I often refer to myself as an ‘accidental entrepreneur’. I didn’t wake up one day and think I want to start a business. I wasn’t surrounded by entrepreneurs, both my parents had jobs where they worked for someone else their whole lives. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a great entrepreneur. I was MEANT to be an entrepreneur but it didn’t come from a desire to BE and entrepreneur.
My desire to be my own boss came from my first child. When I became pregnant with her I knew I wanted to stay at home. However, the reality of living in a big city meant we needed to have two incomes. I had to contribute somewhat to the financial running of our house, and a new baby meant more expenses. So I had to put my thinking cap on and figure out a way to make money that allowed me to stay at home.
My Smart Hands wasn’t my first business idea. I had a few failed attempts before finding my fit, my passion, the business that I would love to dive into.
The idea of starting my own baby signing business made sense to me, in fact it was perfect! I was a teacher, I specialized in curriculum design, I had knowledge of ASL and I signed successfully with my daughter. Now, I had to figure out how I was going to make it happen. My first step was to plan a curriculum to teach. This was easy for me with my teaching background but it was very time consuming. I managed to put one together and began teaching classes. My business was up and running! I did it! I found my passion.
But it wasn’t until I posted a video on You Tube that made my business explode into the international sensation that it is. More on that to come…
The first lesson I learned as an entrepreneur was this – Find your passion! I think if you talk to most successful entrepreneurs you will begin to see a thread among them all– passion. It’s hard to be an entrepreneur and be successful if you aren’t passionate about what you are doing. Because you know what? It’s hard! Really really hard! But that’s okay because I wake up every morning loving what I do, loving what I’ve created and loving being my own boss.
I love being an entrepreneur!