I’ve had plenty of advice given to me over the years, some good, and some just sucked.
However, a few years ago, my hubby gave me a piece of advice that turned out to be pivotal to my lifestyle, my business, and my future. Would you like to hear about it? Here ya go!
How it started
I danced between being a stay-at-home mom and keeping a regular 9-to-5 job since having kids. I’d get a job ( a good one by some folks standards), stay a couple years, leave and come back home, get another job, stay a couple years, leave and come back home… you get the idea.
Every job I secured couldn’t squash my overwhelming sense of being my own boss. Never mind the fact that I never liked getting up so freakin early to go build somebody else’s dream. We’ll skip over the fact that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I like to cook a full breakfast. And we’ll completely ignore my kids being homeschooled, and the extra responsibility of being a homeschooling mom while holding down a full-time job. Yeah, it’s possible…
I had a taste of entrepreneurship a lifetime ago when I was on my first maternity leave. Ooooo I caught the itch and couldn’t shake it!
It’s time for a change
So it was one of those days that I was whining about going to work, being tired of being the best employee ever and not being compensated to my satisfaction, disgusted by my commute (I lived in Atlanta, GA – notoriously bad traffic), when my dear hubby challenged me.
He said, (and I’m paraphrasing),
In order to become a successful entrepreneur, I have to make a decision: either go all in and commit to becoming a full time entrepreneur, and stop teeter tottering between the (false) security of a dead-end full time job. Or, continue to be annoyed at my circumstances and hinder my own success. After all, you cannot be a successful entrepreneur full-time AND work a full-time job. Not. Gonna. Happen.
Now of course me being a dutiful wife I didn’t listen the first twenty times he said this, but eventually it started to sink in.
What did I finally do with this piece of advice?
I made an exit strategy, followed it close enough, stuck to my guns, and went for it! My lifestyle is now what I make it, I enjoy a location-independent business, and I can cook a full breakfast every day and not rush to eat it. Did I mention the stress headaches magically disappeared?
That was some pretty good advice, and I fully credit my hubby for forcing my hand on this one.
Ciao,
Miss Kemya
This blog post is Day 5: Best Advice I Ever Received, a part of Just Blog It – a free 30 day blogging challenge for entrepreneurs. Each day we’re blogging about a different topic. Some are personal topics, some are business topics, some are completely random. Join us for the blogging challenge at http://justblogit.us and follow the hashtag #blogsmallbiz on Twitter to follow the challenge and read some great posts by Just Blog It participants!
Leave a comment and share a great piece of advice you’ve received!
Wow Kemya! This is great. Its been an on-going struggle for us working full-time since we are now in the beginning stages of our business. Stepping out to focus on your dream full-time is not an easy road, but will be very rewarding. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome! You are not alone in your daily struggle, it takes determination to keep pushing towards your dreams. Just remember, we’ve all been there. Keep at it!