How to Succeed in Business Without Sacrificing Who You Are
Entrepreneurship
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My first experience with entrepreneurship didn’t start with me.
Travel back with me a sec to 2013. I’m freshly graduated, the greenest of greenies, and looking for my first big-girl job.
Shortly after my grad ceremony, I’m introduced to a man, whose name we’ll leave off the record, who owns a boutique marketing agency in Texas, and–even better–is willing to interview me for their graphic designer position.
During my interview, we’re sitting across from each other at a table that splits the agency’s trendy downtown office. My work is pulled up on a screen mounted to the wall, a portfolio of what I’d always considered to be just a hobby.
I wring my hands as the man stares at me through huge, weary blue eyes and a fatherly sorta smile, before finally hiring me on the spot.
It wouldn’t pay much, the entry-level job. In fact, I wasn’t even sure it would be enough to get by, but all I could think about was how lucky I was to have found a job that paid me to do something I loved.
So, despite a 2-hour commute, I giddily, and willingly, worked 10-hour days, soaking up the client briefings, learning new tools, and designing things I’d never designed before. I poured all of my heart into it, and it was magical.
Until it wasn’t.
As a team of 4 people, it was easy for things to get too comfortable between us. When the money thinned out, my boss would come in a hot mess, hair and eyes wild, anxiety written all over his features, and he’d lay all of his struggles, worries, and fears at our feet.
If business was going bad, we all felt it. We all suffered for it. Worse, we all learned from it.
His experience became our experience.
His worries became our worries.
Soon, the passion I’d once had for my work was cut down to the wick and I couldn’t light it up again.
When I finally left two years later, I did so as a completely different person.
Cynical, burnt out, stressed, and unfulfilled.
And not myself at all.
I thought leaving that place would bring me back, would bring my passion back, but all I did was take that energy into my next job, and the one after, and the one after that, when I was well into running my own business.
I wasn’t aware then of why I was feeling the way I was, why I was never able to bring my light back, why I was stuck in an endless loop of burnout.
It wasn’t until last summer–don’t ask me to do math, but that’s many, many years later–while working with my coach, that I had an eye-popping realization.
I’d learned everything I knew about business and entrepreneurship from someone who chronically chewed his nails while saying things like:
“It’s hard to find clients.”
“There’s not enough money.”
“Clients are always right. Just do what they say.”
“We can’t charge more money or people won’t buy from us.”
“We can’t afford to try new things right now.”
“Running a business is really stressful.”
Everything made sense after that.
When I realized I was carrying around someone else’s beliefs, every struggle, every worry, and every fear I’d had around my own business was a perfect reflection of what I’d witnessed in that job.
The pattern of stressed out bosses, cheap clients, and pixel-pushing design work. It was someone else’s reality on repeat in my life.
When that truth hit me square in the temple 🤯 I looked at my coach–a confident, successful, and growth-oriented entrepreneur–and immediately wondered, how would things be different for me if I’d learned about running a business from someone like her?
That’s when I learned an incredibly powerful truth.
I didn’t have to keep those beliefs. I could create a new experience by forming my own.
Take a Look At Your Own Beliefs
Many of us become entrepreneurs because we’re running away from something.
Away from going broke.
Away from the corporate routine.
Away from unfulfilling, monotonous work.
Then, we take the same things we’re running away from and put them right into our business, where you unwittingly create your own 9-5 and spend all day chasing dollar signs or metrics until you’ve dug a hole so deep that you can’t find your way out again.
Your journey through business doesn’t have to be a story of long, stressful days, taking on projects you don’t want just to make ends meet, and robbing yourself of a life worth living.
That’s where I was, and here’s what I learned:
We repeat patterns in our lives caused by what we believe to be true about ourselves and our circumstances. There are beliefs that trap you through scarcity, fear, and inaction; and then there are, at the other end of the spectrum, beliefs that free you through faith, joy, and creativity.
Knowing what I know now, if I could go back to 2013 and be that role model for my younger self, these are the beliefs I would choose, the empowering beliefs and affirmations that I would carry with me in order to create and run a business without sacrificing who I am.
Beliefs that will create more abundance, success, and fulfillment in your business 👇
You are your business’ most valuable asset, so fill your own cup first.
Decide that running a business is easy for you and it will be. That’s not to say there won’t be challenges, but the right mindset turns obstacles into opportunities for growth and expansion.
Money is an endless resource and the byproduct of you simply giving who you are. The more you show up and share your gifts, insights, and offers, the more money can and will flow into your life.
The formula for success is rest, play, and work. You need time for all 3 to run a balanced, fulfilling business.
Every little damn thing is worth celebrating. 🎉
Clients are not always right. You can’t make the decision for them, but it’s your job to help them reframe their thoughts and make sure they understand why something may or may not be in their best interest.
It’s safe to let go of clients, projects, and people who are no longer aligned with you or your vision.
For the love of all things holy: take risks, try new things, put yourself out there, and grow, grow, grow!
“Failure” is the prerequisite for your inevitable success.
Every time you say “yes” to what you don’t want, it means saying “no” to what you do want.
There are billions of people on this planet, and trillions of dollars circulating the globe. That’s a lot of opportunity, so be open to all creative possibilities for abundance and trust that everything you need to succeed will find you.
It’s absolutely safe to charge what you feel is right for you. Listen to your gut, pour your heart into your creations, offers, or services, and the people who can afford you will find you.
To your massive success,
Christina
Leave a comment and let me know if this was helpful, or if you want to add any empowering beliefs to this list! 💗
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