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Phyllis Neill founds WeMentor Social Media Marketing
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Meet Phyllis Neill. Phyllis and I met almost a year ago via Twitter and we’ve been social media pals ever since. After running her own business and working a full-time day job for nearly a year, she has taken the entrepreneurial plunge. Her business is WeMentor Social Media Marketing - http://www.wementorsmm.com. She develops social media strategies for businesses.
Previously, I featured Phyllis in this column with her business SheMentor, a service that focused on executive coaching for women. Phyllis spoke with me recently about her new business, balancing a day job and a start-up, and her company’s change in focus. My thanks to her for sharing her insights and advice.
Christa - Phyllis, you did it! You took the leap of faith! How does it feel?
Phyllis - It feels incredibly liberating, to be able to focus 100% of my time on my business. I’ve been working full-time plus running my business for close to a year, so I almost don’t know what to do with myself!
Christa - What scares you the most about this change?
Phyllis - The instability of a paycheck. That’s also a great motivating factor at the same time.
Christa - What made you realize you were ready to go out on your own full-time?
Phyllis - When I got to the point where I didn’t yet have enough business to go full-time BUT I absolutely couldn’t take on any more business without doing it full-time! The ultimate paradox.
Christa - What was your process leading up to leaving your job? What point had you gotten to in your own business where you realized you had to take this on full-time?
Phyllis - About six months ago, I went to see a financial advisor to get a “plan”. I realized I’d have to get health insurance on my own, and I’d no longer have access to the Life Insurance and short-term/long-term disability insurance I had with my employer. In addition, I had a specific dollar amount in mind that I wanted to have tucked away into savings before I quit. So, they helped me figure out a way to plan for this, and then work the plan month in/month out. It’s shocking how much you really can save once you can “smell” your ultimate goal right around the corner. I actually hit my goal several months early (goal was to quit by end of year).
Christa - Advice to others who are teetering on the edge, just about ready to jump? What about those who are still nervous about taking the plunge?
Phyllis - I would say to make sure people are willing to pay for your services before you go out on your own. In my case, my business is setting up and executing social media strategies for businesses. In the beginning however, I was working on executive coaching for women – and the market just wouldn’t sustain that business. Things slowly morphed into the business I have today, but it was good for me to find out that in a recession, people weren’t paying to hire executive coaches hardly at all! It’s tough to start a business and work full-time all at the same time, but it’s really the one conservative thing you can do before “taking the plunge”!
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