In the beginning of any new adventure, fear is natural. But to reach your ultimate dreams, you have to take the leap of faith. That’s why I’m sharing my leap of faith moment with the Niche community. Hopefully, my story inspires you to take the next step to reach your dream career.
I’ve celebrated a lot of milestones over the last five years of my business. Just yesterday I was reminiscing with one of my videographers at FYN Creative about the early days when I went out on my own as an entrepreneur in the Fall of 2014.
I had given my 2 week notice to Rutgers on 9/18/14.
I had 90 days of health insurance for my wife Courtney and I.
I had about 3 weeks of a “paycheck” left and close to $4,000 saved, of which $3,200 was from my Kickstarter raised to write and self publish my Niche Movement book.
The Niche Movement, which is my passion project, was the vehicle that pulled me out of my day job and into entrepreneurship. I had a business plan for it in my head, but I also knew that it wouldn’t support me full time, nor did I want it to. Because it’s a community to help young professionals.
So, I decided to harness my digital storytelling skills and take on any freelance or consulting work I could.
It was probably the first week of October and a matter of days after I left Rutgers that I had to start hustling. I spent hours developing my own website for my personal brand, creating a portfolio, and trolling craigslist and any other freelance job boards I could for gigs.
I had already had one client I was doing some freelance video work for, but I needed something more in order to keep me busy and realistically to bring in income. Courtney had just become a WeWork member from her startup job, so I jumped on the member board one day and saw someone was looking for social media consulting.
I immediately sent a professional message, linking to my website, and within an hour we had exchanged emails and set up a phone call.
On that phone call, all I could do was be myself. Even though my discovery calls now are a lot different, I was asked for a social media consulting proposal.
At the time, I’d never done a proposal before. Luckily, my fellow entrepreneur, Michael DuDell, was gracious enough to jump on a call and share a template of his proposals. Next thing I knew, I sent my first proposal and landed my first client after striking out on my own.
That client was Circustalk. I worked with them through the first quarter of 2015 helping them establish their social media presence and teaching them the tactics to launch their startup. For the next 2 years, Circustalk and I stayed in touch and the company had a reboot in 2017. Last summer I even did a webinar to update them on current social media best practices.
Last week, Circustalk gave me a call to deliver some big news.
They told me they have been asked to deliver THE social media workshop at a circus professional and artist conference in Spain this fall. During our call, I also realized they have amassed over 16,000 Instagram followers (all real and organic) and have over 20,000 registered users on their site.
My call last week with Circustalk really brought my journey full circle.
Looking back, the beginning of my entrepreneurship journey was a true leap of faith. Not only was I living on less than a 90 day runway, but I also had to start from scratch living and working in a new city.
Almost 5 years later, I have been trusted to work with more than 50 organizations between FYN Creative & The Niche Movement, have had more than 20 interns/contractors/part-time staff, and have built 3 solid revenue streams that now bring a 6-figure revenue for my business over the last 2 years.
Take it from me: the beginning is going to be scary and completely unknown. But if you are the type that has tenacity mixed with a little bit of audacity and skill, you’ll make it. Go chase your dream before it’s too late!
If you have any stories about striking out on your own, please Email us! We’d love to share your story to inspire others to take the leap of faith.