I’ll be honest, when I used to hear the word Entrepreneur or the term “Serial Entrepreneur” I thought that was a word used to describe people who were flaky or unfocused. Why didn’t they have a “career” or “job”? What the heck really is an Entrepreneur? It almost seems like it was something people who didn’t really have a job used as a title. Kind of like when people used to say they were “Consultants” and again, the first thought people had was, they must not have a job. Well, that was just so short-sighted and ignorant of me and times have certainly changed.
For those that don’t know, I started my career as a corporate event planner, and I loved everything about the job! Who wouldn’t love to fly around the country on someone else’s dime, stay in the fanciest of resorts, be chauffeured around in town cars, get to know world renowned physicians, and enjoy lots of other perks and swag along the way. It was an amazing job and exactly what I wanted to do for my career. But as time wore on and the luster started to wear off, I started to burnout in my career. You see, there were a lot of great perks, but the job is HARD. I know it may not sound like it, but it is. It’s a high anxiety and high stress job (it’s actually been rated one of the top 10 most stressful jobs only behind military and police/fire fighters – you can google that!) where a lot of demands are placed on you. Everyone expects perfection out of you all the time. You work 14 hour days when you’re on-site at events because you have to be up and working before any guests arrive and you have to wait until the last guests leave the party at night. Being responsible for hundreds of people at one time is daunting, especially when alcohol is involved but those are stories for another time. The endless flying around (I flew the same flight to Seattle so often, the flight attendants started to know me!), living in airports because flights are never on time, visiting beautiful cities and only ever seeing their hotels and convention centers (I have been to San Francisco 3 times and have never even seen the Golden Gate Bridge!), getting phone calls in the middle of the night because one of your presenters is in Asia and needs help, having to be available 24/7 but certainly not getting paid that way, missing out on social events and celebrations with family and friends, because well “I was traveling for work”. I really had a love/hate relationship with my career after a while. But, when you start to excel in an area and have a great, stable career with a cushy salary, you suck it up and stay because you should be grateful. I even gave making a change a whirl and tried some other jobs in Pharma sales and more Marketing facing roles, but event management was where I excelled and it was comfortable so I always ended up back there. But, as the years went on, the burnout and my anxiety reached new levels. I would have total breakdowns when I needed to go on trips. For days and eventually weeks leading up to the trips, I would have major anxiety about having to be away from home again. I started to develop a fear of flying and let me tell you for years I didn’t have a care in the world about that. I had a few bad flights I was on and even flight attendants would remark how calm I remained but as my anxiety in my career increased so did my fear of flying, which I still battle with today. These fears and anxieties forced me to find jobs within my industry that limited my travel but with that came giving up promotions and advancing my career. Not to mention it was just plain embarrassing. I was supposed to be a bad-ass career woman and road warrior. What was happening?!
Years into my career, where I was part of yet another buyout/reorganization in corporate America and facing yet another lay-off (another reason I wanted out of my corporate job), I finally saw an opportunity to take the plunge and work as a self-employed event planner because a few years previous to that I had started a side-gig. It wasn’t something I thought I would ever get involved in but I have learned through the years two things, “never say never” and “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”; we should all have multiple sources of income, especially in today’s world! I was thankful I made that move because it fulfilled my want to be in business for myself but also gave me the flexibility to take some chances in my career. Since that time, I have been able to stay self-employed throughout (to which I am going to give myself a pat on the back for because it ain’t easy!) and expanding my work beyond event planning to working with other entrepreneurs and small business owners to help grow their businesses and improve their operational strategy. It hasn’t been an easy ride and has forced me SO FAR outside my comfort zone but it’s been a beautiful thing! If you’re not willing to invest in yourself, who will!
Fast forward 6 years later and I have really learned what being an entrepreneur is all about and realizing that is what truly lights me up inside. It is never the same day twice and I get to choose my path, where, when and how I work, and I can be creative and expand my thoughts into new ideas and new businesses. And yes that is plural – hence the term “Serial Entrepreneur” people use. Again, this was a term I used to roll my eyes at and totally discredited it, but now I totally understand it. We are humans and we have interests and passions beyond just one thing or idea. So we should all be embracing that! I now come across these serial entrepreneurs and think they are some of the coolest and most unique people out there and we can all learn so much from them.
To some people, this whole “Entrepreneur” thing may seem “flaky” but I have now learned that it’s the complete opposite. You have to take some major chances and risks and really put yourself and your ideas out there and there is NOTHING flaky about that. The determination, mindset and grit to be an entrepreneur is intense but it’s a feeling like no other when you see your ideas and work come to life. And, when I think about it, that was ironically the part I loved most about event planning. Seeing the finished product coming together and knowing you had an impact on someone’s life. And, that is exactly what I get to do now as an Entrepreneur. Sure there’s a lot more risk and I may have the occasional freak out that I will end up living on a beach in a tent because if this girl goes broke, I am at least going to a warm climate! But I know deep down that I can do this if I keep my mind right and keep pushing forward because this 5ft woman is meant to stand tall in this world!
Great post Alyssa! I found myself nodding in agreement many times as I read it. 🙂 Early in my corporate career I had a job as an account rep that took me to places all across the country (via car and plane) to train our health care customers. I loved the travel for 5-6 years before burn out set in. While I always made a point of getting out and seeing the cities I was in as much as I could while in town, living out of a suitcase and dealing with airports took it’s toll. I too grew increasingly fearful of flying. Perhaps that’s just an age thing – LOL. The last 3 companies I’ve worked for since have been smaller, less corporate and most recently have allowed me the flexibility to have the kind of work/life balance that helps me thrive. I will never have a job again that requires me to travel over 50% of the time and I’d like to avoid the traditional corporate life if at all possible. While I don’t consider myself an entrepreneur, I recently launched an Etsy shop as a side-hustle and it brings me a lot of joy. Keep up the great work. I look forward to your next post!