SPOILER ALERT! FREE PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD IN THIS POST.
As a small business owner, I wear a lot of hats and because of that, I have found myself venturing into the online world of online entrepreneurial communities for information on how to better myself in time management and entrepreneurial skill while I am juggling so many aspects of business. I’m all hands on deck from concept to creation, customer service, client orders, production, packing, shipping, marketing, website design, finance and more! My day can be exhausting, and at times I wonder where I will find all of the time and energy to complete the daily tasks.
Then I am reminded about how much I love what I do. Some days it’s the fact that a customer reached out to us regarding their special order because they read our story and wanted to support us and the organizations we support.
On another occasion it was because a customer was stationed in Japan while his wife is at home in Wisconsin with the kids and he won’t get a chance to see her for their 3rd anniversary. His only desire in life was to find something really special for her to open on that day to remind her of the love they share, even though great distances and time separate them.
And today, I simply received an order from a young lady getting ready to celebrate her second anniversary and was in need of a cotton gift to give to her husband. The catch being that it had to represent where they got married (which just happened to be the very same location my husband and I got married — at Beaches Turks and Caicos). I melted thinking of our wedding day and the excitement I had when I gave my husband the 2nd anniversary gift I created for him 3 years ago of the Turks and Caicos Islands. When I got her order, I couldn’t wait to design her map and was even more excited to wish her a wonderful anniversary and many years to come.
It’s really amazing and completely gratifying working in this field. Creating personalized gifts may not be the choice many people make for their careers. I wasn’t even aware that it was going to be the path I ultimately took. However, happiness triumphs over everything else and at this point in my life, I couldn’t be happier with my decision.
NOTE: You can download this image HERE and print and frame it for inspirational wall art! PDF is sized at 8.5 x 11 inches and the art is centered for an 8 x 10 inch frame. Go ahead, print it now and start thinking happy thoughts every time you look at it!
So back to the entrepreneurial communities I follow: I was watching Marie TV, catching up on her Q and A Tuesday regarding choosing the safe or inspiring path. And with great enthusiasm, I can tell you time and time again, that taking the inspiring path has been the best decision I ever made in my life. I wouldn’t be where I am today with out taking that risk.
Staying a corporate job may feel like the safe decision, however when you work for yourself (speaking from my personal experience), you work 100 times harder because it’s want you truly want in your life. Therefore you create your own security, no one can fire you and your success depends solely on you.
You not only get to work on things you love, you get to interact with like minded people that you care about (couples all over the world share their love and travel stories with me and it gives me a chance to connect to a community of people I relate to and understand, while broadening my world view and knowledge).
If I had stayed at the corporate career because I thought it would be safer, I wouldn’t be living the best years of my life as an entrepreneur right now. Make no mistake, as Marie Forleo often says, it is not the easy choice. Working for yourself is incredibly hard work and you will put in more hours than you ever dreamed of. But the crazy thing is, if you’re like me, you’ll love every minute of it because it’s your passion and what you love to do.
How about you? Have there been any risks in life, careers or relationships that you found yourself contemplating the safe or inspiring road? Feel free to share your story with us!