1 Year Anniversary
Today, April 1st, marks a full year of me working for myself!
On this exact day a year ago, I was sitting in the gym space I had rented out and wondering how in the hell I was going to make a living with one measly patient on my schedule for the entire week.
The irony that my first day as a solo business owner also happened to be April Fool’s day was not lost on me, either.
I think it’s natural as humans to gravitate towards highlighting the big wins on social media and brushing over the losses - why give unpleasant experiences any more power? But in respect of this milestone, I want to reflect on the most notable perspectives I’ve gained over the past year - both the pretty and the ugly.
Nobody is telling you what to do. When I was working for a big corporate PT company, I recall having this deep-seated feeling of resentment towards the establishment that I willingly drove to each morning. I despised the fact that I had to go to work (sometimes, not always), and I blamed the universe for putting me in this predicament.
But here’s the thing - nobody was making me do that. I literally went to grad school to become a physical therapist, graduated, applied for the job, interviewed, got the job, and now held some external, intangible source responsible for my demise? So silly.
I put myself there, and only I could get myself out.
It’s perfectly ok to not know what’s next. Over the past year, I’ve noticed this constant background buzz in my mind that revolves around what I need to do next. Find a new space for the clinic? Start a podcast? Take a trip? Write a blog? Fall off the face of the earth and quit all together and see if anyone notices?
When you’re your own boss, the to-do tasks feel unending and insurmountable. But the beauty in having to answer to nobody but you is that you can accept a moment of silence, too. Take solace in the fact that you’ve already done one of the hardest parts - starting.
It’s crucial to reflect on what you’ve accomplished to fully understand the ground you’ve covered. And once you accept that it’s plenty of ground, it’s easier to acknowledge that whatever comes next will just come. No need to micromanage. Of course, having goals and working towards them is the name of the game. But mentally obsessing over each and every step is counterproductive and harmful to the texture of your mind.
Your people want you to succeed. For whatever reason, the online attitude towards entrepreneurship has taken this lone-ranger tone. I see a lot of quotes and comments stating that nobody will support your endeavors until you’ve risen to the top, they’ll shame you for trying something different, root for you in public but wish you ill will in private. The list goes on, and I genuinely could not disagree more.
Surely, there are outliers who see others trying to forge their own path and find that threatening, but I don’t know them! Your family, your true friends, and your trusted colleagues will root for you through every up and down without viewing your successes as a threat to their ego. Having a dedicated, authentic support system is the only way I’ve made it through a year on my own. I take zero credit - my friends and family are everything.
That concludes my reflection on lessons learned, although I could probably go on for a while. This past year has been absolutely incredible, memorable, full of hard moments, self-doubt, and monumental wins.
For those of you still reading - thank you. Your interest in whatever journey I’m on and your kind words throughout have been the life blood of my business. For real. A year from now we will run it back and discuss how different life looks!
Love, Roni
