We Are All Struggling with the Same Things - Workology

We Are All Struggling with the Same Things - Workology The Benefits and Perils Being an Entrepreneur Many people are surprised to learn that the Workology community is managed and maintained by an extremely small team. At present, its myself, my blog editor who works part-time, and a handful of freelancers that help me as needed with production, graphic design and administrative work as needed. People often assume that we are a team of 5 full time or more focused on developing content, driving engagement and ensuring that we provide resources to the larger HR and workplace community. The answer is no. My business just isnt built that way. I, personally havent ever had the desire to run a large organization. I have never wanted to be a CEO of a large analyst firm or an agency. I have always wanted to use the community to help drive change in the HR and recruitment industry. My work is squarely focused on developing content, training, and resources for the HR and recruiting practitioner while also working with vendors and service providers in the HR and recruiting industry with content development, marketing, and product and process strategy. Sure, the consulting side of my business flexes just like your business does too. Sometimes I have a client who wants me to write, research and develop 5 white papers while I simultaneously am tasked with writing and facilitating a recruiter training. I find ways to make these things work either outsourcing part of my responsibilities, changing project completion dates or recommending a friend or colleague to do the work. My work ebbs and flows so I flex as needed bringing on consu ltants and other contractors to fill the gaps quickly. The Benefits and Perils Being an Entrepreneur Operating this way means that I am committed to finding ways to maximize my productivity, stay organized yet flexible and operate on all cylinders whenever and wherever I may be. In that respect, I think Im an awful lot like most of you. You are doing a lot with limited resources and there are only twenty-four hours in the day. The main difference from my HR and recruiting readers is that as an entrepreneur  is that if I dont perform, I dont get paid. There is no twice a month check that is direct deposited in my checking account. If I dont do the work thats needed to get done, there is no money. This is one of the main reasons that working as a freelancer, small business, consultant or entrepreneur  is so damn hard. Some days are good ones where the work is easy and plentiful. And sometimes you spend days and months working towards something that isnt a guarantee. Thats part of the rush that entrepreneurship brings. You can truly create your own destiny and make your own rules, But that independence and freedom come with risk, failure, and uncertainty. Its been nearly 9 years since I left the comfortableness of my corporate HR job. And that feeling of uncertainty for me is almost always there. Sometimes it is front and center in what I am doing. And other times, its lingering quietly in the background. It took me a long time to be okay with that feeling. I just acknowledge it, focus and move on to whatever priorities and goals that I have set for myself in the long as well as short-term. While I mention risk, failure, and uncertainty, there is also reward: success;  the rush of being  completely in charge; and the choices you make  are completely your own. Changes are faster and more fluid. There is no committee meeting to present your plan of action. You make a decision and begin to act, allowing you to succeed, fail, and learn quickly. Entrepreneurs Executives Often Suffer in Silence The reality of this work and the risk as an entrepreneur is something that is often not discussed. We dont want to appear weak or small to clients so we dont openly discuss the struggles with entrepreneurship. And thats exactly why in the past I havent talked about my team, our size or what its like to work for yourself. I find it ironic because working among the senior leadership ranks at organizations, we avoid talking about the compromises, the struggles, and our mistakes because we dont want to appear vulnerable or unqualified.  We equally dont discuss our successes because were vulnerable if we do that too. Its just now that we are successful  the stakes are higher and the pressure to maintain that success and the expectation to achieve more weight even harder on our shoulders. I think its in that vulnerability that we can truly learn from one another. Vulnerability isnt always a weakness. Its an opportunity to learn. Its an opportunity to grow, and its an opportunity to consider and evaluate there might be a better way. I think there is a lot we can learn from each other because we are driven by the same things including success, passion, and focus. These businesses dont run themselves and yet we celebrate those that simply tell us to silently lean in in order to be a success. Well, I dont think I can be silent for any longer at all. Building a business whether you are an executive or entrepreneur is hard and in many ways, we are silently operating in parallel paths. Instead of focusing your workplace mentoring program solely executives and high potentials, I urge you to include a handful of entrepreneurs into the mix. Where you see politics, we see opportunity and possibility. I think we can learn a great deal from one another. We just have to extend an olive branch, start a dialogue and be open to learning from one another.