With risk, comes reward.

Tessa May Marr decided to leave the 9 to 5 grind almost 10 years ago. There was a lot she liked about her corporate job. She enjoyed working with a team, paid business lunches and a stead salary. BUT, she also had the travel bug. Tessa was itching to get out and see the world. She knew she wasn’t going to get all that far with 3 weeks of vacation a year.

Her first step was to find a more flexible job that afforded her lots of time off. Tessa still needed that somewhat steady paycheck. So she became a flight attendant. This checked her travel box. She was able to travel the world and make some money doing it.

Eventually Tessa wanted more than to just see the world. She knew that she wanted to work for herself. Flexibility was going to be crucial with whatever she did. “I had to be able to travel when I wanted to travel (but was happy to bring along my laptop and do some work). And I wanted to control my daily schedule–work out mid-morning, work late some evenings with a glass of wine. My productivity levels ebb and flow and don’t always religiously fall between 9 and 5, so why should I have to work within that structure? “

Marr Media Group

Tessa hung up her wings and founded a social media marketing agency. Marr Media Group has been in operation now for nearly 6 years. She has built a team that shares her values. They can work from home, coffee shops, travel destinations or whatever inspires them on any given day. “We don’t practice excessive meetings like so many businesses do, which allows us the freedom to get our work done when we feel compelled to do it. We manage by objectives, work product and of course, client satisfaction. If they’re happy, and we’re all happy (both in our work and our personal lives–because that balances matters to us!) then business is good! “

Tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Zoom allow her virtual business to operate easily and communicate regularly, from wherever they are. In addition, it keeps their costs low by not spending revenue dollars on fancy office real estate and coffee machines. Her team all agrees they’d happily trade that in for the ability to spend more time with our families,
control our daily and weekly schedules. This allows them to find their own ways to nurture their productivity in a way that makes sense for each of them!

Learning the Virtual Office Ropes

In the beginning, Tessa was a bit of a slave to her clients in terms of communication, times and deadlines. Now she set expectations right up front. “Ultimately, I’m in this business to make my clients happy and successful, but also myself! And if I’m not in control and don’t get to enjoy flexibility—then I might as well be working for someone else.”

She also used to communicate with her team at all hours of the day, even on weekends. Whenever she was thinking about work (which was a lot!). While she told them there was no expectation for them to respond, at one point they gave her the feedback that it was overwhelming for them. “I realized that I was unknowingly setting the standard that we should be talking work on Saturday nights—and every. Single. Day. And that’s not good for anyone! I forced myself to make notes when I thought of something, and send collected messages during business hours (whenever possible!). It has also gotten me into more of a habit of protecting my down time and turning off my business brain—which was a trained skill.”

Tessa also made the classic mistake of forgetting to pay herself. Many entrepreneurs preach this, and yet so many of us have done it. “When you leave the 9 to 5 I think sometimes you almost carry this “guilt” that since you’re not working as much or in such a standard way, you don’t deserve the same amount of pay. But is that the case? Aren’t you just working smarter? Remember: the reason you left was to build yourself the lifestyle you want and that includes (I imagine!) making some money! Again, if you’re not feeling happy and successful—none of this is worth it.”

Thoughtful and predictable stability is always on the top of her “things to solve” list. Being a smaller agency, the natural ebbs and flows of client work are really something they feel. “I need to ensure we have enough creative and challenging work for my team to take on, and I need to ensure that we don’t burst at the seams from too much of it as well. Finding that balance is seemingly an on-going challenge. So if anyone has this figured out, give me your secret! “

The Joys of Flexibility

Tessa gets to design her days the way it works best for her. “I don’t get up before 7am most days (I like and value my 8 hours of sleep greatly), I take the kids to school, then I check in with work. I love starting my day by reading emails, checking in with my team and mapping out my priorities for the day. Then around mid morning, I take my work out break! This way, I still get it done and checked off early in the day (so it doesn’t get indefinitely postponed come “wine o’clock”) but I don’t have to suffer through a 6 am alarm. From there it’s work, work, work for the afternoon, until school pick up time, and I usually clock out around 430 pm. “

Not every day looks like that! Tessa makes appointments midday whenever possible so she can protect her evenings for time with friends and family. She still LOVES to travel, so probably once every month or two, she jets off somewhere. “Sometimes I take a real vacation and disconnect, but I can’t do that all the time, so I just work remote wherever I am. Sometimes that even includes at the beach or by a pool. Either way, I fit my work around my life—not the other way around.”

Tips for Future Entrepreneurs

  • Do not wait until you feel “ready”. Just take a leap. It’ll likely be uncomfortable, but that’s where the magic happens.
  • Do try and get used to the emotional rollercoaster ahead of you. One day you’re on top of the world feeling so unbelievably proud of yourself, and the next day—or even later that same day—you feel like you’re failing and should just throw in the towel. I used to think this feeling would go away over time, as I learned more and got better at this. And it hasn’t yet. So I’m just getting better at expecting it.
  • Do protect your personal time. And the personal time of your employees, clients or anyone you work with.
  • Do take some time to figure out the best schedule (or lack of schedule) that works for you. Not everyone is programmed the same.
  • Do not undervalue your time! Expect payment for work you do, and be sure that you do pay yourself from your own business. This is the only way this is going to work… assuming you’re not independently wealthy of course.
  • Do spend time networking. And not all of that networking needs to be business-related. You don’t have to walk around a stuffy cocktail party bragging about your business, pitching people and shoving business cards at them (kill me now!). Just build relationships whenever and wherever you can. My personal network has brought me 97% of all my business. People still trust word of mouth more than anything else. And people still make decisions based on trust. So focus on that.

Philosophy

Tessa has always been the girl who dreamt up big ideas and made plans. She got inspired picturing how her future would look—around whatever topic: where she would live, what her family might be like, her friendships, work, projects, etc. ” My word is “envision”. I know, I know—it’s a little hippie. I love imagining what’s possible. And then, I follow through. I think that’s the key so many people miss. Follow through. And never wait for when you feel ready. Because here’s a hint: if you’re not a little scared and a little unsure you’re ready to take the leap, you’ve probably missed the opportunity to make the biggest impact.”

Tessa’s Reward

Tessa and her partner just bought their dream house. “I would say I never imagined I’d be in a position to buy a house like this for myself, but that’s a lie. I imagined it all along. Because I “envision”. That said, it is pretty humbling to realize that I got approved for a purchase that large based on a salary I pay myself from a company I built. So we intend to invest in ourselves and in our lives and create a space that feels undeniably like home and reminds us every day that dreams do come true. “

Check out what Tessa is doing at the links below:

Tessa May Marr – Founder & CEO, Marr Media Group

http://www.instagram.com/marrmediagroup/
https://www.facebook.com/marrmediagroup/
http://www.twitter.com/marrmediagroup/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/9241298/
http://www.pinterest.com/marrmediagroup/