By Noemí Vico, certified EEC coach.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.
Have you ever stopped to think about what your purpose in life is? The day I stopped to think about it, I realised that I simply wanted to be happy, and that made me think about taking a different path.
We spend a lot of our lives working and, at that point, I wondered if I wanted to continue building other people's dreams or if it was time to live my own.
Starting a business gives you the opportunity to turn your professional life into a source of happiness, to be the protagonist of your life's project and a driver of change in your surroundings. I can't deny there were moments of complete ignorance and vertigo, during which I discovered the importance of a good network of contacts, which provided me with learning and a whole range of options I hadn't even imagined.
Facing my belief about what it was to start a business, many windows opened up before me that could fit my dream: to work as freelance for various organisations, collaborative projects with other professionals, intrapreneurship options within larger organisations, service exchange as a form of funding…
It was all a matter of moving and surrounding yourself with good travelling companions. From this new perspective, the photo was much prettier and easier to reach. Sometimes, we get scared of our own possibilities (reflections on authenticity) or we think we don't deserve great things and our excuse-making machine gets going.
What's this for? To not fight for what we want. If you're thinking of starting a business, consider some ideas:
- Working as freelance does not mean being alone.
- When you work on what makes you happy, you bring much more value and flow with every task.
- Surrounding yourself with great professionals will allow you to learn from them and grow.
- Dreams don't get off the ground on their own; you have to include passion and action.
- It is important to remain consistent with our values: we sell our work, not ourselves.
- Strive to have a global vision and reflect on medium and long-term strategies.
- Honesty works, most of the time.
- No is also a possible answer.
And answer these questions:
- What solution can you offer?
- What are you capable of doing differently from the rest?
- Where would you like to see yourself for the rest of your life?
- What would you like to do?
- What do you want to learn?
- Who would be willing to pay for what I can do?
- Why not?
For me, the uncertainty isn't in the world of possibilities that entrepreneurship opens up.
The uncertainty lies in letting others decide what our dreams should be. There is nothing more important than having the courage to live your own life.
