How to Balance What Sparks You with What "Must" Get Done.

If you ask most entrepreneurs why they swapped the comfort of a steady paycheck from a corporate job for the unpredictable life of a business owner, they'll often say they wanted more freedom to do what they loved.?

Whether that love is selling products or offering their own skills or services, it's exciting to lean into the work that truly lights you up. But every entrepreneur knows — or is bound to find out — that in the beginning stages of building a business, especially, a part of the job as founder, CEO or solopreneur includes doing the not-so-fun stuff, too. And that's just one price we all have to pay as the cost of doing business...or so it seems.?

It isn't easy to juggle what you feel called to do with what you know you have to do to build a sustainable business, and so when push comes to shove, you might find yourself asking, "Is this even worth it?"?

In this today's SPARKED podcast episode, our featured question comes from listener Ariel, a career coach in the beginning stages of her business who loves the advising side of her work, but the other stuff? Not so much. She writes into us this week with a question a lot of fellow entrepreneurs can probably relate to, which is:?

What do you do when your values and your personality type or impulses for work don't necessarily line up?

As a solo entrepreneur, Ariel is well aware of the stark difference between the work in her business that lights her up — the actual advising — and the tasks that requires more heavy lifting. And she wants to know if expanding her team in order to do more of what she loves is in alignment for her, even if it doesn't make the best use of her natural drivers for work.?

To help me tease out insights, ideas, and strategies and explore Ariel's questions further, we're joined by Deborah Owens, founder of the consulting firm Corporate Alley Cat, where she advises and coaches People of Color in all aspects of career visioning and development.?

Tune into today's SPARKED podcast episode by hitting play on the player below or listening on your favorite podcast app.?

And, remember, we all have a unique imprint for work that makes us come alive: your Sparketype?. When you discover yours, everything - your entire work-life journey and even parts of your personal life and relationships - begin to make sense, and, you feel better equipped to find, do, or create work that (finally) sparks you!?

To learn your Sparketype, check out the free Sparketype? Assessment.

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Interested in asking a question to the SPARKED Braintrust on the podcast? Submit your question:?Wisdom-seeker submissions