Manifest Your Dream

In February of 2020 I went to see Oprah and she had this sign up that said, "Manifest Your Dream" I took several photos in front of it. In January of 2021 I told my boyfriend that I wanted to work full-time for iteach and two weeks later they came to me with a job offer. Over the years I've learned to dream big and to take steps toward those goals and I've been surprised at how often I get exactly what I want... so how did I get here?

Growing up I lived in a two-bedroom trailer home in Sanger, TX. It was one of those aluminum metal buildings that looked like a silver square lightly dusted in powdered sugar because the paint was faded and it was covered in white dust from the gravel road in front of our house. In movies, mobile homes like ours often have tires on the roof to help hold it down. Our roof wasn’t laden with tires… but it was getting close. Thankfully it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground... I wasn't upset about the house fire, because while it was all we had, it still wasn't a great loss. No grande perdida as they say in Spanish.

All throughout my childhood my parents didn’t have a lot of money, and because we were always broke, I learned the value of hard work. My parents were and still are some of the hardest working people I know. They taught us that if you want something, you just have to work hard for it. In college I worked three jobs to pay my tuition and my truck payment. Every day I was hustlin' and the lessons I learned in my childhood have proved to be invaluable today.

In 2020 I had my own business doing marketing, web and graphic design. March was going to be my biggest month since I started my business. I had around $38,000 in accounts receivable and all of the money was going to me. Then COVID-19 hit and business slowed way down. I was thankful that I had a handful of projects to keep me going, but I had so much time on my hands and I needed to think of new ways to earn money. Instead of wallowing in fear, I decided to finish writing the children’s books that I had started. And, I thought, “I should create a course that helps other people start their own business!” And between April 2020 and December 2020 I had completed both. I launched?www.StartABusinessFast.com?using some money I received from a PPP loan, and I got my first children’s book published called Esmeralda Hears Something Scary. (Available on Amazon)

In December I had the opportunity to buy a house and business started to pick back up, albeit slowly. With the new house being built, big cash deposits were required, the new year was looming, and I was in a constant frenzy trying to drum up new projects. It was scary and exhausting. I was losing sleep trying to keep all my dreams afloat.

Then in January I was offered a full-time position working with iteach.net – a teacher certification company that also happened to be my biggest client. Sometimes things are just meant to be, because I JUMPED at the opportunity. I love education and I truly loved working with the team at iteach, so taking a full-time position there was actually a dream come true. I closed up shop on my old business StatureDesign.com and started my new role in February.

Every day I get to go to work and focus on one client instead of 40. I don’t have to worry about taxes and health insurance and I have my holidays and weekends back. Plus, I have amazing co-workers and while working from home is awesome, it gets lonely sometimes.

When I told my friends and family I was taking this new job they asked, “Don’t you love working for yourself?” and “Aren’t you going to miss being an entrepreneur?” My answer, “Nope!”

The thing about everything in life is that there is always a trade-off. Having children is awesome, but they are a lot of work. Going to Paris for vacation is awesome, but it's expensive and it is a long flight. Owning your own business allows for more flexibility and control over your schedule, but there is also more responsibility.

I remember working 30 hours straight sometimes to get projects completed. Dealing with upset clients and slow-paying clients was always a pain. And there never seemed to be a time when I could just “Clock Out”. If I wasn’t doing graphic and web design for the business, I was doing social media and marketing for the business. When that stopped, I had to work on my taxes and accounting. When that ended, I had to order business cards and update my website. The stream of tasks is never ending when you run your own business. The great thing is that I am still writing children’s books and I have another full-length novel written that I want to publish at some point this year. These are now fun hobbies instead of necessary alternative sources of income.??

So what are you doing after the pandemic? Have you made #TheBigShift? If you are looking for a new career, you might give teaching a try. I love what I do because we help so many people find their passion in the classroom as teachers. Check out iteach.net to learn more and cheers to the next big thing in your life!