Wait. What? I have to work at 11:00 p.m. now? Building a business isn't as glamorous as I'd hoped.

Originally posted on LinkedIn on December 22, 2015.

Here I sit, newly spawned independent contractor and entrepreneur, recently downsized from oil and gas, and starting a new project at 11:00 p.m. The seed of my own business has been germinating for quite some time. Getting "downsized' seemed like an opportunity. It's now 2:04 a.m. in Newfoundland and I'm starting a new project for the night. What have I done?

The desire to do my own thing has been brewing for some time. In some of my recent positions, I've known more about my field than my supervisors. Most of the time, that has been ok. Sometimes, the frustration made me think that I could do it better on my own. Circumstances conspired to make that happen, and now I've taken the leap and trying to make that desire a reality. This opportunity seems to be dressed in overalls and feels like work.

I'm getting some leads, doing some work, keeping some clients happy. The thing is, this is so much harder than getting a regular job. Creating leads is hard. Finding work for next month is challenging. Losing sleep sucks! That never happened in my 9-5. Even now, this post is procrastination - I'm avoiding the hard work! But, another thing is, this is as rewarding as heck. I'm my own boss, I'm working to keep clients happy and I'm doing good work. Losing sleep feels like an investment. What I've done is started a new journey, and the success of the journey is up to me.  

Enough whinging... off to work I go!