A Day I Leaned into Courage

January 2nd, 1992 - a day I was courageous. I became an entrepreneur.

So why did I start? What did I learn? 

The courageous part of me was drawn to be an entrepreneur. There are many reasons that I was drawn to be an entrepreneur. I have learnt a lot of things along the way. Some through the excitement of success, but many more by the discomfort and disappointment of failure. Here are just a few. 

Control of schedule

I started the entrepreneurial journey in response to my desire to build a more ideal family life. My partner & I both worked full time in corporate roles. We didn’t like the idea of shoving family life (and all the errands and house tasks) into evenings, weekends with little flexibility.

I learnt that I could structure my business day around the children’s schedules and take a chunk of time during the week to tackle the tasks/errands so that weekends could have more free time. I also learnt that I still had to put the hours in to achieve what I wanted to achieve. For most of the years I had to juggle motherhood with working a ‘split -shift’; working some time during the day and some time in the evening. The gift remained that I still had control of my schedule. 

To challenge myself

When I reflect on my time in the corporate world I have to ‘Throw all the way back’ to the early 90’s; I understand that the dynamics and team structures have changed since then but my shift to being an entrepreneur was based on my experience then. . More times than I can count I found that my work in the corporate world was controlled and influenced by factors that frustrated me. I didn’t feel welcome to share my ideas as it stepped outside my responsibilities. I didn’t feel that digging in and being more efficient and effective was appreciated or rewarded. I felt I was supposed to work hard enough to be noticed for future opportunities but not too hard that I stuck out as to keen to colleagues.  

I learnt that every day would bring challenges. That just when I figured it out something would shift. I would get the perfect schedule going and then the family calendar would throw a wrench into the mix. I would feel confident that my business building strategies were working and then someone wouldn’t be come a client that I was sure of. I had to become comfortable being uncomfortable. The gift remained that I was always being challenged. 

To have an impact

As far back as I can recall I wanted to be engaged in my community and help make change. I always felt this pull to work was changing or impacting lives in a positive way. I now can articulate it as; my purpose is to move humanity forward. I have satisfied this need as a volunteer in various charities and through my work as an entrepreneur.  I have impacted lives through creating financial wellness for clients. I have helped team members grow personally, professionally and creating their own financial wellness.  Today, I help people, primarily entrepreneurs manifest and monetize their purpose filled business. 

I have learnt along the way that I will make mistakes. That my enthusiasm can be overwhelming, so I must moderate it. I have learnt that I am not always the solution for an individual or challenge. That the opportunity needs to resonate with me and with them. That I can not guide people through change that they are not willing to make. That when worlds collide there is nothing more perfect than the synergy that is created by working with individuals for common good; to move humanity forward. The gift remains that I have had an impact.