Off the Clock – The Day I Officially Starve to Death

You think you have timeForgive me, I am a new student to the Law of Attraction, and at the time didn’t know any better.  When I first started my business, I carefully budgeted out my meager start-up fund (aka – severance pay) and marked my calendar “The day I will officially starve to death.” – tongue in cheek, I kidded with my friends that it was my “do-or-die” date.  If I didn’t start making money by then, I would have to quit my entrepreneurial endeavors and find a J.O.B.   The hard part was, because no one was hiring, and I was crazy enough to start a business providing a service which is considered “non-essential” (even though, I can tell you a million reasons why coaching IS essential), the date on the calendar became more and more a reality.  As I neared my self-inflicted deadline, I was able to push it off by gaining a new client – and another month went by where I was able to squeak out a months rent, buy enough groceries to eat, and pay my ridiculous truck payment.  If you are taking notes, I want you to write down “How NOT to start a business” – and write next to it “broke, desperate and scared.”

Despite my diet of Ramen Noodles, people were hiring my services – and they were loving the results, and their success inspired me!  This told me that if I had actually had my shit together, if I had started my business on a more solid foundation, wasn’t up to my eyeballs in debt, and wasn’t making fear-based decisions – my business and I would be unstoppable … which was just enough of a carrot to keep me going.  I wasn’t afraid of hard work – I was used to working 60, 70 , 80 hours a week for someone else, and because I was following my passion, the long days and nights building a coaching practice didn’t bother me.

Unfortunately, my resources ran out faster than my business could build up.  One Sunday morning, as I was settling in to watch Good Morning America and write some blog posts, I saw an unmarked tow truck pull into my driveway.  It swiftly backed in front of my leased Toyota Tacoma, lowered it’s tow bar, and in seconds had locked on to my front bumper.  I ran downstairs – still in my pajamas – yelling to the tow truck driver “Wait! Wait! I just made a payment! Wait!”….. but it was too late.  The huge dude who could have a WWF wrestler was unconvinced.  He was nice enough to lower the tow bar down enough for me to climb inside and collect my personal belongings.  A few minutes later, as I stood in my Tweety Bird pajamas holding my seat covers and books on tape, I watched my beautiful cobalt blue truck get towed away.  The last grain of sand fell through the hour glass.

 

This article is part of the #write31days challenge for October 2015. To catch up on the whole series – click HERE.

 

Start Your Dream Business While Working Full-TimeWrite 31 Days - Blazing Trails Coaching - Off the Clock

Follow Priscilla Hansen Mahoney:

Business Leadership Guide and Founder of Blazing Trails Coaching I help business owners and leaders grow healthy, sustainable, and resilient organizations. I help you train your leaders, manage your resources, and create time saving workflows that help you become the efficient, productive leader you were meant to be, and your business and family deserves.

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