Daily Insight Video

Today, I am celebrating seven years of full time entrepreneurship! It has been an amazing, and sometimes stressful experience. I want to share a little bit about what I have learned these last seven years, and what I hope the next seven bring.

The last seven years

When I think back to when I first took the plunge into full-time entrepreneurship, I was much younger and not as wise. Leaving my full-time teaching job and Southern Oregon to come to Portland and try to get my Academic Life Coaching business off the ground was a risk. But I made it.

One of the things I am proudest of is my own tenacity to keep moving forward, regardless of the obstacles. For you new coaches out there, I strongly believe that half the work of being an entrepreneur and starting your own coaching business is being okay with things being difficult.

It is okay not to know what you will doing next month or what your income number will be. Trust that if you do the work now, the reward will come later. Accepting this and being okay with the uncertainty is by far the hardest thing at the start of your entrepreneurial career.

After seven years, I have numbers, trends, and faith that everything that has happened so far will likely happen again. Now that I am past the month to month anxiety, and the engine in rolling, I am looking forward to what is to come!

The next seven years

I am so excited to see what I am going to learn next. My favorite thing about the entrepreneurial path is the freedom to explore and the ability to decide which projects I want to pursue. This freedom comes with a responsibility to be disciplined and keep focused, but with the right tools, this is no big deal. I cannot wait to keep exploring new ideas and projects, and see where Academic Life Coaching goes from here.

Three tips for new entrepreneurs

1. Be kind to yourself: Acknowledge your needs and don’t let the stress of starting your own business overwhelm you.
2. Enjoy your freedom: Explore your options, because you never know when a great, new opportunity may develop.
3. Stay disciplined: Set a start time for your day, or develop other tools for keeping yourself on track and productive.