A little over a year ago I started the journey of entrepreneurship with big dreams and idealized plans. My move was made out of necessity, not because my aspirations led me here. So, when things got tough, and I saw a way out, I gave up on being a business owner. Here’s what I learned that some of you might relate to.
I’ve worked with many businesses over the course of my career. My role gave me a peek inside the operations, from budgets and bottom lines to strategy and systems. From the outside looking in, business owners appeared to have it made. Staff did all the work for them, and they got to make all the decisions. Pure freedom. I’ll come back to this.
Then I got my own taste of running a company when I was recruited to manage a seven-station radio operation. At first it was overwhelming, but in no time I was making decisions, managing crises, and strategizing growth with ease. It felt like I was born to do it. Even on the hard days, there was a sense of fulfillment I had never experienced before.
Those experiences led me toward entrepreneurship, but they were missing two very important elements. Risk and inception. While a lot was riding on me throughout my career, none of the businesses I worked with or for carried a substantial risk for me. Though I had worked to restore failing media groups to profitability, I had never built one from the ground up.
Starting a business is pretty easy. There’s a standard checklist that will make you a business owner. File an LLC. Open a business account. Set up accounting software and payment systems. Get a website so people can find you. Everything after that becomes a little more obscure. I heard it described in a podcast as walking through your first door and realizing there are twenty more doors you have to choose from — and a hundred doors beyond that. Every decision you get the freedom to make comes with a risk.
Growth didn’t happen at the rate I anticipated. Some months were great and others were full of anxiety. I started new projects - like this newsletter - to grow my audience and validate my credibility, networked more, and participated in more community service. While I found joy in all of it, the needle barely moved.
So when I was approached for a role doing what I’ve done before, I said yes. Steady paycheck. Low risk. Stability. Suddenly the “freedom” of being a business owner was more of a liability than an asset.
I won’t drag you through the three-month-long negotiation process, but I’ll tell you where it landed. When it came time to sign on the dotted line, I had a realization. The freedom of owning a business IS the choices you get to make. For me, it’s about being able to take a consultative approach to marketing and business rather than pushing a product. It’s the ability to help local business owners in a way that impacts my community. It’s a flexible schedule that allows me to serve through non-profit and volunteer work.
Long days, weekend work, fluctuating income, and weighted decisions come with the package, but if you’re willing to take the risk and build something from scratch, you can make your own way. I’ll leave you with this. A fellow hard-working business owner asked his administrative assistant if she thought he was happy. The immediate answer was “yes.” Then he asked if she would take his place. The answer was a resounding “no!” That pretty much sums up entrepreneurship.