When I first went out on my own, I felt a lot of pressure to grow, to scale, to “build something.” I can’t pinpoint a source of that pressure, but in general, I think a lot of information on entrepreneurship focuses on things like “creating that 7-figure business” and the elusive “4-hour Work Week.”
While that sounds nice in theory, it’s not what I want for my life. And that’s OK. That was an important lesson for me to learn.
Knowing What I Don’t Want
I went out on my own for freedom. I want to work on projects I choose, and I want to have ultimate schedule flexibility.
Turns out…when you build and scale a business that involves bringing other people in, a lot of the freedom goes away. When I run a team, I’m available to them whenever they need. When other people’s paychecks rely on me, I make sales happen, sometimes at the expense of my mental health.
I could foresee these things happening if I went down the traditional path of scaling. So I stopped.
I don’t want to run a million-dollar company. I don’t want a huge team (and the challenges that come with it).
I know I have the skills to grow and scale a business—and, honestly, I have a list of hundreds of ideas for such a business. But that’s not my dream. I want to work for myself with the freedom to take on projects I enjoy, knowing I’m able to support myself doing so.
Knowing what I want—and what I don’t want—helps keep me grounded when I’m feeling pressured to scale.
Making a Quiet Difference
I don’t need (or want) to be center stage, flying all over the world doing keynotes. I don’t want to be known outside my small circle of people. I want to hang out quietly in the background doing my thing.
I’ve found a nice spot in the market using my skills to help other people build, grow, and scale THEIR businesses and get new customers. I get to stay behind the scenes, quietly doing what I do. No recognition, no networking events, just the knowledge that I’m greatly impacting a handful of clients.
Knowing Vs. Believing
I knew I wanted to stay just me. But I kept working on things that would take me to a bigger business. So I paused, thought about it, had conversations with trusted advisors, and worked to reconcile what I wanted with what I was working on.
I took the time to reset my mindset to know that it’s OK to just be. I don’t need to always be reaching for the next big business. I can do good work, help my clients, and protect my mental health. I’m happy and that’s what matters.
Your dream doesn’t haven’t to be what other people tell you it should be. Find what makes you happy—and then go do it without a care in the world what others think.