Herstory: How It All Began…

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Going into the meeting, we were nervous but confident in what we had to offer and just hoping to get out of it what we put in — asking solid questions to get informative answers.

We knew it might not be so easy when we introduced ourselves to our counselor and he looked at the two of us and said, “Jill and Jenn? Are you two some kind of act?” and started dancing around like we were circus performers coming to pitch our skills.

It grew a bit more worrisome when we told him about our business and he said that he knew nothing about social media and had never been on Twitter, Facebook or any sort of social platform.

This one was going to be an uphill battle.

Fortunately, we were able to confidently explain why we believe what we offer as social media consultants would be of value and necessary to our target clients. In return, he was complementary toward the fact that we had done our homework and did not seem to be going into this blindly. Overall, it was an absolutely worthwhile meeting that did answer a lot of our burning questions.

• What type of business (partnership, corporation, LLC, etc.) is best for what we offer?

There are two options we are pursuing most passionately: LLC vs. S-Corp. Both have advantages and disadvantages, especially in our state. We are looking to connect with other small business owners in our network this week to determine which is most beneficial for us.

• What forms do we need to fill out to legitimize our company (tax, licensing, certification)?

There are a lot of great resources when looking into forming a company. Your state’s local small business organization is where we’d start. Other sites such as LegalZoom or NOLO can also be of help.

• Would it be beneficial to seek counsel from a lawyer?

Perhaps the most beneficial time to seek counsel from a lawyer is when forming our partnership agreement. It’s like a pre-nup for a business: everything you don’t want to have happen, but just in case it does, this is how we will handle it.

• What is the best way to go about billing our clients? Track expenses? Monitor income?

The best answer here is that there is no right or wrong answer. Every business does all of these things differently and what works for one may be a horrible idea for another! We are working this week to discuss the ultimate question:

How much is our time worth?

We’ve already established a general rule but feel it’s in our best interest to really look at how much value we are offering. It’s better to be confident that your abilities are worth something than to assume that your potential clients are not going to want to pay X amount.

The moral of the story is be secure in what you are doing. Sure, there will be days where you question whether you made the right choice or whether or not you’ll be able to get off the ground. But as long as you’re able to put those days in perspective and realize that in the long run, what you are doing will make you a better, stronger and savvier person, you’re on the right track.

Also, if you are a young entrepreneur like we are, check out these tips for success from SCORE Mentors. Hope they help provide some insight!

We still would like to hear from you! What questions do you have regarding small business? Ask us in the comments and we’ll do our best to search and provide answers to your inquiries!

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Herstory: How It All Began…

This is the second part in our series on the events that led us to make the ultimate leap of faith and leave a good job to pursue a career and business we love.

Missed part one? Check it out here!

Today’s story will take us back to warmer days, with sunshine, humidity and frizzy hair.

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Jenn: I will never forget my first day as an intern in the consumer practice of The Agency. I remember waking up before my alarm clock, spending extra time getting ready and leaving early — this, my friends, is a feat in and of itself, as I am chronically late (to which Jill can easily attest)!

I decided to walk to the office since it was an unseasonably cool day — that just-perfect temperature that still allows you to wear a blouse and nice dress pants without sweating profusely. As I walked down State Street, I decided to stop into Jamba Juice and grab a smoothie for breakfast. I was nervous, yet excited for what the day would bring.

When I arrived at the office, there were two other newbie interns already there and waiting. I thought to myself, “how is it possible to leave early and still be the last one to arrive?!” Fortunately, they were both smiling and happy to meet me. One of the girls was very young — high school-aged, still in that I-haven’t-been-jaded-by-the-economy-and-lack-of-jobs state of mind. Lucky girl.

The other was a sassy fashionista wearing a fabulous white and black dress. Her hair was one of those cute celebrity-style bobs with bangs. She sure was flipping it a lot — I could tell she was as nervous as I was! If I had to choose her celebrity doppelgänger for her, I’d go with Mandy Moore.

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Jill was a recent graduate, too, still without a full-time job but keeping her fingers crossed that this internship might lead to something, even though we knew that with 15-20 interns at one time and almost no mention of being able to hire, our odds were slim.

This fashionista turned out to become a close friend early on in the internship. Jill and I shared a lot of the same thoughts and opinions on the culture, work environment and demands that the Agency offered. It was an incredible experience. We were working with great clients and given a lot of responsibility that contributed a great deal to the well being of our teams.

But when we were both offered a full-time position as Assistant Account Executives eight weeks later, our hearts skipped a beat. We were in shock — and truly never saw it coming. Although we both worked hard and had a lot of team members in our corner, we knew there were plenty of other qualified candidates who had been there before us. It was surreal and almost too good to be true.

Still, as two young women fresh out of college, the opportunity to join the team, start our careers and gain additional responsibilities was impossible to refuse. We happily accepted and promised ourselves that no matter what lay next, we would always have each other. Little did we know that such a promise would turn into something much more — a friendship that I, personally, can’t imagine myself without, and a common bond that would solidify our roles as each other’s confidantes and biggest advocates.

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Jill: Jenn has pretty much hit everything right on the head — well, besides that hair flipping thing. That I don’t remember…

Our times as AAEs were definitely some of the hardest, most rewarding months we spent at The Agency. There were days when we would feel on top the world after helping execute a major client event or securing a press placement.

And then there were others where we were just stretched entirely too thin. I would come in early, make it through a whirlwind day and then stay until 8 or 9 at night — just so I could get through a few more things on my to-do list.

Looking back, I approached things the wrong way from the beginning and made myself vulnerable to burn out. Since I can remember, I have been the “yes” girl. There wasn’t a problem I couldn’t solve or a project I couldn’t tackle. I came into The Agency with this mantra and my Type A personality, and it flattened me. I never set personal boundaries, checking email religiously at night and distributing my cell phone number to my team members. In the end, it meant I could never escape work — and therefore was never able to truly shut everything off. In the end, I definitely burnt out.

That being said, I could have easily turned my situation around and made it work — if PR was the right career fit for me. It turns out, it wasn’t. At least not agency PR. I went into the profession wanting to utilize my people skills. My bubbly personality and love for communicating in person. I quickly learned that agency PR focuses more on communication through email — at least at my level — and that it wasn’t right for me. I told one of my mentors that my dream job would allow me to not sit at a desk for 8-10 hours a day, but instead would let me be out and about in the world, forming relationships and (if applicable) representing a brand. However, upon her puzzled look, I quickly followed it up with, “but I know most people sit behind a desk. It’s probably not a very realistic job expectation.”

In truth, it was a realistic expectation and the only person holding me back from doing just that was me. Jenn had similar experiences and realizations, and we began to apply this reality to more and more parts of our job. Instead of thinking ‘this is just the way it is,’ we began to map out how we could change our reality. It first began with job hunting, spending hours diving through online postings, trying to find something that matched all the qualifications we wanted from a job. Although we both found positions we thought would be a good fit, nothing appealed to us more than the decision we came to on that fabulous day at the coffee shop. We were both nervous, but we knew it was ultimately the right choice.

That day we felt passionate and alive — more so than we had in the previous six months at our job. Now all we had to do was quit. Easier said then done.

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So what was it like to work up the nerve to leave our full-time jobs? How did we even get to a place where we felt confident enough in our abilities to go the whole nine yards?

Stay tuned for the next installment of Herstory: Leaving the 9-to-5!

Dream bigger,