Entrepreneur vs. Career Professional - A life of decisions.
I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My parents ran their own construction business until the recession in 2008. I grew up watching the challenge of establishing and running a potentially successful business. It was hard, there were rough times. And as a young adult, I told myself, I would never become a business owner. It’s just too hard.
Yet here I am, almost 20 years later and I have owned 3 businesses over the course of the last 15 years. Some were a little bit different in the MLM space (I don’t recommend by the way - unless you’re in it to make some friends) and then with The B Hive Apiary and now with Glass Ceilings. I’ve also consulted and considered OBM work as I tend to be more operational. So why was there a change? What made me all of a sudden take the leap?
Ultimately I needed extra cash. At least that’s where it started. I was waitressing and barely making ends meet - so hosting some parties on the weekends when I wasn’t at the restaurant was an easy way for me to make a couple extra bucks. But when I finally made the move to Austin - it really changed.
The B Hive Apiary wasn’t intended to be a business. Erica and I had both moved to Austin, not knowing anyone. We met and became fast friends. We started a book club. The book club turned into brunch. Then turned into happy hours, game nights, hikes, singles parties, dinner parties and other events that connected women throughout the month. Even then we still didn’t really plan on it becoming a business. It wasn’t until the women in our group were like - ladies, you are working so hard on creating these events YOU NEED TO CHARGE! And like that - we were a business.
We ran The B Hive Apiary for 5 years, COVID ultimately did us in - with no in person events, the transition to online was the antithesis of our business. We were all about in person activities. And so Erica and I returned to just working our regular day jobs.
Because lets be real - over the course of the 5 years we ran The B Hive Apiary, we were both still working full time. Erica in retail and me in HR. We were much younger then with a whole lot more energy than we have now. But we were doing both.
Because running a business is hard. It’s not for the faint of heart. And it’s definitely not for everyone. Because for me? I stlll love having a job. I like being able to cash my paycheck every two weeks - same amount every time, with my 401k and my health insurance. That’s not something you always get when you run a business. Health insurance is nearly double the cost for small business owners than a large corporation.
But for many - running a business fuels them. And that is freaking amazing.
Over the years I’ve had many conversations with entrepreneurs who have actually talked down about me having a full time job or about not wanting to run a business full time (that is not to say I don’t want that now - I do but I’m more informed now). It’s always hit me like a sucker punch - why are we hating on someone who is making the best decision for them because you don’t want to that yourself?
It’s not a competition. People who work in corporate careers are not better or worse than entrepreneurs. People who are entrepreneurs are not better or worse than people who have corporate careers.
We’re all just trying to make money, make an impact and live our best lives.
Because here’s the thing. I’ve been in both worlds. They both have their perks. I love being able to run the business the way I want to run it as opposed to how the jerk, sexist CEO does - I get to build it around my own core values and see my direct impact on my clients. But I also love being able to learn in the corporate environment - I’ve learned more about finance, budgets, project management, strategy and operations than I ever would have just on my own. As a business owner I get to choose who I work with whether they be vendors, clients or employees. As a career professional, I get to skip paying for all my own equipment, software, vendors and tools.
No matter who you flip the coin, there are benefits to both - and we shouldn’t be judging anyone for choosing one way or the other. Because all we’re all trying to do…is thrive.
