Get Set
My entrepreneurial journey officially began on January 1, 2009, but several dates prior to that day are significant to fully understand how I discovered my true passion and got the courage needed to pursue it wholeheartedly.
January 2008--Searching for my passion
After 3.5 years of working as a Litigation associate at a BigLaw firm, I officially acknowledged that I did not have a passion for law and, even more earth shattering, I really had no passion at all. All my friends thought this was ironic because I am such a passionate person, but lo, it was true...no passion.
This date is important as well because when I decided to work for a firm, I gave myself "3 to 5" like a jail sentence because I went in knowing that this was not what I wanted to do with my life (although I honestly opened myself up for the possiblity of being convinced otherwise).
This is the time when I admitted to my wonderfully supportive husband that I had to do something different with my life. We decided on March 2010 as the official end of my law firm career and made plans to pay off a large amount of debt in the two years and change left making $200k+.
Although I agreed to stick it out for a little while longer, I immediately began searching for my passion...that one thing I could do that would fulfill both my monetary and spiritual needs.
Needless to say, I mentally checked out at work.
May 2008--Metaphorical slip begins to show
By this time, I was in hot pursuit of true gratification and I was becoming more and more in tune with my creative side. I already had notebooks full of "amazing" ideas dating back as far as I can remember. I watched hubby become an entrepreneur the prior year and I was convinced that that was the only option since, of course, I wanted to be a millionaire. Also, I have always seen myself working for myself and employing my community so if I was to abandon a six figure salary it was going to have to be worthwhile.
My passionate pursuit of my passion, for better or worse, became apparent to an elusive group of onlookers at my job. Instead of pursuing "better" work, i.e., work that would indicate my pursuit of partnership, I searched for document review work that would allow me to reach my billable hour requirements without much commitment to the profession and with the flexibility to work from home. Being able to bill 10 to 14 hours without having to interact with anyone allowed me the freedom to work my "second job" of testing my ability to network and navigate in a world vastly different than any I had experienced before. This includes both the creative world, I became hubby's unofficial art agent, and the entrepreneurial world. I was instantly hooked and constantly pushing myself to step out of my comfort zone.
My journey was kicked into high gear over a very frank lunch I had with my mentor. I knew at this moment that March 2010 was not an option...I could hang on to the end of the year max. She respectfully suggested that I spend more time in the office and pursue more high level work, both of which I let her know that I would give the ol' college try, but I knew that was probably not going to happen seeing as I had found something I never thought I would have...PASSION! Something that drove me to want to wake up, to challenge my weaknesses, to not care that my secure and stable job was on the line.
From that day forth, I was determined to be ready whenever the day came when I would have to step out on faith and really pursue this entrepreneurial dream that had me so high I felt like I was flying. I tried to spend more time in the office, but I physically could not...despite my best efforts. I did not wholeheartedly pursue other assignments because nothing could get more consistent hours than document review and I knew that this was the key to holding on to my salary while I continued to navigate the waters and decide EXACTLY what I wanted to do in this new creative world that I discovered needed me and my talents.
September 26, 2008--Official notice of resignation
This is a day I will never forget, my bravest moment thusfar and the one that made January 1, 2009 my official start date on this entrepreneurial journey. In one of the most interesting conversations I ever had, I learned that everyone loving you coupled with hard work can keep you employed long past the time when it is obvious that this is not what you really want to do and my firm learned that I had found what I really wanted to do and I appreciated their support, belief in me, and willingness to make my transition as easy as possible. I gave my official resignation and they gave me time to wrap up my current assignments and provided the resources for me to start Muse Creative Arts Agency unofficially before I was put into the "eat what you kill" situation that I have been in for the past year and a half.
-The Muse (circa 5/2010)
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