My Entrepreneurial Journey.

Have you ever felt like you’re making choices based on everyone else’s expectations? That was me for the better part of a decade. From the college I attended to the first job I accepted, choices were made with other people’s opinions and expectations in mind. 

Unlike some entrepreneurs, I never felt called to this journey. I didn’t grow up dreaming of all the things I’d create or problems I’d solve with my grand inventions. In fact, I was dead set on finding and keeping a job for the long haul. Both of my parents had retired from companies after 25+ years, so company loyalty was ingrained in me.

However, after 13 long years in corporate America, all the aptitude tests one can take, and a life coach who helped me get outside my comfort zone, I knew there was more in store for me than the career I was pursuing. And so, I took one giant leap into entrepreneurship.

My journey found me quitting my cushy corporate gig and selling every possession I owned to travel the world solo for almost a year while getting my yoga retreat planning business off the ground.

During my travels, I explored my talents, tried on different hats, and expanded my skills in an effort to figure out what running my own business looked like.

I began visiting retreat centers in Spain before heading to Greece for 30 days to get my yoga teacher certification. That’s when I knew teaching had to be part of my journey, so I taught my way around the globe. While in Thailand, I hosted webinars for other yoga instructors on how to host their own retreats. Later in Bali, I used my marketing skills from the corporate world to earn free accommodations and excursions as an editor for an online yoga magazine. After returning to Europe, I began a year-long coaching program, which felt like my long-awaited calling.

Coming home, I knew I could use my corporate connections to rejoin the traditional workforce as a Plan B. However, I didn’t let anyone sway me from my Plan A. Three months - that’s how long I gave myself to be up and running before I had to seriously consider Plan B.

After three months, I wasn’t ready to give up my dream! In fact, it took closer to 15 months before I could breathe.

Here I sit years later so grateful I never went back. Has the journey been easy? No! Has it been worth it? Absolutely. 

I now own and operate two businesses in addition to being a yoga instructor. I own a private life coaching practice that offers workshops, retreats, one-on-one coaching and published pieces. My focus is on helping women gain clarity and confidence to take inspired action toward the life they desire. 

And in 2020, just 6 weeks before the world shut down, I purchased a coworking space in the town where I live. More than a physical space, it’s a community of female entrepreneurs who are equally as passionate about growing themselves and their businesses as they are one another.

The thing is, like most journeys, mine is full of twists, turns and secret passageways no one could have anticipated.

There have been moments where the fear felt like too much. There have been numerous calculated risks, and some not-so-calculated. There have been setbacks and giant leaps forward. Honestly, there were some no’s that probably should have been yes’s. And there were a ton of yes’s that should have absolutely been no’s.

But through it all, I maintained my integrity by constantly gut checking myself - why am I doing this? Is it because I want it or someone else says I should want it?

When you take the leap and start putting yourself out there, it’s amazing the doors that open. There were opportunities, like buying the coworking space, that I never could have imagined. I simply kept saying “yes” when it felt right in my gut, never knowing where it might lead. And when I was met with a closed door, I would evaluate and regroup. My mantra was and still is, “It’s not rejection, but rather redirection.”

I’m not at all where I envisioned I would be when I left on my travels. And that’s okay. It took every one of those twists and turns to get me to where I am today — a successful entrepreneur.

Looking back, my path had lots of turbulence, and it wasn’t always easy. But nothing worth going for ever is! So, wherever you find yourself on the entrepreneurial journey - just keep going.