The Hardest Choice I Ever Made Came Down to This One Thing
Starting a business is hard.
When I first started mine, I lived at my parents’ house so I could afford to work for myself full-time.
Without paying rent, I could give my baby business a shot.
So that’s what I did.
I went all in.
In the beginning, though, there was a lull (as there often are with new businesses). I had gone weeks—actually months—without making a single sale.
One morning, I was shocked to find that I did not have enough money to fill up my gas tank.
I sat in the driver’s seat and wept into the steering wheel.
How could I continue like this? I had no money, no clients, and certainly no faith that this business could provide me with a viable source of income anytime soon.
I had to make a choice.
Would I move forward? Or was the better option to work for someone else?
I thought I knew the answer when later that day I stormed into my mother’s bedroom with tears streaming down my face.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I yelled. “I have to write my resume!”
She held my gaze for a long time until she finally said, “Just hold on a little bit longer, Anna. I believe in you. And I believe that you can do this.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Didn’t she want me to be financially independent?
Didn’t she care that I was drowning in credit card debt and unable to pay my bills?
I was angry with her. And yet for whatever reason, I listened.
The next day, I didn’t write my resume.
Or the day after.
A few weeks later I saw a glimmer of hope when I opened two inquiries in my inbox.
Those inquiries turned into sales calls and those sales calls turned into clients.
I made $10,000 in two weeks.
One month after that, I moved out of my parents’ house.
I often think about that moment at the gas station.
Why didn’t I quit? Why didn’t I write that resume?
I’d like to think it was my own strength and determination that brought me here.
But if I’m being honest with you, it came down to one thing:
Someone believed in me. When I didn’t believe in myself.
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