Two Years of pocket nibbles consulting
Two years ago, I didn’t start a business.
I started healing.
The week I officially went freelance, I was burnt out.
Hurt from getting laid off and looking for an escape.
Looking for a reason not to rush back into another in-house job.
If I’m honest, I didn’t know what I wanted.
Freelancing felt like an excuse.
An excuse to recover.
An excuse to buy a house and move my family from apartment life to a yard.
An excuse to breathe.
Success on day one was simple:
Wake up and not feel angry.
Do something that made me feel better after being on the receiving end of a really hard layoff.
That was it.
What I thought I was building
I thought I was building a bridge to “the next thing.”
I assumed freelancing would be temporary, a holding pattern, a way to figure out what I actually wanted to do.
What I secretly worried about — and didn’t say out loud — was that I’d never find work that truly made me happy.
What if I went back in-house and felt stuck again?
What if I couldn’t make anything work?
What surprised me
What has been easier than I expected?
Finding what makes me happy.
Staying happy.
Being myself in everything that I do.
That sounds simple, but it’s not.
Freelancing forced me to stop performing. I don’t have to fit into someone else’s culture or political environment. I get to show up as me: calm, direct, compassionate, occasionally sarcastic, always honest.
What has been harder than I expected?
Saying no.
I want to help everyone. I genuinely love helping people.
But I can’t do everything.
Every “no” still feels heavy.
Every boundary is intentional.
And everything I say yes to now has to align with what fuels me, not just what others want from me.
That shift changed everything.
The part of me that grew
Confidence.
Boundaries.
Strategic thinking.
The ability to ask better questions.
The ability to say, “It depends. Let’s talk about what you’re actually trying to achieve.”
When I was in-house, I often believed there was one “right” way to build something in Marketing Ops.
Now I know there are many right ways.
It depends on:
- the business
- the stage
- the culture
- the goals
- the people involved
My job isn’t to impose a system.
It’s to give options. To guide and to ask the right questions. To understand the business beyond the tools.
That’s something I didn’t fully grasp before.
And yes — I doubt myself every other month.
But I also learned this: I can make anything work if I really want it to.
The people
The biggest surprise of these two years hasn’t been revenue.
It’s been people.
Clients who became energizers.
Other consultants who are walking the same path.
The Marketing Ops community that feels like an extended work family.
I’m not alone in anything I do anymore.
There was a moment that still makes me emotional — when a client, Katie, fought tooth and nail to bring me with her to another company. She manifested it. She pushed for it. She believed in me.
When I read client recommendations and see their words, it gives me the quiet confidence boost I need in the months when I doubt myself.
That’s when I think: “Oh… this is why I’m doing this.”
What clients actually hire me for
It’s not just Marketo builds or Salesforce cleanup.
They hire me for:
- compassion
- honesty
- calm confidence
- perspective
- humor
They hire me to slow things down and ask, “What decision will this drive?”
They hire me to translate business strategy into operational reality.
They hire me to tell the truth gently when needed.
Two years ago, I didn’t realize that was my real skill set.
How my definition of success changed
Success used to mean external validation.
Title. Recognition. Being the “expert in the room.”
Now?
Success is:
- Seeing my kids as much as I want to.
- Spending a Friday doing something for myself.
- Finishing a project and hearing, “You helped us.”
- Having clients come back.
- Waking up and feeling steady.
I still love validation. I’m human. But it’s no longer the foundation.
The hard parts
Getting started was terrifying.
Putting my name out there. Asking for help. Taking the risk of being visible.
I still question myself regularly.
I still wonder if I’m balancing volunteer work and paid work correctly.
I’m still learning how to say no more cleanly.
But doubt no longer controls me. It just keeps me grounded.
What changed in pocket nibbles consulting
Two years ago, it was scrappy and uncertain.
Today, it feels stable. Clearer. More me.
I’ve found my voice through writing.
I’ve connected with people across Europe and beyond.
I’ve realized I’m not building something temporary.
I’m building something intentional.
If you’re sitting in a corporate job wondering if you should leap
Jump. Follow your gut.
You don’t need a five-year plan. You just need enough courage to take the first step.
Two years ago, I thought I was building a business.
What I was actually building was a better life for myself.
And that has made all the difference.
