The Ebb and Flow of Entrepreneurship

Cutting my teeth in the campaign world for a few years forced me to really slow down. As those who worked in the space know, you really have to flatline your emotions because at any given point you are riding the wave of good press and by the afternoon you are fighting for your life when your opponent releases a new attack ad on you. In that business, it can be extremely hard to not live in a state of flux and unregulated emotions. I really had to stay focused on what I was brought on to do and for most campaigns it was for community engagement and staffing the candidate (add in administrative responsibilities, too, like scheduling). If you’ve ever seen a person trail a candidate, that was me. Responsibilities were straight forward: Make introductions when needed, keep the candidate on time, and make sure they are aware of their surroundings and what they were walking into. I joke that I was often Gary Walsh in VEEP plus an even heavier dose of paranoia. 

I never thought I would have a commonality between working on political campaigns and my business, but here we are. This month, especially the last few weeks, has been chaotic. The weekly meetings are established - that piece of the foundation has been implemented. However, while I plan weeks in advance, I live day-to-day. And at the end of each night, usually right before I settle down for the night, I take a look at my Google calendar and planner and make sure everything lines up. I re-write my daily to do list and keep it up on my screen. I highlight the items that need to be done first and then branch out from there.

The ebbs and flows are inevitable. In a way, it keeps me on my toes and sometimes I welcome the disruption. The downside? The constant switching from one task to another can be draining. While I consider myself a master multi-tasker, it’s not how I would like to operate and at times, it has been an energy drainer for me. If only someone could see the inside of my brain after back-to-back meetings and then expected to be on … it’s just a bunch of static. 

There will always be a learning curve when you have your own small business. Every day I am grateful for what I can do. It’s really about how I react to the unexpected shift in the day. While it can be an inconvenience, it’s a reality of mine that I have to embrace.