Observations From a Year of Running a Business

This February marked a milestone for me.

I left my job in February last year to run this blog and the newsletter full-time and pursue other creative projects, such as writing my first book.

It's been one year since that bold move, arguably my boldest decision so far, and the year has been interesting.

My feelings have oscillated between “Oh, I'm so glad I did this!” and “I don't think I'm cut out for this, and I should return to a regular job”. But I'm glad I could make it this far, and I still aim to continue this path this year and beyond.

This blog post is a journal of the struggles and learnings — personal and business — from last year, and I aim this to be an authentic account of the noteworthy observations from the time.

A behind-the-scenes peek at transitioning from a corporate job to running an online business.

Grab a cup of tea or your favourite beverage or not and let's start with:

My internal struggles after the switch

The first struggle, and probably the hardest one, was I saw this opportunity as a privilege I couldn't squander at any cost.

No one had gifted me this time or the funds to buy time. I have worked hard and waited years to make this transition possible. Working on my terms at my schedule without anyone to report to felt like a gift I had to utilise responsibly.

This mindset created an anhedonic lens of seeing any fun time as an unjustified expense of my limited time.