Revisit Your Purpose. Re-Energize Your Path.
Well this isn’t the first time you’ve heard (or read) this and it certainly won’t be the last:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS HARD.
I started this company in September of last year and it was soooo exciting at first. New website, new social media, new networks, new energy…..lots of newness. I had so many grand plans for my business because I was so confident that it was meant to be, and that it was part of my purpose. I felt like I was doing everything right, I was getting introduced to the right people, and I had the right schedule (working part-time) to launch a business.
I had sooo many people saying “Wow! That’s a great idea for a business!” and so few people actually booking me. So…..as the clients started sprinkling in instead of pouring…..I had to ask myself, “How high is the DEMAND for what I’m offering?”
This, my friends, was a game changer.
I am currently reading “She Takes the World” by Natalie MacNeil, and she addresses this exact topic. When I read this part of the book, it was like that golden moment when the angels sing and a light surrounds those magical words:
“If you want to make a living by living your purpose, you need a starving crowd.”
Ding Ding Ding! I didn’t have a starving crowd!!
What I realized in that moment, too, was another game changer: There is a large number of people who need my services, but a small number who are willing to pay for them.
Did I go cry in a corner? NO! Did I feel like any less of an entrepreneur now that I realized that my services may not appeal to the masses? Nope. What I felt was a sense of relief, and a realization that I needed to re-direct my strategy. Full-time entrepreneurship is not for everyone. The blessing of it all was that when I launched the business I was still at the tv station, so I was able to gain somewhat of a following based on people who genuinely valued my career and wanted to support my next endeavor. After I left, I was in a part-time position that allowed me to have medical benefits, and quite a bit of flexibility to support my early months in business. And now, I am in a position that allows me to marry my two loves: storytelling and communications training. But that also came in the form of a full-time position, which is a huge adjustment to the amount of time I have to dedicate to my business.
So I fell into a lull. I was constantly trying to wrap my mind around my new position and how to best navigate the territory while also still fueling my passion (Crowd or Camera). I hadn’t had a consulting session in a WHILE, and wasn’t even as active on social media. So then, naturally, I started to feel like I was failing, and that maybe I shouldn’t have started the business and “where will it go from here anyway?”.
THEN – I got an email booking not one consultation but two. Long story short, I spent a Saturday morning working with two amazing young people who are on a career trajectory that I, hopefully, got to play a small part in cultivating. The energy and sense of purpose I felt leaving those appointments was exactly how I felt when I started Crowd or Camera. And that’s how I know that I’m on the right track, and that this part of my story might not be the highlight reel, but it’s just as purposeful as every other chapter in the book.
I say that to say – keep pressing. Everyone’s version of entrepreneurship doesn’t look the same. I have a family that I adore, one that I truly enjoy spending time with and that I make time for. I’m not one of those “Sleep when you die!” entrepreneurs. Nah, I think you should get a solid 6/7 hours (and I really want to make 8 happen more often). We’re all built differently, and that’s okay. Don’t compare your chapter 2 with someone else’s chapter 20. And know that as long as you are living your purpose, you are doing everything right – even when it feels weird or wrong.
Do the work, trust the process, and believe that you were uniquely created for a purpose.
Now go out there and be great!!
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