So here we are – 2 years old. How did that happen? Before Crescent appeared, I was happy working, but wasn’t happy with the daily traffic jams I was stuck in, or the phone calls to my daughter as she walked home from school asking what time I would be back. It made me realise that while I loved my job, there had to be another way.
So Crescent was born, after some discussion and encouragement from friends and family. Yes, it meant giving up the security of a good job, but I knew that the personal rewards would be immense.
I was there on my daughter’s 1st day at her new High School, as she excitedly told me all about her new form teacher and how far away all the classrooms were (miles apparently), oh and that she could get a bacon sandwich for breakfast – every day!
As for the business? Well I was just happy to have a few clients on board, keeping me occupied and bringing in enough money to pay the bills (and buy me shoes). I did hit a low point in the early days. There seemed to be so much competition, and I was suffering from imposter syndrome – massively. I couldn’t do this, it wasn’t working, I needed to find a job.
I decided to give it another month – then I could say I had given it 3 months before throwing in the towel. That seemed a reasonable amount of time didn’t it, without appearing like a failure? How naïve. But I’m glad I did wait a bit longer as clients started to come on board, people started to refer me and it all began to get a bit busier. The following year I took on my 1st associate to support me with some work and that’s when it all changed.
Suddenly it was a serious business – more clients wanted to work with us, and 5 months later I took on 4 more associates. I wasn’t even a year old at this point (business wise). But fast forward another year, and here we are – there are now 7 of us in the business, I’ve spoken at industry events and even been shortlisted for a few awards. I am here for my family when they need me, and I am lucky enough to work with some amazing businesses who value and appreciate our support. We’ve just taken on another 2 associates (we lost a few along the way – not through carelessness I hasten to add!) and our client base is growing regularly. New services have been added into our offering and I couldn’t be happier.
Even Covid hasn’t stopped us! We adapted, and I used the quite time to rebrand and refresh our logo and website, did some training, but also to support the wonderful NHS by sewing uniform bags to help prevent the spread.
I have no idea what the future holds for Crescent, but I’m looking forward to continuing to work with my very talented team, and looking after our clients, and being here for my family. I think I’ve finally got this work/life balance thing sorted.
