My Story – Self Employed, Expecting & Navigating Covid-19

I started my consulting business upon returning from Canada in 2019. It has been a truly fun and interesting ride, both personally, from a learning and development perspective, and professionally. Filled with a healthy mix of “What have I done? It’s time to see if Apple is hiring”, to “This is what I was meant to do”. I love the variety my role as a HR Consultant offers me and working with SMEs on their talent strategy and people practices is what I am most passionate about.

Expecting & Keeping Perspective 

My husband and I were thrilled when we became pregnant last year and to be honest, I think my due date (which is coming up in a couple of weeks) couldn’t have come at a better time for us. Call me practical or tell me I’m sticking my head in the sand, but I had planned, and still plan, to take a temporary time-out from my client work to focus on family - and really, like your brain can optimally function after multiple sleepless nights.

With that, the panic of pivoting my business strategy for the year ahead or focusing on business development during the COVID-19 crisis didn’t send me into a tailspin. My plan: over-service the heck out of my active clients as I wind down and focus on my digital marketing strategy for the next 6 months. A realistic game plan I could manage, while being the primary parent for our toddler after the daycares closed.

Health is wealth – especially a person’s mental health. When anxiety levels run high, we have a compulsive need to control something, the need for perfection reigns. Depending on the support system you have at home currently, this need may manifest in your work, structuring your child days or a laundry list of domestic/DIY projects. Do what you need to do to stay sane, but I learned early on in our restricted phase of existence, that as Roosevelt once said “Comparison is the thief of joy” and that coming out of this experience with our physical, emotional, mental and cognitive well being in-tact is the real goal.

The 5 Stages of Grief

Metaphorically speaking though, I certainly went through what I would describe as the 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. I think to wake up one day and have the restrictions imposed on our lives (which I fully stand behind), and not be honest about the effect on our mental health and wellbeing is short-sighted.

There’s a solidarity in what we’re experiencing as a nation and globally, but frankly it still sucks and in my case some days are better than others. I do worry about the economy and our ability to bounce back in that regard, but with so many variables at play my focus is to keep an even head and take a measured approach to how I respond to any challenges I encounter. I think the Irish government has done an excellent job responding to the crisis thus far and I have faith that the programs and supports they have and will continue to put in place will help many independents and SMEs weather the storm – our economy depends on it.

The Movers and the Shakers in the Self-Employed World

It’s certainly not all doom and gloom out there. I’ve seen many of my self-employed colleagues meet the challenges presented by COVID-19 with gumption. If they’re not using this time to focus on personal development and growth, they’re developing content and programs that will work for their client base remotely, which was something that they all admit they had put on the back burner - but was an inevitable requirement for the longevity and expansion of their businesses.

This time has fast-tracked their plans and they’re crushing it! Not only are they pivoting parts of their business strategy in response to the market, but they’re winning business along the way – I kid you not! It’s certainly not all bad news out there, but you must be willing to adapt and tap into your resilience reserve, both of which are key to survival. If the message or feel you’re getting from your network is consistently negative, you need to look at who you’re surrounding yourself with.

So, Where Does That Leave Me?

I’m crystal clear on what my priorities are, but as a working mum I’m not going to lie, being at home all day with a toddler, soon to be accompanied by an infant, I know will be full-on. Prior to all this kicking off, I had so much respect for the people who work in the childcare space. It makes me mad how they must fight to be paid a living wage, when they look after our most precious beings. One thing is for sure, I will rejoice when their doors reopen, as I’m sure many other parents will. 

It’s uncertain times, but my hope is that we will return to a semi-state of normalcy by September. I’m erring on the side of realism and recognise our new normal won’t be a carbon copy of the what we once knew. With that, my current plan on the business front is to stay connected; continue to keep a pulse on what’s happening locally in Cork and nationally (knowledge is power); and reassess my return to work plan later in the summer. I’m confident that my ability to adapt and be resilient will stand to me, as it has done for my self-employed colleagues. I’m also incredibly passionate and committed about what I do and know that most CEOs want to enable a talent strategy where their team is motivated, engaged and committed to delivering results – that hasn’t changed as a result of COVID-19, so I’m confident the need for HR support will be there.

As I mentioned, my plan is to take a time-out and resume work in the Autumn. Is this a naïve plan? Possibly. With your first child, you either don’t know and hope for the best that they will sleep (ours did not), and then somehow block out those particularly challenging nights where you swore you wouldn’t have a second. Yet here we are, and we’re just as excited and maybe slightly less anxious about the journey ahead than we were with our first. Wish us luck! 😊