From Fear to Fun: Four Guiding Principles for The First Time You Start Your Own Business

How to Stay Positive, Focused and Productive while Having Fun

I recently celebrated my first year with my own practice. I’m not a born entrepreneur; it’s not how I grew up and I never imagined I’d be one. My father worked for one company for decades and my mom was a teacher. We had times when money was tight, when we ate more pasta, hot dogs and PB&J than usual, and I learned to be thankful that my parents were employed. Being an entrepreneur was never a consideration because it meant no reliable source of income, so when I graduated college, I sought a job that gave me security. 

Fast forward several years to when I met my husband. He is an entrepreneur. In our early years, I wanted him to find a steady job that would reliably pay him a set amount every two weeks. I’ve since watched him grow his firm for 20 years. He works more than anyone I know but it rarely seems like work because he loves what he does. I learned that being an entrepreneur is risky but also has its own security: it’s 100% clear who is responsible to make stuff happen. 

In 2016, after I’d dedicated 20 years with a one company, I began to think about changing careers. “What else could I do? What else did I want to do?” These questions bothered me for many months and as I began to answer them, I loved the idea of having my own business, but as you can imagine, as much as I loved the idea, I couldn’t act on it. It was too impractical for both my husband and me to be entrepreneurs. 

Then after many months of thinking about what job and lifestyle I wanted, I realized that I still loved coaching people and developing strategies (which is what I did for many years) but I also wanted the flexibility to be home and available for our three daughters, to wear jeans and my chucks to work, and I wanted a short commute. Such a job, as I envisioned it, did not exist. The only option was to build it myself.

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. – Milton Berle

The decision to be an entrepreneur is an exciting and scary one. There’s a bright future that’s full of possibility - - and there’s an inherent pressure of being The One. An entrepreneur’s To Do list includes sales, marketing, operations, delivery, quality and innovation. It didn’t matter that I’d worked for 20 years for an entrepreneurial-spirited company, or that I’m married to an entrepreneur… actually being an entrepreneur is quite different.

I’m learning the magic trick of maintaining a beginner’s excitement without feeling burdened by (but still responsible for) the real world pressure to make a living. This is what I’ve learned about growing a business while maintaining a positive outlook:

• Have Hope. “Hope is the belief that tomorrow can be better than today,” DeRay Mckesson.
  Hope starts with knowing what’s real today and likely for tomorrow. This foundation prevents it from becoming false hope which leads to disappointment, despair and invalidation. Real hope gives an infusion of energy to make tomorrow better than today; it’s a catalyst to set fun and exciting goals that inspire action.  
• Keep Faith. “Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death,” Unknown.
  Shortly after leaving my job, I read Gabby Bernstein’s book, The Universe Has Your Back and it planted the notion that no matter what, I will be cared for. This perspective is not always a reasonable one so when my reasons tell me to avoid risks and my intuition tells me to go for it, faith is why I leap. Some people refer to this as “trusting your gut.” Whatever you call it, as an entrepreneur and in life in general, trusting in something more than reason is key to taking risks.
• Get Centered. Learn to know yourself… to search realistically and regularly the processes of your own mind and feelings,” Nelson Mandela.
  Big deadlines have a way of bringing out the best or the worst in me. When I’m firing on all cylinders and I’m in the zone, I’m centered and unstoppable. When I can’t keep up, can’t stay focused or it feels like the deadline is looming over me, I get off balance, impatient and easily flustered. The circumstances might be the same in either situation but my reaction to them can vary. Knowing the subtleties of what keeps me centered - or what pushes me off balance - determines how fast and how well I can move forward. In order to effectively lead a business, I need to effectively lead myself. 

• Take Action. “Be great in act as you have been in thought,” William Shakespeare.

Launching a business requires a ton of action. I’m a planner by nature but especially in this first year, I’m not planning as much as I am making it up as I go along. This can be unsettling for people like me who love to plan before executing. It can also be a lot of fun to let the creative juices flow. Speaking of fun, fun has become an essential ingredient for action. Sure, there are times when I have to do things I don’t like but I refuse to do anything unrelated to purpose and growth. Engaging in aimless activity is a downer and while being an entrepreneur is challenging, it is also meant to be a fun adventure. 

I’ll leave you with this last quote, from one of today’s most enthusiastic entrepreneurs, Richard Branson: “Entrepreneurship is about turning what excites you in life into capital, so you can do more of it and move forward with it.” I couldn’t agree more. Learning to lead and grow a business is a journey, and loving what you do for a living is worth it.