Fourteen years ago this month I took a chance on being my own boss. Having worked in the corporate world as media relations and e
mployee communications manager, and briefly in the agency world, I was eager for independence.
Like any rational person used to a weekly paycheck, the prospect of finding clients and managing a business on my own intimidated me at first. Securing a part-time consulting gig with an aerospace company made it a little less overwhelming. That company would be a key client over the next decade.
While not all clients had that kind of staying power, I’ve been incredibly fortunate. Venturing out solo all those years ago turned out to be the right choice for me — giving me freedom to guide my own destiny and find what I most liked to do. In my case, that’s storytelling! 
In my time as a strategic storyteller to organizations, I’ve met amazing people and helped them tell their organization’s story. A few highlights include:
– Developing and launching a PR strategy for the world’s most respected U.S. high school robotics competition as it made its debut in Georgia.
– Interviewing public health’s most celebrated ‘disease detectives’ over the last 50 years.
– Communicating how leading business schools are educating the next generation of business leaders.
– Interviewing visionaries at NASA, the DoD and the private sector who are opening up the full potential of space for exploration and communications.
On a personal level, I became an author and connected with other writers and storytellers:
– Writing a memoir after losing my mother to lung cancer that paid tribute to the bond of mothers and daughters in the face of devastating illness from tobacco addiction.
– Researching and drafting an historical novel set in my hometown of Dayton during a catastrophic flood, a project I hope to complete this year.
– Showcasing other writers and storytellers on The Writing Well, the blog I launched in October 2009.
Special Storytelling Feature in October
In celebration of my blog’s “birthday” and my company anniversary, I will feature my clients’ own storytelling journeys every Thursday in October. Those featured encompass a diverse range of industries and communication challenges. They each have redefined their own communication styles to reach and engage their audience.
Also, on Monday, The Writing Well welcomes author-blogger K.M. Weiland, who will talk about common pitfalls of story structure based on her book, Structuring Your Novel.
To conclude, I would encourage anyone who has ever dreamed of guiding their own destiny and pursuing a creative venture to do it. Make it happen.
As purpose visionary Joey Reiman told me during a blog interview last year, ” purpose drives everything…it engages, enlightens and enlarges one’s capacity to live a genuine life.”
So, above all, pursue your passion. Doing so in my life has given me so many blessings. While I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey before marriage and motherhood, being independent has allowed me to be more present in my children’s lives and to get closer to the elusive goal of work-life balance.
I leave you with the final quote from Vitaly Tennant’s “My Time Matters Blog” post about the 15 greatest entrepreneur quotes:
“Experience. Dream. Risk. Close your eyes and jump. Enjoy the freefall. Choose exhilaration over comfort. Choose magic over predictability. Choose potential over safety. Be Bold. Be Fierce. Be Grateful. Be Wild, Crazy and Gloriously Free. Be You.”
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