The fear of opening up your own business

I wouldn't necessarily call it fear, more complete and utter ignorance. Everyone dreams of owning their own business, whether it’s the flexibility of working out of the local coffee joint, or flying from city to city consulting big business on whatever sh!t of the bull they need consulting on. Whatever the case, you really have NO idea what’s ahead of you (unless you’re a complete genius with a side of savvy). I just knew I didn’t want to go back to the the 9-5 job I had before I had kids. Always worrying what kind of mood your boss would be in (god they are moody), hoping that undeserved promotion would finally come your way and/or sitting next to the over-perfumed, way too chatty, LOUD office mate (and if I just described you…sorry, you had to know the truth). It’s so hard being perfect. Anyway, the thought of going back to all that tomfoolery wasn’t appealing to me at all. My department (and hence position) was moved to the US, so I was let go from my first and only job I had since University. I worked for a HUGE company (probably the bigGEst in the world back then) so when it all ended I was devastated. Made lemonade out of sour grapes…and stayed home with my kids from that day on. Looking back, it was the BEST thing that’s ever happened to me (for obvs reasons). 

Once my kids got older, I dabbled in a little marketing consulting, sold Silpada jewellery (was in the top 10 sales in Canada for a while - sorry, had to get that in) and was a retail rep for Kobo (worked out of my car – I loved the product, but the day to day store visits were very monotonous). A total mix bag of  jobs. My husband was so patient and never pushed me to get back to work (or what he called a “real” job), until my days eventually turned into going to the gym, followed up by getting groceries (I should have had the body of a goddess, boy was that not the case). I was in denial. I knew I had to get back to doing something more fulfilling with my time, but didn’t know what. 

So circle back to not wanting a 9-5 job. My friend (and now business partner) was in the same boat. We kept dreaming up businesses we could open, but like most people, didn’t think we could actually do it. We did keep coming back to one idea in particular, buying and selling second hand clothes (brand names of course, a bit higher end). All of us moms knew that most consignment stores and second hand sellers focus on newborns to about age 10. But what about the tweens and teens? That was certainly a niche market, right? I was once given advice that the more “niche” you are the more you will succeed. Cut to a walk I was on with a girlfriend (not sure if it was before the gym or after the groceries). We spoke about this venture at great lengths and I will always remember what she said to me “Why wouldn’t you do it?”. I didn’t have an answer. Well, I guess I did, in the end, as it propelled me to where I am today. 

We all think we’re not smart enough, or don’t know where to begin, or don’t want to risk failing. Who wants to try and fail? The excuses are endless. I remember reading a quote (was it on Facebook? Am I really admitting that?) - Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. Bam! That is totally 99% of the people who want to one day work for themselves. We were determined to be part of that 1% who actually follows through. We bit the bullet, starting buying second hand, brand name clothes, got a website together (www.stylecrush.com), had a logo designed, and here we are, a full fledged, incorporated business. Mostly flying by the seat of our pants but Loving.Every.Minute.Of.It. It only took me 20 years to figure it out. But the point is I did, and I’m here. Blogging, on social media, writing, advertising, networking, all things I only dreamed of doing one day. So the question is “Why aren’t you doing it?” Seriously, why? You just keep coming up with excuses…go on, keep excuse-ing, we’ll be here, working on our business. 

Andrea