What has being a business owner taught me about ME?

All business owners want to succeed. However before succeeding, one must first survive. Let’s be honest it takes guts to go after your dreams. This pursuit comes with rejection, self-doubt, and insecurity, amongst other things. One of my biggest fears is that I don’t have what it takes to continue on this journey. I feel like I want to quit literally every day. I have heard other owners say the same thing, however it is so different when YOU personally experience this for yourself.

In this day and time we as consumers are so inundated with so many images on a daily basis, marketing for a new business has completely changed in this new millennial society. With so many products at your fingertips, consumers don’t buy what they need, they buy what they are connected to. So it is imperative that your audience be connected to YOU. I have found that this has been my main huddle to overcome. I have ALWAYS been self-conscious about who I was, and what I had to offer. When I started this journey of entrepreneurship specifically on social media, I had no problem posting/sharing things….as long as it had nothing to do with ME. I wanted everything about me out of my business, my personality, my face you name it. But as I continued this journey, I realized that wasn’t very practical.

Being a business owner is really forcing me to come out of a shell that I have placed on myself for basically my entire life. Yes when the anti-social have to become social, it can be a painful process. My first thought was to RUN as far away as I could….but then I thought, this dream keeps me up at night, I would hate not to try, just because of me. I literally learn something about “me” every day. Somethings good, others not.

So far I’ve learned that I learn quickly. I see errors fast and finds solutions in a timely manner. I also anticipate the future needs and opportunities of my brand. I discovered that I really like marketing but I don’t like being personal. I think out of the box. I’ve learned I may be a little tougher than I thought as I have definitely had to push through some pain to get to this point.

One of my biggest lessons that I am still learning, is the ability to believe in myself. I have always struggled with my confidence. When starting a new business, you will often come up with more reasons not to start than move forward. What I have learned is pursuit of a dream takes courage, it takes confidence. Just getting started is a significant accomplishment. But as the word says we have to encourage ourselves. All in all although I am terrified, and I mean completely terrified but I am excited for this new journey. I only hope I continue to have the perseverance to keep going, as I embark on this journey of self-discovery. After all winners don’t quit on themselves. Never let fear stop your Reign…..

Joshua Tree National Park, California