I’m a lifelong learner, or perhaps it’s my ADHD-wired brain that craves new things, but over my business years I have completed a raft of qualifications, including certification as an NLP Coach, a Mindset and ADHD Coach and Certificates in Small Business. I am currently completing a formal Coaching qualification, as coaching is a largely unregulated industry filled with well-meaning but essentially unskilled folk. They may have plenty of knowledge, but coaching without a formal qualification means they likely lack the skills to guide you safely through deep work. Knowledge is not the same as knowing how to hold space, ask powerful questions, or recognise when a client needs a different kind of support.
I digress.
During my time running my own business there has been a strong learning curve, particularly in the areas of technology. I’ve always been an early adopter, even though I have trouble using the TV remote! That same curiosity has led me straight to artificial intelligence, and I get a real kick out of helping other business owners learn how to use AI to its full potential. Whether it’s drafting content, streamlining admin or getting past a blank page, I love showing people how to put these tools to work.
My office started off in my lounge room then graduated to a spare room, then a slightly larger room, and now the two rooms I had called my office have been opened up to provide me with a larger space and room for a staff ‘hot’ desk should I need it (I don’t). It’s lucky my tolerant husband is such a handyman!
So, here I am, still in my ‘retirement’ years, still learning, still networking where I can.
Where I once had a business plan which focussed heavily on proofreading, editing, media releases and content writing, I now provide social media management and training, run workshops and practical AI training sessions for business owners who want to work smarter not harder, provide business mentoring and take on a wide range of interesting ‘jobs’ which come across my desk, including constructing small uncomplicated affordable websites.
Although I help clients with social media and even manage it for some, I outsource my socials and also collaborate with a wonderful VA (Virtual Assistant) who also happens to be my daughter. Nothing like keeping things in the family. Megan from I Work For You thinks like I do and these days we often run workshops together as well as develop resources for clients. Look her up!
My pivot has been realising one of my strengths has been in ADHD coaching as I was recently diagnosed with auDHD and discovered my brain, which has some peculiarities, is beautifully scattered, and that lived experience is my most honest credential. I do not just understand ADHD; I navigate it daily.
Working from home has its own pleasure and pain points, but it also provides me with the flexibility to take a break when I want it, play with the dog, put on a load of laundry or start dinner.
Get in touch if you have a small business, are an ‘older’ entrepreneur looking for support, suspect you might be beautifully scattered yourself, or simply want to ramp up your social media. I offer ADHD-informed coaching, business mentoring and practical digital support, and I would love to hear from you.
And if you are a late-diagnosed woman with ADHD who is tired of business advice written for neurotypical brains, The Dandelion Clock is for you.
Each month we gather on Zoom to explore one ADHD-friendly strategy, supported by a pre-call workbook and a growing resource library. You will also get “This Week’s Seed” in your inbox - short, practical prompts tied to the month’s topic. Everything is designed around the idea of “one thing, once a month” so you are not overwhelmed.
Founding memberships are open now at $25/month. You can join or find out more at nanberrett.com