Tomorrow is my one-year anniversary. It’s a year ago tomorrow that I took a leap from a steady job as an internal event producer/creative director and started working full time for myself at BeEvents. It is not that I intended to be an entrepreneur, and, believe me, there was never a scarier decision I have had to make than to leap. But I have never felt a greater sense of freedom as I did on that day.
Starting a business is an adventure, with all the emotional baggage that entails and little of the action of Hollywood. As I reflect on the year behind me, along the way, I have learned many things that as a creative I never wanted to know – how to drive, or more importantly back-up a box truck, the limitations of rig points never being where you want them, the value of a great union crew chief, taxes – you get the point. But along the way I think I have discover a few small truths, lessons about being in business, which may serve as guide posts in a tough economy for anyone thinking about heading out on their own or as a reminder for the many before me who have taken the leap. Over time I will continue to share these lessons as I continue on this journey of self-employment.
Lesson #1 Be Open to Business.
As I said, I never intended to start my own company. I was working a great job but had nowhere to grow. Inside the organization I couldn’t find the mental space to determine what I wanted next nor was I able to find the right job opening available for what I needed. With a project in the works that could pay the rent, I made the decision to go on my own, for now.
The great thing about starting a company at the start of a recession is that you never knew business could have been better – any business is great. I left my corporate job assuming I would spend some time freelancing as event planner. To my surprise, people kept calling to hire me as a designer, a different role that I have greatly enjoyed. And the opportunities that have come to me as a designer have greatly surpassed what I would have been offered as a planner. But only because I was open to that possibility. Over the last year, I have come to realize that being open for business is more than just having a business card, a phone, email and website. It is about being open to the possibility of what you can do, not just what you think you will be doing. But within that realm of possibility, success, I have found, comes from focusing in on what is right for you to do, not just every little project that comes your way.
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