A Moment of Gratitude and Thankfulness
Celebrating Thanksgiving and all that I am thankful for with a focus today on the small business I have created. Many years ago when I had my first child, I dreamed of a job with more flexibility to allow me to be present for him as he grew up. At that time, there were not a lot of opportunities that were remote in nature. I felt like I had to choose between my career and my family. I made the difficult choice to leave my growing career when my daughter was born a couple years later, and I wouldn’t change a thing. You can always make more money but time is a thief. We have zero control over the amount of time we have. Now as I watch those two kiddos continue to grow up, I will be forever grateful for the choices my husband and I made to make it happen.
Life is all about choices.
Today, I am extremely grateful that I found my way back to a career that aligns with who I am and includes that (very important to me) flexibility.
The truth is I never saw myself as a stay at home mom. I imagined myself working full time while raising my kids. Something shifted when my first was born; I wanted nothing more than to be there for him 24/7. Living in the Chicago suburbs and living a life we created pre-kids, this wasn’t a possibility right away. But the thing about me is if there is a will there is a way. I’ve always believed you can make the impossible possible—I just needed to figure out what that looked like for me in this situation.
At that time in my life, I didn’t see what I see now in myself. I had worked with many small business owners over the years. I remember on of my favorite mentors telling me, as I was freshly out of college advising business owners in the world of banking, the only difference between us and them is that they had the gumption to go it alone. That always stuck with me, and I reminded him of this comment here in recent years when we reconnected on LinkedIn discussing my new business venture. I was so lucky to have some great mentors along the way; I wouldn’t trade those friendships and experiences for the world!
Which brings me to my point, I always dreamed of what I have now in the way of my own career that I truly own. It’s often a pinch me moment along with moments of panic, if I am being honest. There is a lot of pressure to wear many hats as a solopreneur along with finding that next “right” client. My advice to my younger self would have been to put myself out there sooner. The things I have learned about myself and mindset shift that has come along with it, have been nothing short of life changing. There are, of course, moments of self doubt and imposter syndrome. However, I truly love what I am creating and all the fantastic people I have met along the way. Having clients from coast to coast and watching their businesses grow and evolve post website launch, is also a pretty great part of this gig.
As the year is coming to a close, I think it is important to reflect and be thankful. While it is not all roses and sunshine, it is an opportunity I have created for myself and something I am truly thankful to have as my own. This has truly been a weird year in business but still productive and one of growth. My advice to those considering jumping all in on themselves, is to “just do it” to quote Nike. Take the leap of faith with yourself and enjoy the ride. Start small and scrappy and trust yourself to learn and evolve. The journey just might be amazing!
