Inspired by the video, “SHINE: The Entrepreneur’s Journey”
“But is that what you really want to do?” someone once asked me about my business. “Yes. It is!” I answered, explaining that I’m passionate about many things, and out of those passions, I’ve decided that my business is a way that I can best live them out, while helping others to live out theirs. My journey toward making that discovery was not easy, however.
Finding My Way To Entrepreneurship
It could be said that having an entrepreneur for a father, and being married to one for many years, greatly influenced my inclination – and ultimate decision – to become one. However, having a mother who was and still is a loyal employee of the same employer for 36 consecutive years, along with deep indoctrination from public schooling to be a good worker bee in a corporatized hive, has arguably been a significant influence in my life, as well. In fact, like most people, I started out as an employee, with an employee mindset. And, to this day, I have found that that very mindset is something so ingrained, that if I am to become a better entrepreneur, it is something I must continuously strive to overcome.
My departure from traditional employment began early on in my career. By my mid-20s, I noticed a shift in the job market, as more work opportunities came in for contract-only work, and the flexibility of contract work was something I actually welcomed. So, from that point on, I mostly worked as a contractor, enjoying the open-ended, project-related assignments. Although contracts could be short with long dry spells in between, the pay was often much better than traditional work, while it lasted. Since projects were always changing or progressing along a quick timeline, I never got bored. It seemed I had found my comfortable niche. Then, by my mid-30s, another shift in the job market came, with contracts increasingly going to workers from overseas.
In fact, at the last major contract I held (which I haven’t bothered to list on my resume, by the way), I was one of only three Americans working in our department on a technical project for a Fortune 500 company. By the end of that contract, employees from another department were being let go. Why? To outsource their work, of course!
At the same time, we were going through the housing market crash of ‘08, and friends were loosing their jobs, houses, and cars. The work opportunities they found in comparable positions to mine, only paid half of what they earned before, with no benefits. Seeing that my days as a contractor competing against offshore contractors were numbered, I decided to return to school to improve my prospects as an employee.
By the time I finished my return to school, I was full of confidence that I had accomplished my purpose. I graduated with honors, received an award for my writing, had been granted a well-paid and highly-coveted internship, and had been given a lot of encouragement from peers and instructors along the way. Plus, I had over 10 years of prior experience, recommendations, and a portfolio to boot. So, I had little doubt that I’d be able to find a great job as a writer where I would simply go to work from 8-5 everyday, sit in my quiet little office, and meet deadlines.
Boy, was I wrong!
From contractor to business owner
After six months of searching for work, I had run into all sorts of unexpected and discouraging results. One telephone interviewer asked me to tell him about my work experience – all of it – although, it was clearly written out in my e-mailed resume. I don’t think he even bothered to read it before calling me! But, by far, most of the resumes I sent seemingly disappeared into black holes, along with God-only-knows how many resumes from others.
Another sad development in this job search was learning that the majority of opportunities were for 30-hours or less per week, with no benefits, and this quickly became the norm. Plus, the pay offered was half what I earned before I graduated. And, words can’t describe some of the unbelievable fantasy requirements employers would list in ads, in exchange for this pay. In time, I discovered from other writers in the community, that some local companies were actually running employment scams, where they would hire someone at a very low ‘trial’ pay for 90 days, promising the moon and the stars, so to speak, if they proved themselves worthy at their 90-day evaluation. Sounds understandable until you learn that these workers were consistently let go by the end of the trial period, so that the company could hire someone else, and start the process all over again. Finally, I understood why the same companies would have an opening for the same job, every 2-3 months, and never hire me. What I mistook as rejection was actually good riddance. Other employers were more openly shameless, however; they’d outright advertise for a volunteer or commission-only writer.
Friends and family advised me to take a job – any job – for just about any pay. “Just get your foot in the door”, they’d say. And, one colleague said, “Stephanie, they just see all writers as lowly writers. They can go to India and pay someone cheaply to do that.” When I argued back, “India?! That’s why I went back to school. English is my native language, and I’m degreed! You can’t get that in India!” the person answered, “These companies don’t care about good writing. They just want it done quickly and cheaply.”
Imagine, if you will, my dismay…
Anyone who has been in an extended period of unemployment or underemployment knows the psychological damage it can have on a person – especially, if you’ve done your due diligence to bring quality skills and experience to the market place, believing the fable that you will be rewarded with a good job. For me, however, it led to a search for greater understanding, and ultimately, greater calling.
As I looked for answers and solutions, I found that my dilemma is an all too common one, because the greatest source of job creators in our nation – which are small business owners – have been under severe economic attack. These are the people who are most in need my services – and quite possibly yours – but often cannot hire because they are under the burden of excessive taxes and regulations; specifically, they cannot afford to hire people to work more than 30-hours a week, because the government would then require them to pay into Obamacare. And, as of this date, estimates indicate that Obamacare alone has resulted in the loss of 2.5 million full-time jobs. Unfortunately, this has hit small businesses the hardest, at a time when their growth is what Americans need to survive and thrive in a nation with a crippled job market.
This revelation led me to a question that more people need ask themselves:
How can I use my skill set to bolster my local economy, and the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurs, in a way that is mutually beneficial?
My answer: ProfitDocs.
ProfitDocs is a company that I’ve slowly been building to launch, in addition to my writing services, that will offer affordable and easy-to-download templates that are geared toward business growth. Templates such as marketing plans, business plans, proposals, and more, are my contribution to supporting the growth of small business owners and local economies. It’s my way of encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners to take the leap of faith, more confidently.
ProfitDocs is also my way of practicing a truth: America has to get back to creating things, because that’s what made us financially strong, in the first place.
So, back to the original question about if this business what I really want to do. Yes, I really want to run my own business that helps others run theirs. Rather than lay down and lament about why there aren’t enough good jobs out there, I prefer to do something about it. Rather than sit at home and concoct schemes about how I can be more competitive than ever against hordes of other job applicants – possibly selling my soul to the lowest bidder – I prefer to help others create plans and strategies in their businesses, so that Americans don’t have to fight one another for jobs like starving children in Africa, grasping at the last bowl of porridge. Basically, in this economy, I prefer to focus on job-making instead of job-taking.
2009 Gallup poll: entrepreneurs report being happier than any other type of worker.
Clearly, I didn’t choose this path because it’s easy, or because others encouraged me. In fact, most small business owners and entrepreneurs do what they do, without ease or encouragement. Along the way they often hear comments like, “What’s your real plan?” or “When are you going to get a real job?” And, although some comfort might be found in being just another cog in the corporate machine, those who succeed at taking the road less traveled, by becoming self-employed, often find that their comfort cannot be sold at the cost of living a life they truly desire. They often find that living out someone else’s life purpose, is no substitute for living out their own. Basically, they find what I have:
- More entrepreneurs often amounts to more people living out who they truly are.
- More entrepreneurs amounts to more jobs for those who truly do want to work for others.
And, that’s what I want my story to encourage in others who are ready to finally trust themselves to be the creators, innovators, and problem solvers that they truly are.
So, what do you really want to do? What’s your real job? How can your skills enrich your personal and local economy? How can your work add greater meaning to your life and the lives of others?
Stephanie Auguste 