I can relate to the job quitting - I packed in one freelance contract that was beginning to 'time-creep' and take up much more of my time than expected. The win here is the restored time, energy, and motivation that I can redirect to developing my own business.

Hi @Evgeniya Kuzina, it's good that you were able to make a connection between your professions, it must have been quite motivating! How did the art-themed course turn out?

My biggest problem is finding my niche. I'm pretty much at the stage of switching from the language school to being self-employed. This is better financially, but is still quite general and something for everyone. I could say that I'm in the 'find-your-niche-dating-phase' that's mentioned in one of the videos, but the student type is not that different from what I've experienced before. I've noticed that my thinking is all quite local, which is somewhat limiting - both in terms of market reach and personal future plans, as I'm not planning to stay in Brno forever! I think I need to view my students/lessons from other perspectives, in the hope of finding a thread to pull on, as well as considering potential students outside of CZ.

This was 100% relatable - I was definitely trapped on the consumption wheel. I can't honestly claim to be off it yet, but at least I'm now conscious it exists *rather than pretending it doesn't) and so can do something about it. It does help that I have a ticking clock - over the summer, various contracts will expire, and if I don't want to renew all of them (I don't!), then I need to have something in place for the autumn. At the same time, if I'm not quite self-sufficient, I'll be able to keep some of my existing work, and I'll be happier, knowing that I'm taking steps to be more in control. Over the weekend, I was contacted by a potential client on LinkedIn, we'll have a meeting this week to talk about their needs/goals/etc. I've found clients through word of mouth before, but this is the first 'cold' interest.

Thanks! I have to submit the final version sometime in May. I'd certainly like to have started building my client base by then. I'm getting married this week so I'll be offline for a few days, but back in force on Monday!