Being an entrepreneur is one of the sexiest things to be these days.
People immediately associate you with characteristics like: innovative, driven and successful. All of these things are a nice image that I’m not trying to shake but that picture isn’t always so pretty.
When my calendar reminded me that September 22nd, 2015 was the date my LLC was legally created, my reflection trigger was immediately pulled. Thinking about the last 52 weeks as a business owner is a challenge. Usually in these long-term introspective moments I focus on all the good, because really, that’s the point for me.
My values are rooted in transparency, authenticity and candor. So when I decided to formally reflect with the larger community, I wanted to share the “bad” that was always the counterpart to the “good”. One never really came without the other.
Even though you’ll usually catch me on a good day, that’s not to say this year turned out that way because everything just, “magically fell into place.” Which is actually something people say to me more often than I care to admit. I was laser focused on the good but allowed myself the space to sit in the bad, sometimes a little too long. You can’t appreciate all that is good if you don’t experience, learn and grow from the bad.
So I hope you’ll enjoy this snapshot of both sides of my coin over the last 365 days as a small business owner. It’s not the standard rainbows and sunshine I typically project, but it’s what I’ve proudly experienced and what has developed my new foundation.
I’ve taken it a day at a time, processed my missteps and surrounded myself with an incredible support system. This year would never have been so damn good if it weren’t for all of those people who picked me up when I was down, took a chance on being the first to hire me and ferociously recommended me to their people. I am so grateful and humbled by all that positive energy I get to live in day after day!
