BECOMING MY OWN BOSS
After two decades in fundraising, reaching an academic peak by way of an Ed.D., and becoming a homeowner, a dedicated wife, and a mother of two, I left it all in pursuit of autonomy and self-preservation. In 2022, I decided to take the bull by the horns and leap into the vast unknown of entrepreneurship. Now, I must be honest, I was SCARED. I was consciously leaving the safety net of a salaried position, the comfort of a 403B, yearly raises, team meetings, and a billing and IT department. Like so many, I took great comfort in knowing when my next check would come in and where to turn if my email started acting up. It was the safety blanket so many of us have come to know and count on. I decided to believe that there had to be another way. Throughout my life, I´ve had countless amazing women remind me that in order to truly live, one must do something that scares you every day. Launching SMB was the sobering scare I was searching for. For the first time in my adult career, I decided to pause, reflect, and ask the hard questions: What did I like about my work? What did I love most about fundraising? What services could I offer potential clients, and would this help further their cause? I had to ask myself what I wanted out of this journey and determine what kind of entrepreneur I would become. Suddenly, I felt a sense of freedom I had never felt before. I knew I would finally have control of my life, dreams, earnings, decisions, and schedule! Autonomy was just around the corner!
What people don´t tell you is that you must spend some time thinking about your business model, your approach, and how you plan to do the work. It may all seem a little heady at first but I´ve found that doing this foundational work is essential. I decided to start as a solopreneur and become a lead consultant. By choosing this model, I could work closely with my clients and complete projects myself. This allowed me to do two things: first, the 1:1 approach allowed me to build a rapport with new clients and solidify it with those I had worked with in the past. This is essential to the referral process—the lifeline of most lead consultants. Second, this approach allowed me to understand the process of providing services, from beginning to inception. This allowed me to delve into areas of sales, HR, and accounting—all departments I had no previous experience in and had to learn quickly. I may not be an expert in each one of these areas, but I now know enough to be dangerous. Another thing is that accountability was taken to a whole new level. I had to get really honest about my strengths, my weaknesses, and how to properly manage my time and energy. I did a complete SWOT analysis on myself and realized I had some major mindset hurdles to overcome. I was no longer reporting to someone else; I was my new boss, and all the big decisions were mine, and mine alone. I had to quickly figure out what the infamous “work/life balance” would look like as I have two young children and time management became the most important part of the puzzle.
Finally, I had to admit to myself—although painful as it was—that I cannot do everything alone. I had to learn to delegate, create healthy boundaries, and let go of what does not nourish my journey. Learning to become my own sales manager, generate leads, and pitch is both exhilarating and exhausting. People don´t tell you that being the boss means everything is up to you and there is no one to blame for the many missteps that will surely come. Finding ways to fight fatigue, became a top priority. I had to work on my mindset and ensure that everything I was taking in is serving me and not depleting me. I had to focus on the work I was doing, the lives I was affecting, and the mark I want to leave on the world. Staying on my “A” game meant finding time to disconnect and unwind. Today, I am still learning to fully step into my power and become the CEO of my life. In this role, I am learning that I am at my very best when I am also at the top of my priority list.
