Photo by Mary Denman
Mary Denman Photography
I have a confession to make. The thought of being a sole proprietor used to terrorize me into absolute paralysis. It’s true. The only childhood experience I had with entrepreneurship ended dismally with my parents in bankruptcy court. My family lived on a cash basis from that day forward.
When I grew old enough to work, I felt I needed to play it safe. Work for a big company. There were just two challenges. First, I was a female coming of age at a time when women earned significantly less than men. That’s just the way it was and second, I felt l was in prison. I was miserable!
I could tolerate it as long as I was in learning-all-I-could mode. But as soon as I mastered the knowledge and skill, I quickly became bored and that marked the beginning of the end.
I ran from one company to the other hoping for something that perfect fit. Only, I couldn’t find it. It didn’t exist. Why? There
is not company out there with a title and job description that will utilize my gifts and talents in a way that I feel totally fulfilled.
I’m a misfit. I admit it. I don’t fit the mold. In fact, my native-American mom named me “Winds of Autumn”. She said trying to pin me down to one thing was like trying to capture the winds in autumn and put them in a box.
Mom was right. I see the world around me, learn all I can and then go about sharing that wisdom on a deep, intuitive level. Try writing that into a job description. I’ve learned so much about so many things. My resume’ is so diverse. Here is just a sampling in no particular order:
Police Officer, speaker, fraud prevention, mortgages, Bible school provost, student services director for colleges, singer, author, cross country cyclo-tourist, radio talk show host, marathon runner, guitarist, copy-writer, symphony musician, emergency medicine, tennis professional, foreign missionary, mental health therapist, pastor, teacher, … ummm… just to name a few.
You may think I’m crazy, perhaps even in need of my own therapeutic services. You may consider me undependable or suffering from attention deficit disorder. Trust me, you won’t be the first. But here’s the truth. I was meant to be an entrepreneur. I love doing new things. I’m always looking for the next, next, next thing. Pure and simple.
Honestly, I’ve failed at more businesses than I’ve succeeded at. That lemonade stand didn’t make a penny. Clearly I had a lot to learn. But, here’s the thing. I learned so much about marketing from that lemonade stand I’d set up on a dead end street on a weekday. Yes, I was too sick to go to school that day<wink>, but that’s for a different blog post.
I appreciate that I live in a country where that is entirely possible. You should, too. The key to my success was recognizing what I love to do, then figuring out a way to earn a living at it. It worked for me. It definitely can work for you, too. Are you ready?
Do you have a dream of your own business? Does that scare you, or excite you? Or both? Share it here!
Filed in Authenticity, Career, Change, Entrepreneur, Success | Tagged: Authenticity, Career Change, Entrepreneur, Magellan Life Coaching, Reba J. Hoffman, Success, The Entrepreneur in Me
