I’ve hesitated about writing this post a number of times because:
1. Someone at Freshbooks might actually read and think I’m a nut.
2. It’s more personal than anything I’ve ever blogged.
3. It’s kind of embarrassing.
But what the heck, it’s more important to me to make a personal connection with my readers and hopefully help you learn from my mistakes. So here goes.
In May of last year I had an interview at Freshbooks. If you’ve been following my blog and business for the last few years you probably didn’t even know I was looking for a job.
Well I was looking for a job but I didn’t WANT a job.
Here’s how it happened and a few things you probably didn’t know about me:
I’m a single mom to one great boy, Hayden who’s 7. My parents have been a huge help to me over the years in many ways, including watching my son while I’ve worked (when I had a job) and built my business (when working at home). I also live in their (sunny) basement apartment.
I got into a lot of debt due to seriously neglectful money management skills (or I should say lack OF). Even though I made a very respectful income in 2008 I had not much but debt to show for it. Because my parents saw me on a daily basis they saw how stressed out, burnt out, tired and unhappy I was. They insisted that my business just wasn’t working, that I just wasn’t a sales person and that I really needed to go get a real job.
So at a real low point and feeling ashamed of myself for getting into a lot of debt yet again I agreed that it was time to find a job. For a little while I really believed it was what I needed to do at the time.
Not long after I got an email from Freshbooks saying that they were hiring so I decided to apply.
Off I went to my interview. After, I emailed to ask about a second interview and was told that they were looking for someone with ‘more energy and determined drive‘.
There were many reasons why I think I didn’t get the job, including:
- It wasn’t the right job for me, nor I for it. I was applying because I LOVE Freshbooks and they looked like a great company to work for if you were going to work for someone. There were two jobs that I thought would be a good fit but thinking about it now I don’t think they really suit my personality or overall goals (but at the time I really didn’t know what my life goals even were).
- My confidence was very, very low. In the interview I think I mentioned a few times how nice I am – while it’s nice to be nice that just don’t get you a job 
. Without getting into a whole psychological review of myself I think I’ve spent way too much time in my life getting my sense of self-worth from others. In the last year I’ve worked a lot on this and now I don’t need the approval of anyone to know what I want from life (huge accomplishment in itself!).
- I didn’t really want a job. While at the time of the interview I really thought I did but deep down in my heart I knew I had to keep at this business thing until it really worked, was truly profitable and I learned how to stop a lifetime of overspending. Plus, the drive would be an hour each way. After I drove down I was thinking that would be a killer daily and just not something I wanted to do.
What Metrics Do You Track?
One of the most embarrassing parts of the interview was when I was asked “What metrics do you track on a daily basis?” and my reply was ‘Metrics?’ – uhhh, not a good answer for a business owner.
I can’t tell you what a wake up call that interview was.
It really made me question why I had no confidence. Then I took the rest of the year figuring out how to get it.
What I did to grow my confidence:
- Took workshops to find out my true personality type and preferences.
- Read books.
- Blogged more.
- Started working out daily with the Fat Loss Quickie program and taking much better care of myself.
- Got out from behind the computer more often to meet people like me.
And what a HUGE difference it made!
If you asked me that metrics question right now I’d have a much different answer:
1. Income and Expenses: Yes now I track this daily. On any given day I can tell you my income so far this month, my expenses for the month, my profitability and how far to my current monthly goal. Yay!
2. Website Traffic: My current goal is 10,000 visitors per month. Last month it was over 3,000. I often check what keywords people have typed in to find my website, or what sites I’m getting traffic from, or what my most popular pages are. This helps me to do more of what’s working and cut out what’s not.
3. Affiliate Income and Conversions: I’m an affiliate marketer and I’m planning on making a very good living that way so I often check in on what programs are converting for me and what the actual conversion rates are.
4. Ezine Articles: One of my favorite traffic generating startegies lately is article marketing. Every day I make a goal to submit as many new articles as I can and then I check the metrics to find out which articles are getting clicks and re-published.
5. Email Sign Ups: My email list is a very important part of my marketing strategy so I check my sign ups often to see how and where I can make improvements.
I feel I’ve really come a long way personally and in my business since that interview. This year I’ve got clear goals and a very determined drive to meet them. I’ve got more energy due to this clear vision and a focus on health and fitness. Best of all I’ve got the confidence to know I really can be or do whatever I want to. A failure here and there is nothing but a learning experience as long as I keep moving forward.
So I really do want to sincerely say thank you for not hiring me – it was the kick in the butt I needed. It’s a point in my personal history where I’ll look back and say: “things changed for me there” and for that I am unimaginably grateful. I still love Freshbooks for all the same reasons I did before and I intend to promote you at every chance I get!
p.s. I love Freshbooks for all my time tracking and billing. The company, program and service is unlike anything I’ve found anywhere on the net – that’s why I wanted to work for them in the first place
Angela, I love these kind of very open and honest blog posts. The details of your job interview are great! “I’m nice … I’m nice!”
Sounds like things are going a lot better for you. And big kudos on the fatlossquickie front. One of these days I’ll get around to that too. Scott seems like a very inspirational guy.
Congrats!
Bill
.-= Bill Dawson´s last blog ..Snow, and lots of it =-.
Twitter: AngelaWills
says:
Thanks so much for the comment Bill!
Yes things are going SO MUCH BETTER now and I’ve finally got my head wrapped around managing my money. I think I learned the hard way that it’s impossible to be a truly successful entrepreneur without great money management skills.
Scott is awesome and definitely inspirational AND motivational. I’m so glad I found his program and plan on continuing my fitness. My new goal is The Leather Jacket by June 31st, 2010. (Gotta get that public accountability in whenever I can)
Angela
Twitter: lisamariemary
says:
Angela – WOW! This post – and your influence on me – ROCKS!! Thank you for sharing your journey with us so openly – it is really having an impact on me!
I’m uber impressed with your metrics tracking! I need to learn so much of that myself!
.-= Lisa Marie Mary´s last blog ..What Type Of Content Is Better To Use – PLR Or Free Reprint? =-.
Twitter: AngelaWills
says:
I’m so glad Lisa Marie Mary as that was definitely the goal of this post and my blog here.
Because, ya know, I’m nice
haha
And yes I love my metrics, I don’t think I’ll ever get stumped on that question again, lol. Although I did track metrics when I went for the interview, I just hadn’t made a real concentrated effort to make sure I was tracking the right things at the time. (especially when I had mostly been working with clients and my most important metrics was how many hours I was working).
Your blog post is very motivational for everyone. Congrats on gaining so much from an interview. Sometimes people never know where to improve on – it is great that you were able to identify this.
Cheers to success in 2010!
.-= Staci Jansma´s last blog ..WebsiteMagazine.com | November 2009 | GOOGLE Analytics Tips! =-.
Twitter: AngelaWills
says:
Thanks so much for your comment Staci.
That’s such a great point you made there. Some people WANT to change but just don’t know what to change or where to start. I think I was stuck there for a while but that interview really snapped me out of it, lol.
Twitter: retta719
says:
I know you’ve worked hard for your successes and you totally deserve them. Thank you so much for sharing this personal and amazing story with us here. It will inspire entrepreneurs yet to come.
.-= Loretta´s last blog ..Tinyteeswithstyle.com Website for Sale =-.
Twitter: AngelaWills
says:
That’s so sweet of you Loretta!
It’s funny though, when you work hard at the wrong things it gets you nowhere. When you finally start working with a clear purpose and goal – feels awesome.
Wow – what an awesomly inspiring story! Good for you for sharing! Many will gain from your experience!
Keep up the great work and keep tracking those metrics!
Twitter: AngelaWills
says:
Thank you Anita. I appreciate your comment and retweet!
Angela… you totally ROCK!
Isn’t great when you can just be you and allow your incredible uniqueness shine?
My favorite line from your post is, “I think I’ve spent way too much time in my life getting my sense of self-worth from others.”
You know that you are capable of greatness and you have taken so many positive steps to drive you closer to achieving your dreams. It’s been absolutely awesome watching you and your business grow.
When you get 10,000 visitors… 20,000 visitors… and more each month, they will be looking back on this amazing post as well as all the other incredible content, podcasts, and videos that you have on your site. Keep up the great work!
Scott Tousignant
.-= Scott Tousignant – Fat Loss Quickie´s last blog ..Have You Stepped Outside Of Your Comfort Zone Lately? =-.
Twitter: AngelaWills
says:
Thank you so much Scott!
I’m so grateful to have met you and have you for a friend. You’ve been such an awesome source of support, encouragement and inspiration to keep working towards self improvement – love it!
And I have to say, yes, it’s a big relief to just be completely me. I feel like this post will probably open the flood gates of more open and honest posts – so look out people! LOL >
Hey Angela,
These are my favourite kind of posts. Genuine, honest and deep down emotional. Thanks for all the kind words about FreshBooks. You truly are a rockstar for learning from the whole process and loving us even more as a result. Heh.
We’re so glad to hear you’re doing so well : )
P.S. We only think you’re a LITTLE nut! ; )
Rayanne Langdon — Queen of Hearts, FreshBooks.com
Twitter: AngelaWills
says:
Hi Rayanne and thanks so much for your comment!
Well I’ll take being a little nut, hehe. Yes I guess I could have went off all bitter and said ‘Freshbook sucks’ but that would just have been silly. Much better to have learned and grown from it. Maybe one day I’ll actually learn to LIKE interviews (if I ever decide to go to one again).
Twitter: tishialee
says:
Wow Angela what an awesome post. These are the ones (the real deep down honest, genuine, sharing from the heart) that grab my attention and I resonate the most with.
What really stuck out to me was when you said “I think I’ve spent way too much time in my life getting my sense of self-worth from others” I’ve been down that road and It’s just been recently that I’ve been realizing that I don’t need other people to give me self-worth, in fact oftentimes other people don’t give it anyways, that I am worth a lot, special, unique and an awesome person without others having to make me feel like that (did that make sense? lol).
Thanks for being so open! And isn’t it funny how we can learn so much from something as ‘little’ (not that a job interview is little) as an interview?!
.-= Tishia Lee´s last blog ..Super Sweet 5 for $5 Sale – How To Give Good Blog =-.
Twitter: AngelaWills
says:
Thanks Tishia! I totally know what you mean – why you rely on others to approve of you it’s just an emotional roller coaster and a completely out of control feeling. When you love you for you then no one can knock you off your pedestal – right?? At least it sounds good
[...] know I fit more into category #2 than category #1. But since I opened up the floodgates in this post I’m ready to just be totally open and honest about my previously lacking money management [...]
The best way to find information is by going through posts like these, will sure use it for my reference purpose, thank you very much for sharing the post.
Well, I think that Freshbooks still gave you something that you need. It serves as an eye opener for you, which made you a successful lady.
Right! You should be thankful that they did not hire you or you wnt be here and have what you now have.
[...] when you can 4. Try not to put all your eggs in one basket 5. Work Hard Smart! 6. Stay Focused 7. Never Give Up 8. Get a Mentor and Follow Their Lead 9. Help Others When You Can 10. Participate In Forums and [...]