Nobody starts a business from a place of perfect logic.
It’s not like we sat down one day, ran a fully rational cost-benefit analysis, and calmly said, “Yes, I would like to assume full emotional, financial, and existential risk now.”
No.
We start businesses because something in us refuses to shut up. An idea. A problem. A vision that keeps tugging at us like an annoying younger sibling whispering, “You could do this better.”
It doesn’t matter if we don’t have it all figured out. We believe- borderline irrationally- that we can make a difference. That we can build something better than what’s out there. That our work can actually mean something.
It’s not just ambition. It’s this slightly unhinged but wildly motivating internal dialogue that says, “Yeah, I know the odds… but what if I’m the exception?”
And so we dive in.
- Maybe it starts with a Google Doc and a domain name.
- Maybe it’s a logo you don’t even like but made yourself at 2 a.m.
- Maybe it’s waking up in the middle of the night thinking, “What if this could really work?”
Spoiler: you don’t sleep much after that.
Because once you say yes to building something of your own, you’re not chasing a job. You’re chasing meaning. Ownership. The kind of life you can’t find on someone else’s payroll.
It’s exciting. It’s terrifying. And it’s the beginning of everything real.
The Purpose That Pulls You
People think we start businesses to make money. Sure, money matters. Bills exist. Freedom isn’t free. But for most of us, that’s not the fuel.
What really pulls us is purpose.
- It’s the refusal to spend our lives making PowerPoints for problems we don’t care about.
- It’s the deep knowing that our ideas aren’t just nice, they’re necessary.
- It’s waking up and thinking, “If I don’t build this, who will?”
There’s something strangely spiritual about it. You’re not just starting a business. You’re answering a calling. One that sounds a lot like, “This matters. Do something with it.”
And yeah, it gets intense.
You start seeing the problem everywhere. You talk about it at dinner. You rant about it to your spouse. You rewrite headlines in your head while brushing your teeth. You’re not just interested in solving it. You are low-key obsessed.
You know it won’t be easy. But there’s this fire in your gut that keeps saying, “It’s worth it.”
It’s why we keep going when no one claps. It’s why we work weekends, not because we have to, but because we actually want to. It’s why we can feel exhausted and energized in the same hour.
Because when the work is aligned, it feeds you in a way no paycheck ever could.
And even when it’s hard even when it’s messy, there’s this steady voice inside that says, “Keep going. This matters.”
That voice is your purpose. And once you start listening to it, it’s almost impossible to turn back.
The Reality Nobody Warns You About
Starting a business is romanticized until you’re in it.
From the outside, it looks like freedom. Flexibility. “Being your own boss.” From the inside, it’s more like emotional CrossFit with no rest days.
Nobody tells you that entrepreneurship means waking up some mornings feeling like a genius and going to bed convinced you’re a fraud. Nobody tells you your to-do list will multiply faster than your revenue. Nobody tells you that half of your time will be spent Googling + ChatGPT’n things you thought you already knew.
And the boss you left behind? Congratulations. You now work for someone much more intense. Yourself. She’s wildly ambitious, deeply impatient, and never really logs off. She also tends to bring her laptop to brunch.
The reality is this:
- You’ll make decisions with limited information and full consequences.
- You’ll question your own judgment at least once a week.
- You’ll celebrate a win, then panic about how to repeat it five minutes later.
You’ll spend hours creating something you love, post it online, and watch it get three likes… two of which are from your friends out of pity.
You’ll draft the perfect offer, launch it, and immediately start wondering if you priced it wrong, marketed it wrong, or just are wrong.
And yet, you’ll keep showing up. Not because it’s easy. But because even when it’s hard, it still feels right.
Because deep down, you know: this is what growth looks like. It’s chaotic. It’s uncertain. It’s not glamorous.
But it’s yours.
You’re Always “On” But Weirdly, You Don’t Mind
When you run a business, your brain doesn’t really shut off. There’s no clean separation between “work” and “life” because, in many ways, your work is your life. It’s an extension of who you are, what you care about, and what you’re trying to build.
You can be out for a walk, supposedly clearing your head, and suddenly you’re thinking through your next offer or replaying yesterday’s client call to figure out what could’ve gone better. You’ll overhear a conversation in line at the grocery store and find yourself analyzing it for messaging cues. Even your showers stop being peaceful because your best ideas seem to show up right when there’s no pen or phone in reach.
And yet, even with all of that constant mental load, you don’t resent it. In fact, most days, you welcome it.
There’s something uniquely fulfilling about knowing that all the energy you’re pouring into your work is going into something you believe in. You’re not staying up late to meet a deadline for someone else’s quarterly goal. You’re staying up late because you’re obsessed with solving a problem that matters to you.
The traditional idea of work-life balance doesn’t really apply here. Sure, there are moments when the lack of boundaries catches up to you. But more often than not, the messiness of it feels energizing, not draining. It feels like you’re living with purpose even if it’s chaotic.
You care. Deeply. Maybe even too much. But that care is what drives you. It’s what fuels your creativity, your consistency, and your desire to keep going.
And while your brain may never truly clock out, the truth is, you wouldn’t have it any other way.
What You Gain That No One Can Measure
Building a business changes you.
Not just professionally, but personally. It rewires how you think, how you spend your time, and how you define success. It forces you to get clear and sometimes painfully so, about what actually matters.
For me, the biggest transformation hasn’t been the revenue or recognition. It’s been the way I now live my life.
Because my business is big, but not at the expense of being a present mother. Not at the expense of being a present partner. I’m not interested in building something that requires me to disappear from the people I love.
There is no perfect balance. That myth needs to die. What exists instead is a daily recalibration. Some days are smooth, others feel like a three-ring circus. There are missed naps, rescheduled calls, spilled coffee, and tears… sometimes mine. But then there are Wednesday afternoons where I get to pause everything, pick my kids up from school, and spend the rest of the day exactly the way I want to. Not because I squeezed it in, but because I designed it that way.
And every day, without fail, I get to have lunch with my husband. We sit down, talk, reconnect. Not in a rushed “did you remember to pay the bill?” kind of way, but in the quiet presence of knowing we built a life that lets us show up for each other not just for work.
These things aren’t perks. They’re priorities. They’re why I do what I do.
Because here’s what I know: My business is infinite. It can grow, evolve, shift. But my time with my children is not. And my time with my partner – the everyday, ordinary moments – that become the fabric of a relationship that’s not infinite either.
So yes, entrepreneurship has given me financial freedom, ownership, and creative power. But more than anything, it’s given me the ability to choose.
To choose how I spend my time. To choose who gets my best energy. To choose a life that feels deeply meaningful, on my terms.
It’s Not Always Easy, but It Is Worth It
Running a business is not the easy path. It will stretch you in ways you never expected. It will test your patience, your confidence, your resilience, and your sense of direction. There will be seasons that feel like a blur of late nights, hard conversations, and decisions you’re not sure you got right.
But through all of it, there is something steady underneath the chaos. Something that keeps you going even on the days when it feels like everything is working against you.
It is the knowledge that this life, imperfect and unfiltered, is one you chose.
You are not stuck in a job you tolerate. You are not pretending to care about work that drains you. You are not building someone else’s dream at the expense of your own.
Instead, you are creating something that reflects who you are. Something that matters. Something that gives you the space to live with purpose, presence, and peace.
It does not mean you have everything figured out. Most days, you won’t. But you are building forward, with intention. You are redefining what success looks like. You are proving that it is possible to grow something meaningful without losing yourself in the process.
So if you are in it right now, somewhere between the pressure, the possibility, and the quiet joy of it all, know this:
- You are not behind.
- You are not broken.
- You are building something real.
And that will always be enough.
