“Never give up. Take time to re-evaluate what and where you want to be. Assess your strengths and don’t be afraid to use them. Believe in yourself. Be patient and be realistic.”

Background

I always struggle with this. Three sentences:

I am a mum
I am a wife
I am a Director of a marketing and copywriting consultancy

The end.

When were you made redundant?

I accepted voluntary redundancy in July 2015.

What did you do after you were made redundant?

Unfortunately, the redundancy came just after my wife and I had just moved two houses into one, to a village (and house) that was more expensive then what we were used too. Our four kids had also moved to a new school (which required three sets of new uniform) and my wife had just changed jobs to a role with a significant pay cut and didn’t start until September. I had one month to find a job and even though we could get by with the severance pay for a month we knew that time was limited.

I have always been very lucky with jobs. I tend to find a company that I like the look of, apply even when there isn’t a role being advertised and then get the role. This dramatically changed in 2015. Suddenly, I was faced with application after application being denied due to being too old (33 at the time), too experienced or not experienced enough in the specialist area they were looking for. I had never felt so deflated or rejected across my working career then in that one month.

How did you decide what to do next?

After several nights of worry and tears, I chatted to my wife and said why don’t I just set up as a freelancer. From receiving the countless job rejections stating I was ‘overqualified’, I started MCT with a mission to prove that over-qualification is a benefit, not a hindrance! I didn’t have a business plan, desk or even a long-term goal. I just thought, ‘what have I got to lose’.

My wife looked at me like I grew another head.

One week after the initial idea, armed with an old laptop; no knowledge of web design and a love of tea, MCT was born in August 2015. From creating a basic Wix website to a plain business card and making a list of creative, design & marketing agencies within a 10-mile radius of us; I set about marketing the business.

After chasing our very first invoice, to borrowing money from my wife’s parents to cover bills and wondering how to cover three out of four children’s birthdays and Christmas, rock bottom was in the first three months of starting!

Our timing was atrocious, and we wondered if this was sustainable. Subsequently, in year one, we only made £4196 profit! Getting past the difficult stages was down to perseverance and creativity. I refused to give up. Increasing the marketing antics was the only option we had to get us past the hurdles and so I created conversational emailers, upped my anti on social media by posting regularly, wrote industry-related articles and stalked everyone until I could find someone who shared our love of tea.

My strategic drive was based on two facts; one, I believed in what we were selling and two, I was the main breadwinner and had to generate an income.

Through stubbornness, together with my wife’s support and my kid’s ‘go mum’ propelled us to keep going.

Fast forward nearly four years and we now have our own brand, a ‘proper’ website, over 20 partners we work closely with, four core services which we have refined and successfully offer to long-standing clients, awarded finalist for Best Small Business & Self-Employed Business Woman of the Year for three consecutive years, and a turnover of nearly 60K.

What would be your advice to anyone who has just been made redundant?

Never give up. Take time to re-evaluate what and where you want to be. Assess your strengths and don’t be afraid to use them. Believe in yourself. Be patient and be realistic. If you choose to go freelance it’s not all plain sailing and there will be times that you will cry out in despair wondering when the next job will come in. Be honest and kind to your clients. Don’t over extend your offering or promise too much, or you’re setting yourself up to fail at the first hurdle. Ask for help. Have a strong support network behind you be it a spouse, family or friends. Take time out to relax even if it’s just a tea break. Find your passion and home in on what you love doing. Don’t be afraid to showcase your value through costs. Be brave. Be human.