Don't Quit Just Yet: An Entrepreneur Love Letter
Dear New Entrepreneur,
Let's be honest with each other for a moment. The last few years have been extremely hard. They have been tumultuous, uncertain, and reactionary. We have had to pivot, repivot, and pivot again. Our lives have changed on both microscopic and cultural levels. How we relate to work has shifted, mainly for the better, but there is still much work to be done.
Suppose you are like me. One of my pivots was returning to school while saying goodbye to corporate America (hopefully for the last time) to dive wholeheartedly into my business with total commitment. That level of commitment has pushed me outside of my safe zone. It has encouraged me to spend more (which goes against all my cautious instincts) investing in my future self. As part of gaining my ICF coaching certificate and continuing to invest in professional development, I have had the opportunity to both coach others and be coached weekly. This accountability level has forced me to talk about issues I would otherwise suppress or minimize rather than bring to light. I believe in the power of coaching but also admit that continuous self-reflection on such an intentional level is hard work. It is vulnerable and uncomfortable, but it is just the recipe I needed to breathe creativity and motivation into growing my business.
“This accountability level has forced me to talk about issues I would otherwise suppress or minimize rather than bring to light. ”
My journey to full-time entrepreneurship was long. I started my side hustle in 2015 and would dabble back and forth between full-time employment and client work. During each iteration, I would think, this is "the moment my business will take off," or "this is the time I can have all the independence I crave." But to be truthful, It wasn't until the world stood still and everything I thought was reliable and safe was thrown up into the air that I decided the safest bet I could make was on myself. Through that thought and the repeated daily practice of pushing myself towards a new persona, I slowly began to know in my bones that there was no going back. Over a year, I slowly let go of searching job listings (just in case) and transitioned to envisioning what might be possible in the not-so-distant future. This integration of thoughts into actions showed me the evidence that I needed to believe I had a voice and a deeper calling.
In November 2020, I established my business legally as an LLC and decided to treat my hustle as a day job for the first time. This milestone was five years in the making. I learn new things every day, but my belief in what is possible and my dedication to building a creative, values-based business full of endless abundance keep me going even when I face failure or setbacks. I have learned how to be resilient, and you can be resilient too.
So why the long-winded origin story? If you're sitting on the fence today, looking at your end-of-the-year report card feeling frustrated, discouraged, or like a failure because your business didn't grow in the way you had predicted or your "great resignation" venture never took off, and your depleted ("I didn't think starting a business would be this hard!") don't be discouraged. You are much farther along than you think, and you still have the opportunity to build a life that inspires you. From my journey as a creative entrepreneur, what created a seismic shift in my outlook on the future of my business was not an acquired skill or training (although I did a lot of that recently) but a mindset shift from scarcity and fear to abundance and curiosity. I can't predict the future, but I can rely on myself.
“Fellow entrepreneurs, please keep going! Your business and your dreams mean too much to you to resign now. The world needs your imagination, innovation, and creativity. ”
Fellow entrepreneurs, please keep going! Your business and your dreams mean too much to you to resign now. The world needs your imagination, innovation, and creativity. You could go back to your 9 to 5, but you will always yearn for the freedom and autonomy that self-employment provides. It will keep summoning you until you finally commit to changing your mindset and, therefore, your growth potential. This process could take you five years, like me, or you can commit to yourself fully in 2024 to do the meaningful hard work that transforms lives.
With much appreciation and gratitude, your humble coach and guide,
Hannah
