6 lessons from my first year as an entrepreneur…

One year ago today, I traded my VP title for a blank business card.

After 20+ years climbing corporate ladders, I suddenly had no ladder at all. Just me, my laptop, and the terrifying freedom to build something from scratch.

Here's what nobody tells you about Year One of entrepreneurship:

The identity crisis hits harder than the income dip.

For months, I stumbled over the simple question "What do you do?" I'd spent decades introducing myself by my title. Without it, who was I?  (I wrote about the struggle here)

But that discomfort taught me lesson #1: **You are not your job title. You never were.**

The other lessons came fast and messy:

**Lesson #2: Your corporate skills are both your superpower and your kryptonite.**
My ability to build strategies? Invaluable. My desire for consensus before moving? Had to go. I spent too much time trying to make things perfect when I should have been having conversations.

**Lesson #3: Revenue is a terrible first metric.**
I measured success by impact first, income second. Sounds naive? Maybe. But the executives who transformed their careers because of our work together? That momentum created more business than any marketing campaign could.

**Lesson #4: Lonely and alone are different things.**
Some days I missed the buzz of office life. But I was never alone. I have created a new community of fellow entrepreneurs and cheerleaders that help keep me energized and motivated. 

**Lesson #5: Imperfect action beats perfect planning.**
That workshop I was nervous about? Sold out. The "perfect" program I spent months designing? Crickets. The market teaches you faster than any business plan.

**Lesson #6: Success requires a new definition.**
It's not the promotion or the bonus anymore. It's the client who texts "You changed my life." It's building something that matters to you.

One year in, I can finally answer "What do you do?" without hesitating:

I help executives, and their teams, create careers that make them excited to get out of bed in the morning. Including my own.

To everyone thinking about taking the leap: It's scarier than you imagine. It's also more rewarding than you can possibly know.

The ladder you're climbing? You can build your own.

What's the biggest lesson from your first year in something new?