Answer the Call

Are you being called to be an entrepreneur? Are you an entrepreneur being called to take your business to the next level?

Are you planning to answer the call? If so, when? Answer honestly. If you’re feeling guilty or uncomfortable about your answer, please think about why. If you have a calling, what is holding you back?

The Grass Really Is Greener

Research has proven that women and men entrepreneurs share similar motivations, see the reasons for their successes largely the same way, and face many of the same challenges. Studies have even proven that the appetites of men and women for financial risk is largely the same. Yet men are two times more likely to start businesses than women, and their businesses are 3.5 times more likely to cross the $1 million threshold, according to research by the Kauffman Foundation.

Although experts widely agree that women entrepreneurs often face unique challenges, it doesn’t seem they are often held back from success. The main roadblock is simply getting women to start and then to choose to grow a business in the first place, according to research by Ernst & Young.

If you are struggling to answer the entrepreneurial call, you are not alone. In fact, you would not be normal if you weren’t. It is important and valuable to recognize that you are not alone. There are a lot of unknowns, a lot of barriers to navigate, and a lot of bumping up against norms that unleash doubt. This is where women like me come in. Is the entrepreneurial grass really greener? If it is your calling, I can honestly say that the grass really is greener – hard work, risk, barriers, and all.

The Right Time

I don’t believe in the right time. I believe in the wrong time. If you aren’t experiencing a true wrong time, then it must be the right time.

What do I mean? I have learned that there are indeed wrong times to start or to grow a business, but waiting for everything to be just right is not one of them.

My leap into entrepreneurship consisted of quitting a very good job, draining all $40,000 ($63,000 in today’s dollars) of savings my husband and I had worked hard to build, no financial support from family or outside investors, and I had two toddlers a year apart in age. And growing the business from “the basement to a big deal” during this very busy stage in life was also perfect timing for becoming a leader in the in-home care industry. Was it easy? Of course not. Nothing worth accomplishing ever is. Was it the right time? Absolutely. It was one of the best life decisions I ever made. It allowed me to go where I was meant to go. And when you have the opportunity to be at your best, you have the ability to give your best.

Answer the Call Smartly and Trust Your Gut

The best way to answer a call is to be self-aware, adaptable and strategic. Incubate and test your ideas. This process is about listening for the call to grow louder as you try it on for size without significant risk. Listen to your gut. Let your feelings play their rightful role in the decision. Good entrepreneurs often listen to their gut more than to advisors, family, or society, and it is usually right. Be prepared. The calling doesn’t end. If you are going everywhere you are meant to go, you will be continuously called.

Is entrepreneurship calling you? Pause and listen to the call, and make the tough decision to answer when you know it is for you. It will take you where you are meant to go.