Am I the only one that is completely exhausted by the “entrepreneur” narrative? And I’m an entrepreneur and I still can’t stand how it’s become such a novelty and so over saturated. Everyone wants to own a business. Everyone wants to run a business. Everyone wants to be their own boss. And I mean, if everyone’s a boss, who’s going to be a worker?
I’ve really gotten so exhausted with today’s popular opinions and culture, that every other moment, I’m contemplating jumping back into the 9 to 5 pool. All this pressure to have it all together at 25 is supremely overrated. I’ve been fighting the urge to turn down my entrepreneur volume and really jump back into the student life. (Not go back to school lol, but just back to learning and soaking up knowledge). I was watching Myleik’s insta-story and she basically read me like a book, as usual. She basically talked about how we need to spend more time working for someone and soaking up the game before we dive head first into this business owner life. And I’m totally here for that. I’ve been looking for music internships and searching for a place to call home in hopes that I can learn some new tricks of the trade and what not.
Now a part of me feels like I’m turning my back on some of my goals and plans that I had for myself. I had said I wanted to fully immerse myself in the artist life and work on building my brand but at this point, my business isn’t making enough money and I can’t get comfortable with waiting on bae to hand me a few dollars here and there. But there’s another part of me that feels like God is leading me in this direction because he has a different plan to get me where I’m going. Sooooo back to the job search I go.
Recently I listened to a podcast from the ladies over at Am I The Only 1 and they were discussing the popularity of being an entrepreneur and how a lot of people just decide to be business owners because it’s popular and they don’t even know what they’re doing. I never want to be considered a half ass business person so in hopes of sharpening my skills, I’m just going to pull up a chair at a table that someone worked hard to set and hope that all the knowledge they soaked up along the way rubs off on me. I can’t lie, I’m really excited about this whole thing. I kind of can’t wait because I feel like it’s going to be epic. I was all set for this year to be a year of traveling and festivals and what not, buttttt bills don’t pay themselves and I need to get my credit score up. Plus the entrepreneur life is lightweight boring......
I wake up and work alone. I’m sitting at the dining room table just writing and designing and creating campaigns, all solo. You don’t get to talk to different people on a daily with different points of view. Especially when your business is in the start up phases. I know I was preaching a different story last month but hey, different strokes for different folks. Things change DAILY and my heart just isn’t in the entrepreneur thing anymore. I’d rather try something a little different now.
I remember when I quit my first “grown folks job” back in 2014 because I wanted to be an entrepreneur full time. I was 21 and working for 911 making $16.20 an hour and I quit that job because I wanted to be my own boss and also because I needed to finish my degree. And I remember talking to a friend and telling him that I quit and he basically said I was crazy as hell. Thinking back I probably should have listened. My business would probably be flourishing now. But I constantly remind myself that it’s all in God’s plan. The same people that judged me back then have been keeping an eye on my moves these days and admiring how I swivel through the game lol. People are going to judge me regardless so I figure why not make it a point to at least be happy with what I’m doing. I’m sure they’ll think I’m crazy for switching it up and heading back to the work force but I learned a long time ago to not worry about other people’s perception of me.
Now, going back to work doesn’t mean I’m turning my back on my business. Firstly, I’m shutting down the PR side for now. It’s just not working out at the moment. People are wishy-washy and I’m just not feeling it. So while I’m 9 to 5’in, I’ll solely be working on building my personal brand, the Everyday Rae’ brand. I’ll probably do some product development and upgrade my site. All things that require money and reasons why I’m going back to the job force. I think once I just narrow it down to building my personal/lifestyle brand, things will start looking up. Sometimes you have to rewrite the plan. Goals still the same, God has just redirected the path.
So what’s the point of me telling you all this? Something you’ve heard me say a million times. Trust Gods timing and the timing of your life. We can’t shy away from change, we just have to embrace it and push forward. In the age of social media and making decisions based on how we think the public and society will perceive of us, it’s quite important that we stay true to ourselves and do what works for us. You don’t have to be an entrepreneur. Not everyone is built to be that type of boss. Likes and followers on Instagram don’t make you better than the next man and at the end of the day, happiness should be the goal. No matter what that looks like to you.
It is my hope that this write up is familiar to someone and that you understand that we’re all in this together. I know it’s hard to figure out sometimes but keep the faith, pray, meditate and stay focused on the goal. And remember, God doesn’t always call the qualified, sometimes he qualifies the called. So if you have the opportunity to take a position and learn a little more, do it. The knowledge you gain could push you that much closer to your ultimate goal at the end of the day.