As an entrepreneur living in a city, I meet a LOT of people. The one common denominator between all of the people I meet is the question of ‘What is it like to be an entrepreneur?’I really love talking about being an entrepreneur because I’m so passionate about my work. Afterall, I started my organizing practice because I eat, breathe, and love organizing. I know, I know, you either think I am crazy to love organizing or you understand the excitement of seeing perfectly stacked (and of course labeled) bins in a closet! Either way, I’m writing this blog post to answer everyone’s question on what it’s like to be a young entrepreneur.

How did you get started as an entrepreneur and how old were you? I had my defining moment on March 16, 2008 at age 23. I was sitting in my cubicle at work surfing the internet, tired and bored out of my mind (5PM couldn’t come quicker) and somehow, somewhere I came across the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) and it changed my life in a really BIG way. I remember thinking to myself, “I can get paid to help people organize?!” UM, yes, sign me up!! If you know me, you know I am obsessed with organizing and always have been. Growing up as a kid, my bedroom was always organized and color-coded, I absolutely LOVED back-to-school shopping and organizing, and I always used to get excited to put away the groceries after going to Giant or Safeway. Clearly, I was born an organizer.

Was it easy to start a business being so young? Um, no. Starting my business was not easy. If fact, it has been a very long road since Day 1. I’ve made a million and one mistakes, I’ve been scared and, at times, felt very lost. In the beginning I felt as if starting a business wasn’t the right thing to do (nobody in my family had ever started a business before) and I should just work in the corporate world for the next 40-50 years. However, I quickly learned that it was okay to break the mold and do something different. Everything I have done since 2008 has been self-taught. One of my favorite analogies is by Jack Canfield, it goes something like this: Imagine a huge oak tree and your job is to chop it down with an ax. Seems impossible, right? Well actually it’s not. Think about this: Obviously the tree isn’t going to come down the first time you swing the ax, however, the more you swing into it, the closer you are to chopping down the tree. Eventually the tree has to come down and it always does. It’s the same concept with starting a business, just gotta lean into it and it all falls into place eventually.Sounds pretty accurate to me. So long story short, it’s been hard, really hard, but totally worth it!

How has becoming an entrepreneur changed your life? My life has changed in the most amazing ways and it’s because I’ve taken action to seek out opportunities that will lead me to fulfill my wildest dreams. I read this amazing quote yesterday “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations” and I cannot agree more. It seems as though any challenge that is set in front of you is really just an opportunity to bring you closer to your end goal. How you handle the opportunity is fair game.

So what exactly is it like to be a young entrepreneur? Honestly, life is crazy. Crazy in a good way though. I am almost always working from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, five or six days a week. Is it a bad thing? No, I genuinely love what I do so it doesn’t feel like work, it feels more like a fun school/art project with no due date.

What is your schedule like as a young entrepreneur?

• Monday – I usually wake up at 7AM. I try to reserve Mondays for ‘Marketing Mondays’ which means, working in my home office on administrative tasks/projects like marketing, bookkeeping, lead generation, social media, new ideas, etc. Basically, I spend my Mondays running the show from the time I wake-up until around the time I go to bed. It sounds like so much work, and it is, but I take small breaks throughout the day to make lunch/dinner, do laundry, run errands, etc. I don’t do client work on Mondays, I strictly work on growing my organizing practice.
• Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday – Tuesdays through Thursdays I wake up at 5 or 6AM and begin helping clients at 8 or 9AM. I use my calendar to guide me through my day. I go from one coaching call to the next educating, motivating, and supporting clients through the organizing process. No matter how long the days are, the feeling of satisfaction from helping so many people from all over the world organize their spaces always keeps me motivated. Tuesdays through Thursdays I also fit in In-Home Blueprints for my DC clients, which requires me to travel around Virginia/Maryland. Typically my client calls and appointments come to an end around 5 to 7PM. After that I wrap up loose ends from the day and begin preparing for tomorrow.
• Friday – Fridays are reserved for creating videos (this is actually something new). I recently started doing YouTube videos on organizing (subscribe if you want notification each time I upload a new video with organizing tips) and it’s been a blast. So now, I am reserving Fridays for creating organizing videos with helpful tips people can easily implement themselves from the comfort of my super organized home. I also reserve Fridays for going out to breakfast or lunch with clients or strategic alliances. On occasion I’ll take off Friday, make a piña colada (with a cherry and an umbrella), and start the weekend a little bit early
• Saturday / Sunday – So what do I do with my weekends? I usually don’t work on weekends except Sunday evening when I prepare for the week ahead. On occasion, I will work weekends during my busy seasons. However, I love to spend the weekend doing fun activities with my wonderful fiancee Ed, or with family and friends trying new restaurants, picking fruit in the fall or summer, going on a weekend getaway, or lounging around and relaxing. Afterall, what’s the point of life if you can’t enjoy yourself?

What’s the best part about being a young entrepreneur? The sky really is the limit. I love knowing there is no cap on what I can do in this world and that anything is possible. I also love the excitement of setting and accomplishing goals. Nothing is more rewarding than checking off your goals once you meet them. When you accomplish a goal, it’s reassurance that you’re on the right path in life. It’s an amazing feeling.

What’s the hardest part about being a young entrepreneur? You are literally responsible for EVERYTHING. There is no bigger ‘boss’. You are it. You have to be very goal-oriented, therefore you are accountable to yourself. If you don’t have the right motivation and are unable to keep promises to yourself, then you will not be able to achieve your goals and ultimately fulfill your dreams.

What’s the best advice you would give somebody young who doesn’t like their current job? If you dread getting up in the morning to start your day, you’re on the wrong path and need change. Find your passion in life. Find something that makes you genuinely excited to get out of bed in the morning and begin your day. It is possible! Whatever that passion is, don’t ignore it, follow it. Never, ever, ever give up no matter what happens or what someone says. Anything amazing that exists in this world began with a single thought inside of someone’s head. From that single thought, action was taken and something incredible was created.

The rest is to be continued