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At 28 years old I knew I didn’t need my parents permission to quit my full time job, I didn’t need their permission for anything - I had been living on my own and financially independent from them for years. Still, I had made a decision to go all in on my coaching business and was nervous to tell them that I was giving up the security of the full-time job I had held for the last 5+ years.
I remember preparing for the conversation. Assuming they would be asking if I had thought about different scenarios, asking why I didn’t just want to continue freelancing on the side, or sharing their own fears around my choice. I was prepared with strong statements to prove to them I had thought this through and to justify my choice. I went into that conversation repeating statements like “I may not have another opportunity in my life to take a risk like this” to myself.
The first thing I’m grateful someone told me as I first launched my business came from my parents response:
“No matter what, you’ll figure it out”
It was both the overall support and the reminder that I would indeed figure it out. In the time since launching and in the moments when I’m frustrated or doubting myself I come back to this statement and this reminder that, no matter what, I’ll figure it out.
Prior to going all in on my business I had started working with a business and leadership coach. It was through that work that I realized it was time to fully launch my business and time to finally start taking action on the things that I had said I wanted to do for years. It was on a call with that coach while I was navigating the early ebbs and flows of launching a business when this coach asked a powerful question:
“If this all disappeared tomorrow would it still be worth it?
“No matter what, you’ll figure it out”
I sat for a moment, knowing and solidifying that regardless of any outcomes - extreme levels of success, failure that crushed my soul, or anything in between it would in fact be worth it. My thought was met with her response, “It will never not be worth it.”
I found so much comfort in this mindset and still do. There will be ups and downs. There are days in business where it feels easier to give it all up and to go back to a 9-5 with a consistent paycheck but this process is worth it. Building a business forces you to face so many sides of yourself that you never would otherwise. That alone is worth it to me. There may be things that I wish I had done differently but it’s all been worth it.
The second thing I’m grateful someone told when I first launched by business:
“It will never not be worth it”
For five years before launching my business I worked a traditional 9-5. That was my path and my plan. Work, work my way up, take on a leadership role, retire. Of course, there were other career and life goals mixed in there but entrepreneurship wasn’t one of them. Throughout those five years I was lucky enough to work with some really incredible individuals and to lock in a work BFF that also became a life friend. At some point throughout those five years it became a common occurrence that one of us would pop into the other's office, usually on a day where you could feel the corporate chaos in the air, and say “You’re doing great.” It became a statement of solidarity and a genuine reminder, with a side of sass, that even if no one else in the office seemed to see the hard work or appreciated the effort, we saw it in each other and acknowledged that by saying “You’re doing great.”
Leaving co-workers and a work BFF that I truly enjoyed working with was hard when launching my business. Going from a team of 20+ to a team of one is an adjustment to say the least but it was also so special to have that group of people cheering me on from afar.
“It will never not be worth it”
It was my work BFF who, from states away, throughout the launch of my business and even still to this day sends random yet perfectly timed texts saying the third thing I’m grateful someone said:
“You’re doing great”
It is the nugget of encouragement. It’s the virtual equivalent of having a coworker pop into my office. It’s what I’ve needed to hear throughout so many stages of launching, creating, and refining a business. It’s the value of a work BFF who becomes a life friend too and why having people in your corner and cheering you on is such a valuable piece of building a business.
If you’re in the process of launching a business, if you’re in the stage of thinking about starting a business, or if you’re years into your business, I pass these statements onto you: No matter what, you’ll figure it out. It will never not be worth it. You’re doing great.
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Meet the expert:
For 8+ years, Cassie Spencer has worked in career and professional development coaching more than 700 clients on resume writing, strategic job searches, effective networking, interviewing, and so much more! She doesn't believe in a “one size fits all” approach to career coaching and is committed to tailoring her coaching to suit the unique needs and ambitions of her clients.
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