Just like the professional musicians do at the end of a rock concert, I'd like to start this post off by thanking my fans,
clients, and anyone out there who has taken the time to read through my blogs and services. I am
proud to work with such a diverse clientele and workload on a regular basis.
This allows me to grow and learn as business owner and entrepreneur in how better
serve my clients...spoken from a true musician at heart.
Regardless of what role you play in my "audience", I want to
share with you the true tale of J. H. Language Solutions and what sparked me to
start my own business, the challenges I faced and currently face, and where I
am now as well as my plans for the future. Here’s the story of J. H. Language
Solutions.
The year 2010 was one pivotal year in my life. Even though I
didn’t know it at the time, it meant “change” in every area. Prior to 2010, I
moved from one dead-end job to the next, of no fault of my own, endured
financial strain and stress as a result, and was just trying to find my corner
of life where I was meant to be. I was on the journey in search of something
that made me “me”, or “finding myself”, if you will…just like everyone.
After months and even years of stress, and a period of “bad
luck”, I knew I needed to start doing something different. I knew I needed to
make a change, but I wasn’t sure how. Like anyone would, I started with money.
I needed to make extra money to pay down my debts and ensure a healthy
financial future. By taking some advice from a former supervisor, I began
looking for freelance work. I signed up with oDesk, a freelance website. I immediately
began bidding for jobs, but nothing fell through. After almost three straight
months of bidding, I landed my first “job” proofreading an eBook.
Then, also around the same time, I headed to Boston for a
full time offer as an Associate Editor with Pearson. With over an hour’s ride
by train each way every day, and my newly found freelance work, I knew I had my
word cut out for me. But with a very promising and aspiring career in
publishing, I knew Pearson was the place to go. I would just make it work. However,
Pearson is not the easiest company to get into, but even there, the chips began
falling into place. I got to meet and work with some of the most amazing people
and my love and interest for publishing grew and developed into a love and
appreciation for project management.
In 2011, I was promoted to Associate Project Manager, and in 2013 I was promoted
to Senior Project Manager and became an assistant manager, and another
potential promotion on the horizon.
From 2010 on, I was able to take my full time experience, as
well as the experience I gained from working with different clients on a
freelance basis, and tie them both together. I began applying my skills and
experience in both places, and was finally lucky enough to say that my hard
work was starting to pay off. Then, since my freelance workload had
dramatically increased over only a period of six months, I began to see a huge
demand for what the services I was currently offering, which was only
proofreading, copyediting, and English/Spanish translation at the time. By the
end of January 2011, I registered my DBA, J. H. Language Solutions (which
stands for “Julie Anne”, my first name, and “Helen”, the first name of my last
surviving grandparent) with the state of Massachusetts.
It was official. I owned
my own business. I felt on top of the world. One of my lifelong dreams
finally came true. One of the first things I did was buy a laptop and opened a
business checking account. I spent an hour each morning on the way in on the
train and the hour home doing work, getting my name out there, trying to
establish a good online and social media presence. Then as time went on, the
two to three hours per day wasn’t enough. I began working at home in the
morning, at night, and even at a local Starbucks in downtown Boston on my lunch
breaks. I established a small business office in my home, which I learned comes
along with some pretty nice tax benefits. All in all, it was hard work and I
was SO tired every day…but I hit the pillow every night feeling accomplished.
Over the next two years, my business work load grew to an
unimaginable amount. Each year I set my own “sales goals”, and exceeded them
every time. Each year I also set “business goals”, and have begun meeting and
exceeding those as well. One year I developed my blog and website, one year I
bought all new technology to help me keep in contact with clients since I
certainly spend a lot of time “on the go”. Another year I started attending
seminars, networking events, and trying to meet other people in business and
get my name out there.
In 2012, I went back to school for my Master’s in Project
Management, which also comes with a PMP certification upon program completion.
Presently I’m about halfway through the program, with an estimated completion
date of spring 2015. Oh, and to date I have a 4.0.
This year, which was probably the biggest hurdle yet, I became
insured. After nine long months, I am so incredibly proud to say that as of
August 2013, J. H. Language Solutions is a fully insured entity. Next year will
be another larger hurdle, and that is to project myself and my business
intellectual property and establish legal contracts to work with all my
clients.
So now here I am, at the close of 2013 pushing four full
years “in business” (though it is officially three under my DBA), and I think
about how much I have grown, both my
business and as an entrepreneur. I have grown from small proofreading,
translation, and copyediting jobs to copywriting, managing blogs and websites,
managing content strategies and marketing plans, managing social media
marketing and email marketing…and it all started with $5 to open a business checking
account, a girl in her mid-20s, and a dream.
So how do I do it all? Whenever people ask me that, I grin
and say, “I have excellent time management skills”. And I do. I have to. Some
people ask me if and when will I quit Pearson and work as my business full
time. And the truthful answer to that is I don’t know. While business is doing well,
I have a long way to go before I can open a separate office space and live off
what my business brings in after all expenses and taxes are paid. But would I
love to? Hell yes. But that is still a long way off, and also a huge risk that
I’m not quite ready to take.
But through it all, the ups and downs in business, the
challenges and the successes, I can honestly say that through the years I have
developed a deep and passionate love for my business. It’s a ton of work, and
it’s hard work, but I love each and
every second of it. Not because of my own personal and professional
success and achievements, but because of the difference I truly believe I
make each day in my clients’ projects and in their lives. I am truly thankful
for each and every client I work with and have worked with through the years,
and I just only hope and pray that it continues. I’d be nowhere today without
them. So let the show continue, because I don't want the music to stop.
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