Every month, TLR hosts a special Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF) event, a chance for members to share their unique skills, stories, and knowledge. A recent TGIF featured amazing talks from our dear TLR Family members Nina, Patrick, Audrey, and Phillip, who shared how their professional missteps turned into valuable lessons and opportunities.
Nina: From Telemarketing Misery to Freelance Freedom
Our Danish member Nina opened the evening with a candid recount of her early career struggles. Nina began her tale by contrasting her idyllic travels with the stark reality of her professional life.
“During my master’s degree in marketing, I spent a semester abroad in Indonesia. It was a paradise, and I was more interested in continuing to travel than in settling down into a corporate job,” she said.
However, after graduation, Nina returned to Europe and faced the reality of a challenging job market.
Despite her efforts, Nina struggled to land a job in her field.
“I found it hard to get past the aptitude tests and interviews for the roles I wanted. So, after four months of job hunting and waitressing on the side, I settled for a telemarketing position in Spain.”
This job, while securing her a living, was far from what she had envisioned.
Nina described her time in telemarketing as a period of profound disillusionment.
“I was miserable. I felt like all my years of education and internships were worthless. I was introverted and hated the constant phone calls. It felt like a massive failure.”
Yet, Nina discovered silver linings from this challenging period.
“One positive outcome was that the job brought me to Spain, which I now love. Despite the job’s difficulties, it was instrumental in helping me save money and ultimately buy the apartment I live in today.”
The experience also shifted her perspective on money management.
“I learned the importance of saving and avoiding jobs that make me unhappy. It reinforced my resolve to build a career where I could have financial freedom and avoid roles that I loathe.”
“Thank God I f***ked up, because now I have a life that I like.”
Nina’s experience underscores the importance of finding gratitude even in challenging situations and amid professional missteps and using those lessons to shape a more fulfilling career.
Patrick: The Cost of Professional Missteps
Up next, our dear Patrick – a half Irish, half Spanish freelance learning and development consultant.
Patrick moved to Switzerland in 2009 to finish his studies and had a promising start when he got an opportunity to join a consulting team assessing the performance of a project overseas.
The project, which was aimed at supporting marginalised communities, wasn’t meeting the expected outcomes. Patrick and a team of others were brought in to see what was happening – which they did.
However, during a social outing with the local team, Patrick shared inappropriate comments about the project that would compromise the relationship with key stakeholders.
This mistake had serious consequences, impacting the project’s overall effectiveness and Patrick’s reputation.
“What I said got passed on to the rest of the people on the project. We had been so successful so far, and I messed it all up… I had blown my greatest professional asset, which is credibility.”
Despite the setback, Patrick found valuable lessons in his failure.
“I learned that credibility is crucial in consulting. Once lost, it’s incredibly hard to regain. I also realised that you must be open and honest about project challenges without letting personal issues interfere.”
Patrick’s experience reinforced the importance of maintaining professionalism and handling setbacks with grace.
“I wish I had learned these lessons differently, but now I understand the significance of credibility and managing professional relationships.”
Audrey: The Trials and Triumphs of Freelancing
Our Irish member, Audrey, a freelance language teacher, shared her journey of navigating the freelancing world. Audrey discussed the significant risks and challenges she faced while transitioning from a stable job to freelancing.
She initially envisioned freelancing as a path to a dream career with flexible hours and financial freedom.
“I always wanted to work for myself. And I had a vision in my mind that it was gonna be amazing. I was like, I’ll set my own hours, I’ll be living the dream. I’ll probably work in the morning. I won’t work in the evening. I’ll just be loaded and it’ll be brilliant. I can tell you now that I am the 2nd worst boss I have ever had.”
Audrey found that working for herself was far more difficult than she had anticipated.
“I had to make freelancing my full-time job before I was really ready, due to personal circumstances. It created a lot of pressure and stress.”
Audrey also shared the importance of having a backup plan.
“Always have a plan B. When I moved to Spain and started teaching online, I didn’t anticipate how crucial it would be to have an alternative income stream.”
Her business faced a severe blow when the Irish government cancelled state exams, leading to a sudden loss of clients.
“I was left with no income and had to scramble to recover,” she said.
Through her experience, Audrey learned to be open to change and evolving plans.
“Be flexible and adapt to new opportunities. I never envisioned working between Ireland and Spain, but it turned out to be a great fit.”
She also emphasised the importance of investing in oneself and one’s business.
“Investing in your business and yourself is crucial. Not every investment pays off, but taking calculated risks is necessary for growth.”
Audrey concluded with key takeaways from her journey: working for yourself is harder than it seems, always have a backup plan, be open to evolving plans, and invest in yourself. Her story was a testament to the challenges and rewards of freelancing, underscoring the value of persistence and adaptability.
Phillip: The Unexpected Benefits of Startup Failures
Phillip, from Austria, shared his story of bookitgreen – a startup aimed at revolutionising how travellers book sustainable accommodations. Phillip’s journey was marked by ambitious plans, unexpected setbacks, and valuable lessons.
Beginning as a small idea in autumn 2016, bookitgreen was aimed at connecting the growing number of eco-conscious travellers with sustainable holiday accommodations.
“We were quite early in the sustainable travel niche,” Phillip noted.
“We built a prototype, applied for accelerators, and eventually joined one in Berlin.”
The startup experienced initial success, expanding rapidly and hiring a team. However, as Phillip shared, critical professional missteps were made – like overestimating market demand and scaling too quickly based on assumptions.
A key misstep was expanding to regions that didn’t match their target audience’s actual preferences.
“We based our expansion on incorrect assumptions and market reports, leading to a high burn rate and wasted resources.”
The situation deteriorated further with internal conflicts and financial pressures.
“We faced a cofounder dispute and had to make difficult decisions, including letting go of our entire team and transitioning back to a bootstrap model.”
Phillip’s reflections on this challenging period included several key takeaways:
- Validate Before Scaling: Investing heavily based on assumptions without validating them can be disastrous. Verify your market assumptions before making big moves.
- Cash Management: Cash flow is crucial. Ensure you have enough runway to navigate through challenges and don’t underestimate the time needed for fundraising.
- Cofounder Compatibility: Ensure that your cofounders are aligned with the business vision and not just friends. Personal and professional compatibility is essential.
- Embrace Failure as a Teacher: Failure is harsh but effective. It teaches invaluable lessons about resilience, business strategy, and personal growth.
Phillip’s story emphasises the importance of adapting and learning from failure.
“What I take away from this personally is the personal growth of handling a very stressful time… I learned what I want and what I don’t want… in the end, I took a lot of very valuable learnings that I can still use today.”
Embracing Growth through Lessons Learned
Nina, Patrick, Audrey, and Phillip’s stories remind us that professional missteps and failures, while challenging, often lead to profound personal and career growth.
Each of their experiences demonstrates that embracing and learning from these moments can ultimately lead to greater fulfilment and success.
As we reflect on their journeys, it’s clear that sometimes, the most valuable lessons come from the times we stumble – and pick ourselves back up.
* What will the next TGIF event bring? TLR Family members will find out very soon! If you would like to join the next TLR event, check out our various subscription offerings here: https://tlr-coworking.com/subscriptions/. Our ‘Friend’ subscription, for example, is only €50/month and includes access to all TLR events and social gatherings, including the monthly TGIF!
