Hey!

I hope you’re having a good week.

I’m on week 3 of my accountability challenge with my friends (we’re all sending one newsletter a week) and it ain’t getting easier.

The weeks are flying past and Tuesday is here AGAIN.

I could say I’m really organised and I’ve thought about what I’ll write, but I can’t lie.

I’ve actually been unbelievably busy the last few weeks.

I feel that I come back to Ireland for a few weeks and work ramps up every time.

I’m glad to be able to run my own business and dictate my day, but my business has been dictating my life the last while, and I’m feeling like it’s time for a change.

Having your own business - the highs and the lows…

Here we are… I guess this is today’s newsletter topic.

I actually received a question on IG about working online today, so I’ll touch a little bit on my experience of running my own business.

The highs…

• starting work at any time of morning (I was going to say day, but it’s rare that I start work after 12)

• being able to work from anywhere

• working with clients who become friends

• receiving positive feedback about your work

• being able to travel on a work day, and explore lots of new places

• meeting other digital nomads who get the lifestyle

• making friends with people all around the world (other digital nomads usually)

The lows…

• most people have no idea what you do

• some clients can be right assholes - micromanaging, demanding, invasive of your privacy and just a PAIN to work with (this is very rare, but it happens)

• STRESS - constantly being switched on and having a never-ending to-do list

• not having time off (my own fault - but I haven’t actually taken a week off since Christmas)

• having too much work and never finding the balance of earning enough and working enough

• thinking about business alllllllll the time

• not having a routine, a start time, a finish time, an office - these are both pros and cons

Here’s how I actually started working online - this may help some of you interested in running your own business

I work for myself, I have my own clients and I run my own business.

What do I do?

In short, I work with mostly Irish businesses and help them with their admin, digital marketing, social media and content creation. A mix of things really.

I now also have a VA, which is crazy to say, so I guess it’s a sign of… something?! 😂 

How I started?

I actually did @stephmylife’s web development course in 2021, developed my own website, did loads of cold outreach and got ZERO clients.

I went back to working in hospitality.

I didn’t really think I could be an entrepreneur.

And I didn’t know what I was doing.

I did come up with the business name Clikk Media so I wasn’t tied to web development only in the future.

I always thought I would add on social media management services.

But I gave up before doing that.

Then I moved to Thailand to teach.

Halfway through, my friend and I started thinking about earning extra money online, so we decided to do something about it.

I relaunched Clikk Media, added social media services and threw in a bit of virtual assistance in there too for good luck - it seemed like everyone was setting up as a VA at the time.

I started posting on Instagram, joined an online community which had a job board, and after reaching out to some people on the job board, I secured my first client… and then another few.

And within a few months, I was earning more in my side hustle than my teaching job in Thailand.

Then I networked, learned from experience, refined my services and have been running a successful business ever since.

That was almost 2.5 years ago.

I want to make changes

I want to do some things differently.

I haven’t refined exactly what yet, but I know that I want to focus more on human interactions.

I want to help people to do the same as I did.

So I am starting an online community!

It will have…

• video material where I teach you, step-by-step, how to start an online business

• a community to bounce ideas off, and stay accountable to

• workshops, classes and seminars to teach you about a variety of topics

If it sounds like something you will be interested in joining, pop your email into the form below and you’ll be the first to know when it launches.

And if you don’t want to wait, you can book a 1:1 coaching call with me HERE.

Some other bits you may be interested in

Become a TEFL teacher and earn money by teaching online / abroad: all courses on tefl.ie are 16% cheaper with code EV16.

Best travel insurance (you can start it at any point of your trip, even if you have left your country of origin) ~ SafetyWing.

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You can buy me a coffee if you enjoy or find any of my content useful. 🫶🏼

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading, subscribing and following, and feel free to reply to this email with any questions, suggestions or feedback.

Ev x