Volume 7: Top Three Reasons Why I Was Such A Bad Employee That I Had To Start My Own Company

Greetings, fellow LinkedIn-ers!?

As some of you may or may not know, my husband Eddie and I recently launched our real estate marketing agency, Burke By Burke!?

Now what kind of a marketer would I be if I didn’t at least briefly plug my own business in this newsletter?

“Burke By Burke is a boutique real estate marketing agency, run in partnership by Jamie Burke and Eddie Burke.

With Jamie’s extensive real estate background and Eddie’s creative design eye, they bring out the best in each other in order to provide the best for their clients.”

But that’s not what I’m writing about today (my DM is always open if you do want to chat marketing though!).?

I’d like to address the elephant in the digital room: the truth is, we started Burke By Burke because I was actually a really, really bad employee.

So without further ado, here are the Top Three Reasons Why I Was Such a Bad Employee That I Had to Start My Own Company:

1. I hated working 9 to 5, but was also overwhelmed having to be available 24/7

Working for myself has given me the immense privilege to create a schedule that truly makes sense for the way I want to live.

I say it's a privilege, because that is what it is. In work, we have to be constantly aware of the privileges we each embody (whether that be gender, economic status, sector, geographic location, marital status - yes, being married is a privilege, there are a ton of studies and articles about the hidden costs of living alone) and how that impacts our career paths.?

I am cognizant of my privileges: married to my business partner in a creative sector that allows us both to work remotely and asynchronously. That same privilege is not afforded to the plumber who repaired our toilet seal or to the mechanic who changed my tires out last week. We should all do our best to acknowledge our privileges, while also creating opportunities for others around us.?

2. I enjoyed afternoon naps way too much

There was once an interview with Sean Astin where he was talking about what it was like working with Elijah Wood during filming of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He mentioned that Elijah (aka Frodo Baggins) had the uncanny ability to fall asleep no matter where he was: in the make-up chair, on-set, under a flight of stairs. It was truly a gift.

I have also been blessed with this gift. Although my work schedule differs from day to day, on days that I’m fully remote, it typically goes like this:

• 7am: Wake up and immediately check my phone
• 8am: Take a shower?
• 9am: Stare into the abyss of my computer screen / have breakfast
• 10am: Write or do other marketing related things
• 12pm: Lunch with Eddie
• 1 - 2pm: Revel in my Imposter Syndrome
• 3 - 4pm: Nap (optional - maybe 1 to 2 days a week)
• 5 - 7pm: More work?
• 7pm: Make dinner
• 8 - 10pm: Work a bit more while simmering in the anxiety of not having done enough for the day
• 10pm - bedtime: Read a book?

I’m not sure about you, but I don’t think many bosses would like that 3 to 4pm time block. But perhaps those same bosses who don’t like that would also not blink twice at what happened during 5 to 7pm and 8 to 10pm.

Personally, I find this flow works naturally. I like weaving in and out between my personal and work life. Napping also helps because with my antidepressants (which I’ve talked about here in previous volumes), I tend to crash a bit around mid-afternoon, and hit a peak again just after dinner. And also, naps are just nice.

3. I really, really wanted to go out for brunch?

But really, we started Burke By Burke because Eddie and I want the flexibility in our schedule to line up for popular Vancouver brunch spots (Cafe Medina being our favourite, but also Sophie’s Cosmic Diner, Red Wagon and Catch 122, among others) in the middle of the week to avoid the crowds.

When we can one day post a selfie of us at Jam Cafe on a quiet Wednesday morning, that’s when I know we’ve made it.