Celebrating still being here

It’s April 11th and that means it’s Consultant Journal’s fourth anniversary! Woot woot!

Four years ago today, I registered ConsultantJournal.com. I had a dream and a vision. I wanted to help other people learn about consulting. I wanted to share my experience with others and to help them realize the power of pursuing your dreams.

At the time, I had a small baby, I was teaching at the college level two nights a week and I was getting my consulting business back up to speed after spending much of the previous year on business planning and rebranding — and taking a modified maternity leave from my business. (Let me emphasize that running my business before kids was a different experience than after.) 

Just after I launched Consultant Journal, I was in a car accident. I suffered terribly from whiplash — even through my next pregnancy. I had to make changes to allow me to deal with the reality of my physical limitations. I had to build my business as a business and not as a job — more than ever before.

Today, I have two kids. My business is bigger than before I had kids. I’ve got a team of people working for me and with me. I take more risks in my business. I’ve got a more predictable income stream. My business is better than ever before.

So I’m celebrating still being here — and still thriving. There are ups and downs in any business and many of us mix joy and accomplishments with fears and uncertainty — that’s human! But I’ve got not one but two businesses that have survived and thrived — Consultant Journal and my marketing consulting company.

And I’m not alone. Despite what you may have heard about small business failure rates, MOST businesses do just fine, thank you very much. Bankruptcies are more rare than you have heard.

So let’s celebrate still doing this. Celebrate your business — whether it’s an idea or a work in progress. Celebrate being here!