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Kimberly Reddington's Blog

How I got started as an entrepreneur

I want to tell you about how I got started as an entrepreneur. I am hoping that if I share my story, other moms will find the courage to follow their passions and become an entrepreneur as well.

There were 2 main reasons why I left the corporate world and why I became an entrepreneur when I did.

The first reason was that as soon as I started my first job out of college, I knew right away that working an 8-5 job in an office was not for me. I think I knew this back when I was 13 and wanted to start a business, but I followed the path that all the grownups paved for me. I worked for 2 different corporations for a total of only 3 years and hated every minute of it.

The second reason I left the corporate world was freedom. I had a son and he spent most of every day in someone else’s home. He got sick once a week with something new and I felt I was not raising him. His day care provider was.

I knew I needed to change something, but I also knew I needed a job. My husband was in a PhD program at the time, so was not working. I was the one bringing home the money.

I knew the right moment when it came. I wasn’t sure how I knew exactly. I was talking to my boss about my situation. She was a mother herself, so understood how I felt about leaving my son in day care. There was one sentence that she said during our conversation that really caught my attention and suddenly I realized what I needed to do. “Kim, we would rather accommodate you than lose you.” I’m not really sure why that one sentence made a huge difference in my life, but it did. Knowing that this company thought I was so good at my job that they would do what it took to keep me, gave me the confidence in myself to just quit my job and see what would happen.

Now I didn’t JUST quit. I knew I wanted to become an entrepreneur, and consulting was something I had thought about for a while. That kind of work would allow me to still use my current skills, but I wouldn’t have to work in an office 5 days a week. I didn’t have any of the details laid out before me. I didn’t even have a plan, but I knew what I needed to be happy and knew deep inside that it would somehow work out.

I did know that my current company hired consultants and let them choose when and how they would work, so I talked about it a little with my boss. I gave a 2 weeks notice and sweated during the whole two weeks waiting for the managers to make a decision about taking me on a consultant instead of an employee. My boss waited until the very last day to make her decision. I think they waited until the last day because they were hoping I would come to my senses and change my mind and stay there full-time.

2 comments so far...

Gia, What you mentioned about finding something that works for you instead of just the new 'thing' is so important. I think that is one of the mistakes that women make when they start a home based business. They just start something that seems easy or they get into a network marketing business that their friend is doing.

If you ever want to be a great success at owning your own business, then you need to love what you are doing. If you love your work, then you will be motivated to do the tasks required to keep it going and growing.

For a lot of people trying to find what their passions and talents are can be a difficult process. Many people are unsure of what their passions are. I do have a one-on-one program that I run that takes women step-by-step through my proven process of finding out their passions and deciding which ones could become a viable home based business idea.

I also think that this could be an idea for another blog post.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Kimberly Reddington on 30th July 2009
Actually, for me, being the temp has allowed me to learn new skills, but also try new things at the same time. Since for me, my path is not exactly laid out in front of me, I'm learning as I go, and finding that my path is changing whether I want it to or not.

Having your own business has tax benefits too, just thought I would point that out. Yes, you can deduct a lot of things on your taxes if you have your own business, especially if you do it in your own home.

However, find something that works for you, and not just some new "thing" that looks shiny and comes with "going to pay $xxx every minute." My only addition to this great post is that don't be crazy, and do the research first, go to sites like http://www.startupnation.com and http://www.entrepeneur.com to get some ideas. Also try http://www.savorthesuccess.com is a great site too, that should help you on your journey to get you somewhere other than working full time at a job in which you are just trying to get by on. Even performing music takes me elsewhere, and this is why I'm learning to blog and hopefully make money doing it...

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Giazz on 28th July 2009