What I Learned in My First Two Years in Entrepreneurship
“Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire” (St. Catherine of Siena).
As Catholics, we believe that our purpose here on Earth is to become saints and inspire others to the same.
One of the most impactful ways we can accomplish this purpose is by leaning into our unrepeatable God-given “genius” — the unique combination of personhood, talents, and experience that never has been and never will be again in any other person. With tending, pruning, and refining, we become who we were created to be and contribute to the world.
Entrepreneurship, for me, was so aligned with this understanding. “You mean, I get to earn an income while changing the world and becoming a saint? Sign me up!”
It’s not the easy life, for sure. Satan hates it when we make it our main focus to become who we were created to be. There’s resistance, struggle, and constant recalibration — every day.
I wouldn’t trade it for all the comfort and “safety” in the world.
Here are the nuggets I’ve learned in my journey so far:
Learn to Embrace Failure
“You have to fail before you succeed.”
I always sort of thought this statement was a kind way of trying to make people feel better. Yeah, yeah, that’s nice — but not for me. I’ll get it right the first time. (Insert sound bite of God’s loving laughter.)
Then, I observed my almost-three-year-old fighting to learn to put her socks on. The first time, not much happened; she couldn’t even get a toe in. She was angry with that sock, and she eventually accepted help.
The next time, she kept getting the big toe in, and she’d push and push to get more of her foot in, but that darn big toe would come popping out and throw her backward from the force. That really made her angry (and rightly so!). With empathy and support, she accepted help.
We’ve had maybe 25 rounds of this, and she’s not there — yet. She can now get her whole foot in the sock, but she needs help getting everything in the right place. And almost every time, there are tears and frustration. Then, we celebrate her making it further than she ever has before.
That is entrepreneurship. Even when you’re following a formula, a program, a path, or a coach, you’re still doing something you’ve never done before. No one else can figure out for you quite how you’re going to give birth to your genius and serve like no one else can.
In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you must learn to embrace progress over perfection. Growth — not “getting it right” — is what matters. In seeking growth, you grow. In seeking perfection, you are continually defeated.
You Are Not What You Do … and You Are
Your worth is not in what you do. Your worth is God-given. Every human person has value and great worth, period. And you will always be a child of God in this world.
You are, however, called to do something with that value — to become the person who fully exemplifies that value. Otherwise, it is wasted.
We become what we do, what we practice. Want to be a person of integrity? Practice integrity in everything you do. Want to be a healthy person? Make healthy choices. Want to be a person who contributes to everyone you meet? Practice putting on a smile for every single person. Even when you’re stumbling out of the bedroom at 5 a.m. and the kids haven’t slept and neither have you, and you feel like doing anything but smiling.
Smile. It will change the world. (I’m still working on this one!)
Make Peace With Money
I have seen so many amazing, generous, kind-hearted Catholic would-be entrepreneurs burn out before they barely get started. More times than not, it’s because they are rejecting the very tool they desperately need.
What’s a successful entrepreneur? Only you can answer this question for yourself. For me, it means creating the greatest contribution I possibly can. And in order to make that contribution, I had to make peace with making money.
Not with chagrin. Not with embarrassment. Not in hiding. But with passion, receptivity, and unending gratitude.
Money is neither good nor bad. It’s just a tool. But it’s a powerful tool in today’s world for obtaining resources; employing others; giving generously; and creating freedom of time, energy, and relationship.
Do you have to make a lot of money in order to be successful? Of course not. It depends on your definition of success. But I do believe that in order to be a successful entrepreneur, you must make peace with making money. Even a lot of it. Because the more you make, the greater impact you can contribute.
Make a Great Story
Living a boring story will not make you a great entrepreneur.
In her relatable and laugh-out-loud book “Your Blue Flame,” Catholic comedian Jennifer Fulwiler beautifully inspires her readers to come alive by finding and practicing their “blue flame” — in other words, doing what they were created to do. I believe that practicing your blue flame is essential as an entrepreneur.
“Too many of us live in prisons we’ve constructed for ourselves where the bars are fear and perfectionism,” Fulwiler writes. “The fastest way to break yourself out is to stop asking, ‘Will I fail?’ and start asking, ‘Whether I succeed or fail, will it make a great story?’”
Stories without risk or failure are boring. And in boring stories, the main character doesn’t grow. She doesn’t really live. And she doesn’t inspire others.
The struggles and challenges, the overcoming of great odds, the lowest failures and the highest successes, and the courage of great risk make you stronger. They also make up the very story that inspires others to do the same.
Anna Saucier is business growth and mindset strategist and advocate for change in women’s health care. She’s also a Franciscan University of Steubenville alumna, expat digital nomad, and mama to two littles. Follow her work at www.annasaucier.com and on Instagram @realannasaucier.