Yes, It's Personal and It's Our Turn

"When it's your turn, it's your turn. You own it. Your choice. Your Freedom. Your Responsibility."

Seth Godin,

As I recently crossed over a certainly significant level of self-employment, I thought of this quote.

About 8 months ago I started my own business helping small independent business build their buzz on social media. This was a big step and was not without risks. Yet I knew deep inside that it was my turn. It was about my choices, and my responsibilities and my freedom.

I owned it. It was my name and my game.  I worked to develop connections with people that I felt, I could help.  At the end of the day, I was jazzed about the journey. I  worked late nights, was distracted every time a good ideas surface, and I learned from success and failure alike. I began to truly earn my sea legs.   I began building something that would take me and my family forward.

This feeling of entrepreneurship, took a little bit of time for me to become truly aware of. It got stronger over time. Each new client I took on was a new puzzle that had to be solved, a new game, if you will, to learn the rules of.  Yet once the entrepreneurial feeling manifested I began to see it everywhere I looked.

I had an 'ah-ha' moment a couple of days ago.  I was listening to a friend go on about their politics at work, about how the system held them back, how no one knew what they were doing, and how they hated each moment of every day.  For many of us this is not a unfamiliar rant.   Many, many people dealt with this reality every day, and it was horrible, unfulfilled and yet somehow safe.  These jobs often paid the bills and provided the benefits.

The moment of clarity came about when I I truly owned that I wanted this crazy entrepreneurial journey. I did not want to be the person being confined by safety and unhealthy work places.  On top of that I enjoyed and wanted to work with others that had taken this leap.  I wanted to work with people who had taken a big chance on starting their own business and needed me to help them succeed.  I needed to help these people build their buzz, so they too could go beyond the corporate work place and provide goods and services without being run by the machine.

So to sum this up... It's My Turn and It's Your turn. Its our's and we can own it. It's our choices and we can make them. It's our freedom and we can choose to be free.  It's our responsibility and we gladly take that on."

Live on Buzz Well Media. www.buzzwellmedia.com

Entrepreneur Head - Does it Slow Down?

I have a condition called Entrepreneur Head.  It all started when I decided it was my turn to start my own business and take control of my career life. I started Buzz Well Media and the Victory Gardeners. Entrepreneur Head can get stronger and weaker depending on my sleep and the flow of things. However, it does not go away no matter now you shake it.

What is Entrepreneur Head you may ask?  Well, when one starts their own business there is no five o'clock shut off valve.  There is no line of what is my problem and what is someone else's problem. There is no one else to take up the slack or pick up where I leave off.   This constant processing that must go on, if you are going to go out there and hustle, wears away at our sanity.

It is kind of like the leaves that turn that brilliant color each fall. They standout and remind you constantly how vibrant they are.  They draw you in.  They keep you looking at them. Even when they fall to your feet you are captivated by them.

I wrote a post several years called Steriod Chihuaha Girl.  It talked about how it felt to be on steroids and wanting to literally bite people's heads off.   This is different.  This is a compulsion to do more.  I find myself saying "Excuse me I have to...

• just one more thing...
• just run up and do one thing on the computer...
• just check on one more feed...
• just write one more blog...
• just reference one more post....  
• just check Facebook once more.

So the reality is when you are an entrepreneur you have to do it.  You have to check that post, and make that change, and fix that problem, and fill that gap.  Being an Entrepreneur is about being able to depend on yourself and your skill sets to succeed.  You can't blow it off.  There are no non-working vacations or true times off.  

Yet, there is the flip side of utter freedom.  You can decide to spend your day working in the garden or going with on a kids school field trip.  You can decided to spend the day focused on a community project.  You can decided to use your time picking up and dropping off kids or running from store to store getting the groceries. However, you can't decide to turn off your brain.  You may find yourself at the field trip sending out important emails or taking a minute away from shopping to post a marketing piece.  You are off, but not really off duty.

It does comes with it's own support group, such as the wonderful Entrepreneur groups 1 Million Cups.  Everyone there is experiencing the same thing. We are all running around with Entrepreneur Head.  We are buzzing around like bees trying to make the sweetest, most attractive and yummy honey.   We all know we are working it and that is what it will take to succeed. 

Is there a cure for Entrepreneur Head?  I am not sure we really want one.  I think the success of being an entrepreneur takes that dedication and constant awareness of your business. Maybe it is just something you get used to over time, and build systems to maintain.  We will see...  I will report back as my businesses grow.   Till then the Entrepreneur Head Motto will be "...squirrel...".