When I stepped onto the entrepreneurial road 17 years ago, I was ill-prepared for the over-reaching impact that decision would have on me, my emotions, my relationships, and my life. In a word, it was massive! Looking back from the vantage point of today, would I make the same decision? Absolutely! It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made – right up there with moving to California (I knew 1 person – my college roommate!) and marrying my husband of 30 years!
I’ve built a business working with entrepreneurs who want a lifestyle business that allows them to do what they love to do, be paid handsomely to do it AND have the freedom to live their life.
Most clients who come to me say pursuing their entrepreneurial dream is the most difficult thing they’ve ever done. I completely agree.
I’ve chosen my 5 favorites from the article to share with you. Five women who share how becoming an entrepreneur changed their lives – the challenges and the rewards.
Francesca Montillo, Founder of Lazy Italian Culinary Adventures
“Becoming an entrepreneur is life changing in every aspect. If you’re unsatisfied working for someone else, the satisfaction of running your own business is like nothing else. Even the best job you’ve ever had can’t compare to the feeling of being your own boss. It can never be compared to working for others. It consumes you, sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. Your business is on your mind 24/7, there is no work-life balance, but the beauty is if you love what you do, you don’t mind.
On a positive note – you feel in control of your destiny; on a negative note, you are in control of your destiny! There is lots of wasted time in a new business, so you might confuse busyness with productivity. On a social level, you might miss the daily office interactions of catching up with co-workers, so it’s important to surround yourself with other like-minded individuals.
Entrepreneurs are by nature a bit rebellious, so the everyday 9-5 can feel like torture. For me, I became healthier when I started my own business. I had time to arrange my schedule so that I could fit in walking and exercising. I don’t work 8 straights hours and can break in between for a walk or errand and pick right back up where I left off without feeling less productive. It impacts your lifestyle in every way.”
Christy Cook, Founder & CEO of Teach My
“Personally, being an entrepreneur is empowering and has provided a sense of purpose. I have become an inspiration for many other women entrepreneurs and a role model to my son. Every day, I cherish the flexibility I have as an entrepreneur. I rarely miss school drop-off, pick-up, homework time and school events because I can make business decisions and build a successful company on my time. Also, my role as an entrepreneur earns respect within the family. We are all equals working together to create a better life.
Professionally, being an entrepreneur has instilled self-confidence. My work-self from 10 years ago resembles nothing of my new work-self! I have learned to make decisions quickly and to take educated risks. I have learned the importance of grit, passion and resilience. The new me is strong and self-assured. I have proven that I can make good decisions, build a successful business, maintain balance and have a harmonious home life.”
Sarah Sekula, Freelance Journalist
“I escaped cubicle life in 2009. These days, as a freelance travel journalist, I focus solely on projects that are fulfilling to me, have the freedom to work from anywhere and have control over my schedule, which means I can easily avoid rush-hour traffic. As a result, my stress level has gone way down.
Most days I wake up really excited about the projects I will tackle. Better yet, if I want to work on a Saturday morning instead of Friday afternoon, I do that. I also appreciate the fact that my compensation is a result of how much work I put in. The downfall is not having coworkers. But I solve that problem by setting up lunch meetings when I need some brainstorming sessions.”
Caroline Cecil, CEO & Founder of Caroline Cecil Textiles
“I have always been the type of person to give a lot of my time to my career, while my hours haven’t been 9-to-5 for some time, the energy and intensity at which I work has changed dramatically since starting Caroline Cecil Textiles. The main factor in this is the level of accountability required of me as an entrepreneur. The most rewarding change has been discovering my strengths and weaknesses as a “designtrepreneur”.
As a textile designer I strive for a balance between my creative and business responsibilities and delegating tasks to my team. This is something that I think a lot of young entrepreneurs struggle with and from my experience, having an amazing support system is absolutely critical to success. I truly believe the act of working together as a team makes the concept, process and final product better, no matter the task.
As my company Caroline Cecil Textiles has grown, I’ve definitely seen the number of difficult days increase but at the same time so have the number of incredible ones! Becoming my own boss has been both a humbling and rich experience, but the biggest skill I have learned is my ability to work smarter!”
Emily Ley, Founder and Creative Director of Emily Ley Paper & Gifts
“Before becoming an entrepreneur, I had a career in the corporate world. At that point in my life, success to me looked like having my name in lights. But now, as a mom of three – including twins, an author, and a business owner, success looks like having the flexibility to chaperone a kindergarten field trip to the zoo on Thursdays.
Running my own company gives me the flexibility to be present for the things that truly matter and fulfill one of my greatest professional goals – creating purposeful products to help empower women. I’ve learned, both personally and professionally, that slowing down is where life is the sweetest and where you have margin for the things that truly matter.
Diving into the field of product design and production was a whole new experience for me, and one that came with many unexpected difficulties. Early on I messed up and fell on my face a lot. Most notably, during the early phase of my company, I made a massive production mistake that ended up costing me $6,000 worth of product. I doubted myself a lot afterwards and thought maybe I wasn’t cut out for this. But, I got back up, decided to give it another try and I’m forever glad that I did. Without that mistake, I might not have Emily Ley Paper & Gifts as it is today.”