Wow, Year 3 and we’re still here! That’s so awesome! Reflecting on this Journey of Possibilities, so much has changed, primarily me.
- Value and Money – Like many start-ups I serve, I wanted to help others and didn’t want money to be the reason they couldn’t work with me. What I’ve learned along the way is that value begins with self. Why would I offer 40 years of business management and marketing experience and not charge? Yet wanting to be affordable to the start-ups I serve while asking them to also stretch and begin to invest in themselves is a journey that has led me, with much technology support and innovation by Mario Rosales of Tech-Life Balance, to create solutions that serve while keeping overhead low. I’ve been to the financial brink myself in designing this business and I made it, thankfully not by selling out to become one of the masses who are out there, but becoming deeply committed to my purpose and those I feel called to serve, valuing us both. That mutual value and love is the journey we’re all on, isn’t it? Entrepreneurship is just taking me there faster.
- Time – I also initially fell into the common trap of getting lost in my business. Learning to balance more recreation and self-care while I grow my business is another powerful lesson. As I begin the third year, I feel I’m finally getting over some big hurdles there. The more I gave to others without refueling my own reserves, the less effective and sustainable I was. I”m learning to create and balance ‘me time’ with my business time. Flexibility with balance is an interesting journey.
- Health / The Elephant in the Room – As easy as it is to eat junk on the fly, put off the workouts because we’ve got to get a contract, proposal, or client served doesn’t work. I put on weight and grew resentful, not of others but of me for putting myself so far down the list. Sustainable entrepreneurship is a journey of self love.
- Failure IS the path – For a lifelong overachiever, it has been one of the hardest things for me to to fail publicly. How many entrepreneurs quit there? I can’t. Each time (and some of them have really been painful) I find myself back at that place of surrender, asking myself if I really want to continue. Ironically, a stronger me each time says ABSOLUTELY! Humility is strengthening, surrender comes faster, and my entire definition of failure has evolved into being a natural part of business and life. Thank God for that one finally!
- Gratitude – Without deep gratitude for the positive and negative experiences that come with launching a business of the heart, we can’t truly recognize how it is all for our Highest Good. The painful experiences and the beautiful experiences, the difficult clients, the unaccepted proposals, the negative feedback are all just as vital to our growth as the ideal clients, fat checks, and perfect events. I’m deeply grateful for all of it.
- Authenticity – We think once we get this whole business thing built and marketed it will be smooth sailing, but for a creator (and every entrepreneur IS a creator) it is only just the beginning. As we evolve, the services we offer and the way we offer them evolve. Business is an evolving aspect of ourselves, and since it’s never truly finished’, we may as well enjoy the journey because the journey is the point.
Kicking off this year I am getting very clear now on my priorities and focus, and putting myself much higher on the list…ok, I’m trying to put myself first but that’s part of my own healing evolution on the path, so for now inching up the list is good. I’m also learning to allow and even welcome the perpetual change and evolution that both my business and I experience. That is our Journey of Possibilities, and it is with deep gratitude to you for being here with me that I promise: the best is yet to come!
Namaste and much love,
Sheryl Sitts, Founder
0 Comments