The Young, New Face of Entrepreneurship
I was 26 when I opened my construction company. I have been working for a small family owned and run painting company so I got a lot of opportunities to see how a company is run, and I also got to perform a lot of duty that I wouldn't have necessarily been higher for if I submitted my resume anywhere. So I opened my company (as a painting company which turned into a GC company), because I wanted to do a better job, charge more fairly, foster more community, and be more genuine.
I had no idea what I got myself into! How I did it is the worst way that I would recommend anyone getting into entrepreneurship! I just broken up with my ex, I had just become a single mom to a one-year-old, and I just cut off all my family. So I was starting from absolutely nothing with no friends, no contacts, no idea what to do, only the drive to do a good job and provide a good home for my beautiful baby girl. And I was so broke and stressed for the first two years of being a business owner because I had no idea what I was doing, I got diagnosed with PTSD so I was working through all of that, and I was totally on my own so I was discovering myself - basically for the first time in my life.
I had no idea what networking was until I was six months into my company, and once I discovered it I really liked it especially having no friends or family to support me. But I did quickly discovered that most everyone is there strictly for business and money, not for community or support or to be your friend. It's not bad but because of the position that I was in at the time, being so alone and so ignorant to what I got myself into, it was a really hard reality to accept. I am almost always the youngest person in the room and no one ever expects me to be a general contractor (if they even know that I'm in the construction industry, they assume I'm a designer).
But even through all that struggle, hardship, crying and stress, being an entrepreneur is one of my best decisions in my life. I have grown so much as a person because I have had to learn every step of every part of everything that goes into running a successful business. I've learned coding, I do this blog, I'm going to be starting a YouTube channel soon, I enjoy creating content on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. I built and designed my website. And then when it comes to the actual work, I know the permitting and planning process, I know how to do tile, flooring, drywall, painting, electrical, plumbing, etc., the list goes on. On the soft skills side, I've learned how to have strong boundaries inside and outside of the business because I absolutely 110% have to prioritize my mental and physical health, my work schedule needs to accommodate to being available for my daughter, and sometimes I fire clients to make sure I don't get myself in any sticky situations to put my reputation or standards at risk. I could go on for a while but I'll leave it at that.
One of the reasons that I opened my company was to be the one calling the shots - I was only thinking about the projects - I want to be the one to make sure that we did a good job, we did the best we could and we did our part. I didn't realize that I'm also in control of my own schedule so I can start late or leave early or take the day off (assuming there's no clients involved, obviously I don't like to cancel my clients last minute if I can help it). But if I'm working at home and I'm sick, probably still working, at least I can work comfortably in my bed with my heated blanket.
