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> March 11, 2012

Being In Business for Myself is Tiring

I was talking to a friend today and for some reason I remembered the most startling day of my
business life. It was “The Day I Became an Entrepreneur.”

Day and time marked on the calendar. It was like I crossed over. Black became white. Left
turned right. Brussels sprouts grow into chocolate. Really, it was that distinct.

After 1x years of working in product management for Corporate America managing services
worth billions of dollars, I had moved into a position in a small, boutique public relations agency,
working with the CEOs of venture-backed start-ups. That’s when the lightning bolt burned my
hair. I’m not selling widgets anymore. I’m selling me!

Why am I sharing this personal moment with you?

Being an entrepreneur requires an entirely different mindset, a completely different energy.

Your customers crave that energy. They can feel it, and it brings them in to your business…or
pushes them away.

Your drive and determination are built on that energy. It’s the tank you access when you’re
having a tough day or week, when things don’t go according to the plan, when everything seems
harder than it should.

You are the product your customers buy, no matter what’s on your menu. You are the energy
they crave, desire, buy.

So what’s your energy like these days? What are you feeling? What are you projecting? Where
and how do fill your energy tank?

Here’s what I know—every leader, every successful person, every successful business has an
energy source, a place or person they go to to refill their tank.

Who or what is your “go-to” energy source?

What energy are you projecting to your customers?

It doesn’t matter what your product or service is, it’s all about you. To me that’s the biggest
mind-blowing difference between sitting at your cubicle in Corporate America and running a
company from your desk with your bunny slippers on.

You make the difference. I’m not a prophet, but I know this—the energy required of an
entrepreneur is different.

Go forth and do great things,

Martha Hanlon and Chris Williams
Wide Awake Marketing