What better way to celebrate July 4th, then by declaring your own entrepreneurial independence. Read the stories of these amazing TPEs and how they gained their independence. Then go out and launch your own company! HAPPY JULY 4th from all of us at The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur!
1. Do What You Love
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I declared my own independence by leaving the insurance industry to pursue my passion. I am now the proud operator of websites that provide customized advice to people who play fantasy football and baseball! Happy 4th of July to everyone!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I’m a big believer in being of service and living my passion, so about two years ago, I decided to “go for it” and declared my independence by creating a business I love. Today, as a certified coach, and the proud owner of Wellness journeys, I’m honored to work with solo entrepreneurs who want to run a successful business AND lead a healthy, balanced life they love. Happy Independence Day!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I started my business last May. For me it has meant freedom, control, energy, authenticity, fun, expanding of mind, educational, challenging, rewarding, and determination. It is also difficult to motivate and focus at times without that someone standing over me (oh, thats me). It has been worth every bit of exhaustion I have experienced.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I found myself needing to work from home. I was soul-searching for what I had to offer in the way of helping others solve problems, when one of my cats looked at me and as if she said: “Me and my brothers want you to write a book on cat behavior and share secrets”. The rest is history….. I have never had more fun! I am now an author sharing my passion on radio.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: It only took 50 years, but I finally got a collection of poems published. Now I am part of many prestigious poetry events, by invitation! I am grateful for my new creative lifestyle. Let’s celebrate this weekend!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I declared independence from waking up at the same hour every day and drinking bad coffee with powdered creamer in my cubicle. I did this by fulfilling my dream of manufacturing and distributing beaded unique and affordable fashion handbags. I will admit that there are some nights I don’t wake up early because well.. I am already awake but there is nothing better than setting your own appointment schedule and drinking good coffee.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I have recently declared business independence by deciding to restructure my biz and close my chocolate retail store and keep the events/e-commerce going. WOO-HOO!!! It has been a strain/drain on my previously profitable biz since I opened it. I take my hat off to those who have success in bricks and mortar retail. Since I made the business decision and let go of any delusions about failure, I have been much happier and people have been saying how great I look! Do what you love and you will achieve true independence.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: My venture is successful because two of us are working on it. We bring different skills to the business that compliment each other. We both have the same core skills (technical expertise in SEO and web development). Everything is easier if you can bounce your ideas off someone else and have them find your mistakes before they go to the client.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I was well trained, well experienced, and loved helping others positively impact their vision. That translated into “now is the time” to open my own consultancy and assist business owners with their dreams. Setting my own hours, soliciting my own clients, developing my own work habits, and integrating family into the mix have given me independence! Independence to me is simply that I schedule my tomorrow, not someone else! I hope every entrepreneur can find happiness in their independence as I have since hanging out my shingle 6 months ago.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I declared my own independence by writing a book to help others with their finances. I have received some positive feedback and enjoy helping others. Happy Independence Day!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I gained business independence by default. I was laid off in fall of 2008 and took it as a pure sign that my deep-seeded entrepreneurial desires needed to be followed. I had freelanced prior to returning to the corporate world but being laid-off recently just validated that I had bigger, better things to accomplish. It validated that people out their need what I have to offer and that it was time for me to take hold of that independence and run with it. We’re here for a reason, and my purpose is to help others get the buzz for their products and services they so deserve.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Our 5 year old company is breaking industry standards with sales, growth and potential. Helping women and staying home with my kids has been my passion. I am able to have the best of both worlds with business independence. As a homeschooling, WAHM of 3 boys, this is why I do what I do. Passion is the key, once you have that you can have anything.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I express my gratitude on a daily basis to the Man Upstairs for allowing me to escape cubists (those who work in office cubicles) and, instead, to do my own writing thing from my home office. It took courage to start my start-up but I’ve never backed down from the challenges. Today, I have a long client list of Fortune 100 and government clients,
and an even longer list of publications (60 books to date). Vive l’independence et les independents!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Two years ago I decided to ignore the common wisdom that you can’t make a living as and artist. Since then I have work a full time job while creating art, starting a business, and marketing it. When I started it thought it was just about making the art, but now I know it really is all about the networking and relationships. The internet has made that so much easier. Daily I learn of new ways to connect and grow my biz online, and so much of it is free! Experts (and me) agree, you must have website, and blogging and social media properly used are the tools for today. So get to it and get connected!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I gained my independence by starting a pet sitting business just over 6 months ago. In addition to providing pet sitting and dog walking services, I use my business as a tool to promote pet adoption and also to help owners find new homes for their pets when circumstance demands. I donate a percentage of my earnings to the local Humane Society and offer discounts to clients who have rescued their pets. By making community mindfulness an integral part of my business model, I have been rewarded with a great reputation and profitability in a relatively short time period.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I was trapped in a business relationship that hadn’t been working for years, it was almost like an abusive marriage but I was a partner so it wasn’t easy to leave. This year I decided I’d had enough and declared my independence, opening my own digital agency (we do website design, video, etc). Leaving was definitely a Tom Cruise Jerry Maguire moment, but to my shock almost all our clients eventually decided to come with me. It was awesome.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I declared my independence by leaving a long term career in academia and starting a writing, speaking and coaching business. My previously stifled creativity now gets to soar (along with my bank account!). I am proud to be an expert in self employment for women over 40.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: After years of being a corporate mom then a mompreneur, I was overwhelmed with two things: 1)trying to find the elusive work/life balance and 2)being amazed and frustrated by rude people who seem appear from nowhere and create barriers. So, I became a Corporate Etiquette and International Protocol Consultant. Now…I can schedule coachings/seminars when it works for me (and my family), I can enjoy the benefits a my own successful business and soak in the feel-good effects of paying forward what I’ve learned from childhood through today: It behooves you to behave.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: After being laid off from my job as a software developer earlier this year, I took the opportunity to turn my photography side business into a full-time career. I now freelance for several St. Louis magazines, regularly shoot weddings and families, and help companies of all sizes with their photography needs. I’m working incredibly hard, but I set my own hours and I am doing something that I love.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: My business partner, Carla Falcone, and I enjoy the indpendence and flexibility that Psi Bands provides to us as mompreneurs. It is incredibly fulfilling to provide a product that helps so many find nausea relief – without drugs. Psi Bands are stylish acupressure wrist bands for the relief of nausea due to morning sickness, motion sickness, anesthesia and chemotherapy and are selling nationally at Rite Aid as well as many other retail and online locations. Enjoy a nausea-free July 4th!
After working 70+ hours per week for someone else for years, last summer I decided to leave my secure job, with great benefits, in order to start an internet startup company based in real-estate. A tech-startup in real estate, during the Great Recession? Yes. I realized that I was about to turn 30 years old, didn’t have a family to support or childrens mouths to feed. Having always had an entrepreneurial-drive, I realized that the time was ripe.
WHAT IT HAS MEANT TO ME:
Starting my own company allowed me to take control of my life, once again! Within the first six months I shed the excess 60-pounds off my body. This was a difficult life change, but one that was required. Through working my own hours, I was able to make time in the middle of the day to eat properly, work out 6-times a week, and visit my nutritionist twice a week.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I declared my independence by standing in my power & doing what I love. The Billion Dollar Beauty Club has been a vision of mine for quite some time to bring women together to beautify & value themselve. It’s my life purpose. I’m fiercely committed & dedicated to bringing out their best so they live happy, healthy & successful lives from the inside/out.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I declared my own business independence because life is too damn short to do something that you’re unhappy with. I decided to start a business based on a lifestyle that I enjoy, through a brand that I created…Snoloha “Somewhere between the islands & the arctic”. My goal is to promote this lifestyle and brand through clothing and accessories for all the guys, gals and little ones out there who also live the Snoloha lifestyle (or want to).
I even gave myself a fancy title – “Purveyor & Explorer of the Snoloha Lifestyle” Still not sure I know what a Purveyor is.
Life – Enjoy it. Carry a vacation mentality through it. Slow down. Do nothing.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I wake up every morning grateful that I get to do what I love to do and have the opportunity to write, create and share my knowledge of and enthusiasm for marketing and wellness with people. Coaching them to live a life of intention by following their passion and intuition. This gives me the independence and freedom to be all that I am and all that I will be.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Having started a business with my husband means:
- not having to answer to idiot bosses who assume they know more than me
- rolling out of bed with a smile on my face because I can work in my pajamas and could care less (most of the time)if I have major bed head
- sheer delight in knowing I’m doing it my way
- being with my kids
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Try to get on a board of a company or organization related to your business. It will give you access to ideas and people, and give you a sense of credibility. Plus you’ll be giving back – and karma is always a good thing.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I started my business on May 15th this year when I resigned from my stable employment with a larger insurance agency in Miami, Florida. My sales were stable this year compared to last year, which was excellent in this environment, but I could not continue to accept my lack of control over my own destiny. I dealt with one month with no income, and the following month, I was very profitable, with a very nice pipeline. I owe this to my long term real and online networking endeavors. A quote that really sums up my views which someone told me recently is, “I rather die on my feet, than live on my knees”.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: One of the best ways to business independence that I know of is affiliate marketing. No, I’m not promising anyone fast cash here (as some self-proclaimed “affiliate gurus” do all around the place). It will require a lot of learning, tweaking, testing and improving (i.e. hard and persistent work); but if you stick with it, it’ll pay off. Happy Independence Day, America!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I got my independence when I quit my job as the Chief Information Officer of a large real estate finance company in New York, donated everything that I owned to charity, and moved to Bangladesh to do a Fulbright Fellowship. When my Fellowship ended in December 2007 I decided that I enjoyed my new found freedom and international lifestyle too much to return to the monotony of Corporate America. Consequently, I decided to stay in Bangladesh and start my own company to create socially and environmentally responsible resorts in developing countries.
To me, “independence” has meant the freedom to develop an idea that I am really passionate about, work the hours that I want, explore exotic places, and create a company that makes a difference as well as a profit.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Six months ago I took stock of where I was and decided I needed to change things. I just didn’t know what to change. So, I did what I usually do in uncertain times…pray. I prayed that God would show me what He wanted me to be doing, and immediately got an answer – organization and time management. So, I began to ask for specific things (i.e. “I need to know how to do xyz…”) and I would find the resource or get the answer very quickly. As doors closed one after another on my direct sales career of 10 years, doors were opening in the area of organization and time management. So, in the past 3 months, I resigned from my direct sales company, launched my new company OrganizeNOW, LLC, wrote and published a book, recorded a 4 CD training series, and established myself as an expert in the field with regular coaching clients. Making this transition was remarkably easy, very blessed, and very freeing. I definitely gained my “independence” with this move, and I have learned that when God shows you a path, you need to take it.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: My wife and I started The Alternative Press, New Jersey’s all-online daily local newspaper, in October after I practiced law at a firm in the City for five years. To be my own boss and be able to spend time with my wife and 2-year-old, and at the same time, serve my community, has been the greatest gift and I am truly celebrating my independence this July 4th holiday.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I was laid off last October. While I should have been worried over how to make ends meet without having to ask my wife to put grad school on hold, I came home immediately and started networking to see what was out there. Within 2 weeks I had clients sending me freelance design projects including the company that had just let me go. I’ve always toyed with the idea of starting my own business, but never knew how to get clients. My business independence has forced me to learn the business side of the design industry, and surprisingly it has ignited a new passion in my work. The strange thing is that getting laid-off made me realize how valuable my skills are for my clients.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: For years I worked for bosses, whose only goal was to take and take again. However my life took on greater meaning when I became financially independent. I could actually control my own destiny and income level.
It was a blessing in disguise when I first started my freelance writing business. Then I began seeing the need to help others improve English, and so I began my ESL training website.
To me financial independence means freedom. I am no longer guided by a clock on the wall, or someone looking over my shoulder.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I declared my business independence last April and so far it has felt a lot like the early American’s trying to throw off British rule (I embellish of course) back in the 1770’s. Difficulties, economic collapse, discouragement, frustration (sometimes bordering on despair), but thankfully, friends, family, trusted colleagues, happy clients, and the entrepreneurial community all seem to providentially provide the needed boost in spirits to keep charging – and, more often times than not, at just the right time. If there was ever a time to solidify whether you are wired for entrepreneurship, undoubtedly it has been the intestinal-fortitude-building recession of the last several months. Admiration to the brave souls still charging forward!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: George Page stepped out on faith and took six weeks vacation from his cushy chemical engineering job from May 25 to July 4, 2009. He packed his bags and headed to Atlanta, GA, a growing entertainment hub. In the midst of the toughest economic times that his generation has ever seen, he took a huge gamble. If all goes well with the launch of GotADemo, George plans to return to work on July 6, 2009 with his resignation letter in hand and make his move to Atlanta official. Thus, for George Page, Independence Day has taken on a whole new meaning.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I claimed my professional Independence the minute our website www.webmarketingtherapy.com went live. Seeing my blood, sweat and tears launch into a real virtual company was so liberating. No more senior management! I was now part of a self-directed team, relishing the ability to create my own professional destiny and support my team as they claimed theirs. That privilege is personal and professional freedom and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Gaining business independence in the current economic environment is extremely challenging and not knowing when and how successful I will be. However, standing in the unemployment line and tweaking countless resumes to hopefully get an interview with some smuck that has no clue how good I am was worse. So I went with my gut, hard work and “get it done attitude” 18 months ago. As a result, I know some friends who were in the same situation but they are still waiting for the right smuck to call them back. Bottom line – get on with it and start your own business; nothing compares.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Summer of 2008, I lost my job as a restaurant private events manager. I decided that it was time to stop working for other companies who didn’t fully appreciate my expertise and put all of that knowledge to the best use – for myself!!! Starting my own company has been beyond words. I get to provide my event clients with exactly what they want without being bound by the red-tape and rigid corporate structure that working for someone else imposes on you. It is truly amazing to get to do my passion, on my own terms and reap all the rewards that go with it!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Write a business plan, even if it is on the back of toilet paper. Review it with a business coach – not a friend or family member – someone who can and will be objective. The first part of the business plan should be your elevator pitch – what makes you unique. This will open more doors than you can count. Last, Believe more than you fear! Enjoy every minute of the journey because soon you will be living the life you thought you could…should!
My Entrepreneurial Independence: I received my business independence the day I realized I could turn a name into a positive message. Proverbs 18:16 states that a man’s gift will make room for you and bring you before great people. This means everything to me knowing that as long as I use my talents doors will always open for me.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: Start saving like crazy and working nights and weekends setting up your own business so that you will be ready if a voluntary layoff is offered or you are laid off. When the layoffs come you will be ready to make the big leap to independance!
I am very happily independant and thrilled to be my own boss although I can be a bit demanding.
My Entrepreneurial Independence: My family opted-out of the rat-race as we were preparing to have our first child. We simply refused to work sixty hours a week at a job we hated and while paying someone else to raise our children. Today, we plan our workdays around the things that we value most in life; time to play with our children, time to spend with family and friends, and time for an afternoon nap. We have chosen July 4th 2009 to begin sharing our business plan with other families like our own. It’s time more family opt-out and choose independence.
Walking the Talk – Declaring the Independence! « Loving Life Blog Says:
July 4th, 2009
[...] missed the deadline for the TPE post – but do read the full list and get inspired by clicking here. What would be your declaration of independence? And what will it be next year? Nudge, [...]
Barb Finer Says:
July 4th, 2009
Yahoo (the non copyrighted version)! Way to go folks.
I am working with 4 others to start a business that gets other startups their first customers [tech-based companies, product almost done, New England]. We’d done it as ‘in-house’ team members and decided it was time to do it for others.
How’s that for the startup that leads the startups? It’s our way of paying forward all that we (l)earned along our path to gray-hair-dom.
–Barb Finer
bonafide inquiry of more info on this new venture may contact me directly at my personal e-box: befree1010 at hotmail
Entrepreneurial Independence « Siobhan Shaw’s Blog Says:
July 6th, 2009
July 3rd, 2009
[...] Story about biz owners declaring independence that I am in [...]
July 3rd, 2009
[...] the name of Independence Day, Mike asked serial entrepreneurs to share their entreprenurial independence story.
July 3rd, 2009
Nice post Mike. Thanks for putting it together. I hope everyone has a very nice 4th tomorrow!
July 3rd, 2009
[...] As we are approaching the July 4th holiday weekend. I would like you to remember … Everyday Is Independence Day! Check out Tip #24 on the Independence Blog. Definitely worth celebrating http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/entrepreneur-indepedence-declared [...]
July 4th, 2009
[...] missed the deadline for the TPE post – but do read the full list and get inspired by clicking here. What would be your declaration of independence? And what will it be next year? Nudge, [...]
July 4th, 2009
Yahoo (the non copyrighted version)! Way to go folks.
I am working with 4 others to start a business that gets other startups their first customers [tech-based companies, product almost done, New England]. We’d done it as ‘in-house’ team members and decided it was time to do it for others.
How’s that for the startup that leads the startups? It’s our way of paying forward all that we (l)earned along our path to gray-hair-dom.
–Barb Finer
bonafide inquiry of more info on this new venture may contact me directly at my personal e-box: befree1010 at hotmail
July 6th, 2009
[...] http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/entrepreneur-indepedence-declared Leave a Comment [...]
July 7th, 2009
awesome stories and awesome information. there is nothing like working for yourself is there…
July 10th, 2009
Amazing information and very realistic. I quite liked it. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.