defining:WOMEN Magazine Volume 2, No 2 Spring Issue 2016 | Page 16

Defining: Your Life Graffiti Artist: Zio Ziegler My Journey as an Entrepreneur: 11 Life Lessons That Helped Me in Business By Christina Aldan and Photography Courtesy of Ms. Harmind Rull Butler Maybe you consider yourself an entrepreneur. Maybe you aren’t self-employed, but you have the entrepreneurial spirit. Maybe you are in a network marketing business and you are working full-time on your job, but part-time on your retirement. Perhaps, like me, dear reader, you are a solopreneur… a one-woman show. Or maybe you are an employee and you are considering becoming an entrepreneur. Whatever the state of your career, if you are reading this, chances are that you have the entrepreneurial spirit in some way. So who am I? They call me Luckygirl because I believe we have the power to create our OWN luck. My job title is: Entrepreninja. Most of what I’m going to say isn’t new. And I don’t claim to be an expert by any means, since there is always room to grow. In this article, I am going to share experiences that shaped my journey in becoming an entrepreneur and 11 life lessons that I hope will help you as you create your best life in business and in your personal life too. 16 DefiningWomenMagazine.com Lesson #1 Just show up I had the privilege of celebrating my 40th birthday at the Defining: WOMEN in Business Power Luncheon in February. I was impressed that about 50 business women showed up to learn business skills and share my birthday with me. As I looked around the room at smiling faces, I congratulated them, “You made it! You are a step ahead of the people who didn’t show up today. You could have stayed home for any number of excuses and instead you chose to show up for yourselves and connect with other women. Sometimes just showing up is enough of a step forward.” Show up terrified. Show up insecure. Just show up. Keep showing up. Lesson #2 Experiences do not define you One of my favorite quotes comes from my mentor, Ms. Betty Chavis “Experiences are the sum total of who you are, but not of what you can become.” This quote has guided me through the most insecure times of my life. Whenever I feel guilty about my winding path or when I feel guilty about bridges burned. I remember this quote and it gets me through those times. Lesson #3 Start where you are I did what most women do when they decide to start a business. I went to this great resource that walked me through a tutorial to create a comprehensive 30-page business plan that instantly