Experiments, mistakes, and finding my lane
Yesterday I shared how I left corporate and decided to launch HHC. Since then, my business has been one giant journey of trying the next thing. I regularly get an idea, give it a try, see what happens, and keep moving forward. While I do love what I am doing, my journey hasn’t been without it’s hiccups.
Overall, I am very proud of what I’ve accomplished over these 2 years, but today I thought I’d share a few failures. Yesterday, my friend Jennifer posted a congratulatory message on my LinkedIn saying, “What I admire most about your journey is the way you make every struggle into a valuable learning experience.” As a way to let all of you in on what Jennifer appreciates about me – let’s dig into my shortcomings, shall we?
When I started Hardin Heights Communications, I was a communicator for all. Ever striving to include everyone, I said yes to every job. I was also broke, so I was quick to accept jobs to bring in the cash - and listen, that happens. I'm not suggesting anyone turn down work they need to pay their bills. But alas, I did a few things out of my comfort zone – business was trickling in and I was picking up momentum. It was lovely – but after a few months, I realized I was doing a lot of work that wasn’t the kind of work I wanted to do. The beauty of stepping away from corporate was that I could focus on the strategic communication work that I loved and move farther from the other stuff I wasn’t passionate about – but had to manage in the corporate world.
That’s when I realized I’d be far more satisfied if I took time to evaluate the niche I wanted to work in. I got real about what I wanted to do! By going deep into 3 areas, defining the services I could provide and wrote most of my posts, emails, and articles to all hit on those three services. I continue to refine my offers – but they stand strong today:
Change Communications – M&A, change management, organizational changes, software updates/upgrades, leadership changes.
Employee Engagement – lower turnover, improve morale, reduce rework and waste, increase productivity.
Documentation – work instructions, process documentation, technical writing, SOPs; get the details out of your head and onto paper so nobody has to read your mind.
Another lesson I learned early on was to stop saying yes to things I wasn’t great at. I had a client, and I delivered great work on one project and she was very happy. She asked me to do another small project – and while it was something I had done before, it was a long time prior, and I wasn’t confident in my understanding of her request – so I gave it a try. I bombed the assignment. I knew it right away. There was no question it didn’t land. Of course, I didn’t charge her – but I was embarrassed that I couldn’t deliver. I apologized, but I know that misstep cost me future work with her and her team. I should have said no and referred her to someone else who could help. That was a hard lesson to learn – and more than 18 months later, I play the interaction back in my head (often).That won’t happen again.
I’ve learned so much over these two years, and I’ve met so many incredible people on this journey. It’s been a wild ride, but I have loved every moment – even the struggles. If you are interested in more musings from me - and grabbing a few tools and tips along the way - make sure you subscribe to Up Your Comms! and follow along.
