Fast forward to Arbonne. I was a beauty consultant or whatever we were called and I hosted a successful party along with developing a business selling gift baskets to peoples wives for holidays and birthdays. Again, I was obligated to have a base amount of sales so during slow months, I cut into my meager profit to meet the amount needed to maintain my status as a distributor. Eventually, I lost motivation and quit.
After the Arbonne experience, I dabbled in other things until I began to try my hand at entrepreneurship. I wanted to open a small business. I tried all sorts of things from digital marketing to life coaching and while I had some success in each business and made back the cash initially invested and then some, I wasn't replacing a full-time salary in the corporate world. This led to a cycle of taking dirt cheap contracts and marking down products for the sake of a sale. I eventually realized that I don't have the time to build a business. I was a single parent with college tuition looming in the distance and I couldn't afford to ride my dreams until they took me to my final destination that was a reality.
When I became a life coach, I was enthusiastic and truly felt that I could eventually build a profitable career doing what I have done for years, giving people the opportunity to find their way through life's hardships. I wanted to help stuck people get unstuck. My passion was palpable. There was no denying that I was doing something I enjoyed and was good at, however, in time my confidence waned. Building business is difficult and everyone wants something for absolutely nothing. It takes a long time to build a brand that people don't question your offerings and just make the purchase. I didn't have that kind of time or patience. Despite my certification, website, social media channels, and supporters, I quit.
It's not that I am a quitter. I'm just a realist. When I see that something isn't working, I either work it harder or work something else. This time around, I had to take a look at all of the things I had done both successfully and unsuccessfully and make a decision. Did I want to pay estimated taxes? Did I want to create an LLC? Did I want to do a full accounting of all of my expenses, profit, and loss? Did I want to do my own marketing or pay someone else? How far was I willing to go to get my business off the ground while managing a household of three people and maintaining a full-time job? The answer was not very far at all. The practical side of me just knew that I wasn't going to be able to achieve my ultimate goal. Managing everything wasn't an issue, however, bringing it to another level was. There was no point in just surviving. I wanted to live!
A medical diagnosis put me completely out of commission for all of my plans. I knew that I had to eliminate stress and juggling all that I did would aggravate the very issues I was attempting to treat. So I decided to just let it all go. Be regular. I used to scoff at people who chose to do the nine to five grind. I pitied those that put more trust into their employees than they did themselves. Now, I get it. There is a certain comfort with just going with the flow. The life of the entrepreneur is a difficult one and a battle I choose not to fight. But- just because I dropped out of the fight, doesn't mean I didn't win. I have a great job and my health and that's more than enough for me.
Comments
Post a Comment