Why Be an Entrepreneur?

I've often wondered what drives some of us to have a burning desire for being our own boss. Why is it that some have it and some don't? For me it's just in my blood, has been for about 25 years. I recall ever so clearly being very young, being a give a damn employee, taking great pride in giving it my all and often feeling that I gave more than my bosses.

I put more hours in just to get on top of things, was often working overtime for no extra pay, just so I could have an easier day because I was caught up, or because I wanted to meet a time target. It also occurred to me that not many others were doing this, and in fact had been told "hey don't be doing that! it makes me look bad!".

So one day after working about one year for a pharmaceutical company without a boss, taking on huge responsibilities, travelling to put together a new drug submission to our U.S. offices, working diligently without supervision, it was time for my annual review. I got told they truly appreciated all I did, that I was an amazing "give a damn employee" and that they couldn't have filed that submission without me, that they'd really gone to the wall to upgrade my job classification pay scale, and then told me I'd been given about a $1,500.00 per year increase.

Something went off in my head at that point, my thoughts were good lord! they've saved paying a Medical Director's (my boss) salary of about $250K per year and all they were offering me was a measly $1,500 per year!!!

I was only about 20 years old at this point, thanked him very much, walked back to my desk, immediately typed up my resignation letter and had it back on the General Manager's desk within about 1 hour of my review. He read it and looked at me totally astonished and asked me "are you sure you know what you're doing?, do you have another job offer?".

I replied very politely that I had never been more sure of anything in my life and that if going to bat for me resulted in a lousy increase like that, it was very clear my exceptional efforts were not at all appreciated or recognized and that no I did not have another job offer, but needed to stop wasting my time with an employer who didn't recognize who I was and what I brought to the table. I gave 2 weeks notice and never looked back!

Got home that night and announced to my common-law hubbie that I'd resigned, he didn't seem too taken aback and that was that. I then began pursuing a passion of mine that was producing fashion shows. I worked diligently with such energy, no thought of defeat ever crossed my mind, no hurtle was too big to overcome and did this for almost one year without ever making a penny.

In the end, I had secured and put a deposit down on a fairly big venue for my show that I called "Fashion Rocks" where I wanted to put Toronto's newest and brightest young designers together with a well known rock band. Long story short - I was unable to secure advertising revenue, so took a loss with deposits and shut it all down. That was well over 25 years ago, and ironically out came "Fashion Rocks" from the UK a few decades later! Sheeesh! A girlfriend of mine pointed out recently that I was way ahead of my time.

Had my own business in auto service and sales with my late hubbie for 17 years, which was profitable but also very negative. Is there anyone out there who trusts their mechanic?lol! Shut that down too in 2002 and began my long, extensive search for what I now wanted to do.

Discovered the fascinating world of life coaching and self development and knew immediately it was something I wanted to be part of and that I had tremendous passion for. I've been involved with self development/personal growth for several years and have decided it's where I will now focus my attention and income on. I'm now in the continuous learning of what that's all about, have faced many hurdles (mostly self inflicted - as most are!), have learned a lot about myself, turned down a fairly lucrative job in the interim because something deep inside me rose up to say "Hey you can't work for someone else! That's like giving up on yourself!"

So my thoughts today drift to why it's so important to me at least to be my own boss, to make my own decisions right or wrong, to create what I want and to take full responsibility for my outcome.

As I fondly look back at my past, I realize that with youth also came lack of fear, lack of failure and remember ever so clearly how that felt. My own personal growth has led me to where I am today, learning to undo many years of negative thought programming and getting back to living life fearlessly!

One thing I am entirely clear on is that I will always be in business for myself, and that it's my calling to help others discover the wonderful world of entrepreneurship. The business opportunity that comes with the self development is just the icing on the cake!

This is my first "business" blog and look forward to hearing any and all feedback you may have. In closing, I will post a wonderful quote that spoke loudly to me:

Some make it happen, some watch it happen, and some say, "What happened?"
- Anonymous