You Are Called To Create
Ever thought of starting your own business and being your own boss? Maybe you’ve already got a great job you love (or hate) but wanted more freedom and fulfilment doing what you’re truly passionate about? Or maybe you’ve always wanted to do your own thing but too scared to risk it?
Click this link to get the most of your reading experience.
This series is a work in progress and the goal is to affirm your deep desire in your soul to create.
Have we met…?
I’m Cathy and welcome to my second post. I have spent 4 years of my career as an entrepreneur, trying out 4 different businesses, including the one I’m doing right now Paper Provision.
Throughout these experiences, I have struggled with questions about how to find my unique voice, discern my personal calling (the big “WHY”), figure out my story, and integrate all that with my work.
But, in the recent year, through finding some of the best coaches and authors that later radically changed my perspective on these topics of creativity and entrepreneurship;
I have found deep meaning and validation in what I do, and how my entrepreneurial endeavours can be used to help others who face the same challenges.
Now, I want to share what I have learned with you!
Let’s go back to…
My last 9–5 job was almost 5 years ago where I was worked as an in-house graphic-designer for 3 years in Melbourne, Australia.
It was a great experience and I enjoyed it, but, after a while, I preferred having complete creative freedom than having my boss micro-managed all my creative decisions.
This didn’t happen every time of course, but when it did, I thought… how nice would it be, if no one would have to tell me ever again what I can/cannot do…
My First Business
After dwelling on this rebellious idea for sometime, I decided to start my first business of creating a bridesmaid label, and ran it as a side hustle.
I negotiated a deal with my boss to work remotely for 3 months while I traveled back to my hometown in Jakarta to find a dressmaker I could afford and manage from overseas.
By the end of 3 months, I managed to come up with 7 designs for my first collection! Now, it was time to go back to Melbourne and start the marketing side of the business.
I even bought a book and took part-time internship at a local designer brand to learn about the fashion industry. How to create a lookbook, take measurements and all the basic ins and outs of the fashion manufacturing business, all while still doing my 9–5 graphic design job.
#TheStruggleIsReal
After 6 months, 2 clients, 8 dresses and 1 customer drama later, things started to get more difficult. I didn’t know where to get new customers, my dressmaker wasn’t replying my texts as soon as I expected to, and I was still traumatized by this one bridesmaid whom I had issue with the last time.
Note to self:
Be careful not to over-promise and under-deliver. Especially when you haven’t calculated all the risks.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”
— Jesus, Holy Bible (Luke 14:28)
The drama
My line didn’t offer bespoke designs, only bespoke measurements based on the already-made, available designs. But that one bridesmaid asked if I could do a complete new design (that I hadn’t tested with my dressmaker yet) and I said yes #whatwasithinking?
When her dress arrived, she said she needed to do a few tweaks, so we found a local alteration shop and did the requested changes.
Then she asked if she could get a refund due to the alterations.
I said no.
In hindsight I probably should’ve said yes and at least offered a discount for her dissatisfaction and trouble. That would’ve been a great customer service.
But since she was gonna wear it and keep the dress, I just thought it didn’t make sense.
Anyways. At the time, I made a stupid mistake of caring more about keeping the money than her happiness. I wanted to make my first earning so bad I couldn’t see that customer happiness comes first.
Turns out, she was a lawyer. She started “twisting my arm” with her smart arguments and went on about the poor quality of my customer service, lecturing me on how to run my business.
I think I almost cried (I might have cried afterwards, not in front of her of course). At the end, we agreed on partial refund.
And that was the first time, when I truly, deeply, learnt the true meaning of Customer Service.
Around the 10th–12th month of my first business, I started to lose my fire. I still loved fashion because living in Melbourne for most of my adult years how could I not love Fashion? But I started to resent the path I was on.
I didn’t know how to sew, so when my dressmaker took ages to complete the orders, I didn’t know how to step in and finish the job — which was THE most important job of all!
I felt like I was failing.
So when my passion was down to 5%, I thought, screw this…I’m gonna quit and do something else.
Shoot!
What are people gonna think of me now? It’s only been a year and I’m quitting already? It’s so embarrassing! They’re gonna think I’m a failure!
When you venture into entrepreneurship, there’s this ego-driven urge to prove yourself to the world, to show that you’re capable and accountable for what you set out to do. The pressure to succeed becomes paramount because, let’s face it, if we’re gonna start a business, it only matters if we succeed… or does it? #certainlynotthecasehere
Telling your boss or skeptical friends and family about your entrepreneurial dreams feels like stepping out of the safety net of conformity. It’s like saying, “Hey, I’m taking this leap you warned me about, so wish me luck!” without seeking their approval first.
Not everyone will understand; some might feel offended, others may think you’re crazy or brave (or both). Some may seem supportive but secretly doubt your success. People don’t always say what they truly think, but you can usually sense their true feelings.
In the face of scrutiny, doubt, and the weight of expectations, with fears about what others might think and a pressing need to make a tough decision to prevent further losses, the question arises: what’s the best course of action?
Do what’s right. This is not the time to practice resilience when you keep doing something hard that’s not beneficial. Stop wasting time and don’t get caught up in what others might think. Keep moving forward and maybe have a few responses ready for when they ask why you quit to handle the situation gracefully (read: save face).
“Having a passion that didn’t match my skills, gifts, and talents turned out to be a recipe for disaster.”
“That business? Let’s just say it was like wearing socks with sandals — it seemed like a good idea at the time, but it didn’t quite work out.”
“But hey, I’m glad I gave it a shot. That’s what counts. I learned to be brave, to roll with the punches and bounce back stronger, to handle spreadsheets, build a team, and how to deliver top-notch customer service, among other things.”
“Better to have a collection of wild stories and some spreadsheet skills than a lifetime of ‘what ifs,’ right? Who wants to wake up at 80 thinking, ‘Man, I wish I’d tried that’?”
These answers, seemed to be what they actually are.
Now, everyone’s low-key admiring your guts and pondering if they’d, should’ve, or could’ve done what you did.
They might even kick off a new Instagram account for that hobby they’re ace at, testing the waters to see if it could turn into a side hustle. Who knows?
The bottom line? Even your setbacks are sparking big dreams in others.
Funny how “failures” becomes your bestie when it comes to doing hard things that help you grow.
Sure, you could say my first business didn’t exactly hit the jackpot. But did I fail? Well, maybe. Yet, instead of stumbling backward, I stumbled forward. (sorry for being cheesy).
“But you tried and failed.
“Why not just stick to the 9–5 grind? It’s safe, right? You get that steady paycheck every month. Why keep risking it all?”
“You’re not a millionaire with cash to burn. Business is risky, and you don’t know how it works. You still don’t. What makes you think this time will be any different?”
I wonder whose voices I’m hearing.
Is it my own voice? The self-doubt, the fear? Am I not good enough, smart enough, lacking what it takes? Or is it the voice of reason, the rational me? It’s hard to decipher. These conflicting voices seem to protect me while also holding me back.
Will I want to try again after failing my first business? Absolutely!
Because I want to build my own dreams! Not someone else’s.
And, I prefer calling the shots as my own boss. Guess you could say I’m a bit rebellious that way. Or maybe just embodying that true millennial spirit 🤔.
“Discerning the gifts God has given us takes some experimentation and failure, especially if you are exploring the path of entrepreneurship.”
Called To Create, Jordan Raynor.
Thanks for reading this far! I hope you’ve found some inspiration. Do you seek validation of your entrepreneurial abilities? Wondering if you’re truly called to create? In my next posts, I’ll dive into personal stories. For now, here are some quotes that resonated with me during times of doubt. Let them sink in; you might find your answer. Enjoy!
“You are created in the first image of The First Entrepreneur, the One who brought everything out of nothing, established order out of chaos, and created for the good of others. Why does this matter? Because this truth validates the deep desire in our souls to create.”
Called To Create, Jordan Raynor
The first thing we learn about God in the Bible is not that He is holy, loving, omnipotent, or omniscient. The first characteristic He reveals to us is that He is creative!
Creativity is in your DNA. You are made in the image of a creative God.
When we create, build, and cultivate, we are in some mysterious way bringing God’s entrepreneurial image to bear upon the world.
#CalledToCreate Devotional “The Gift Of Work”
“If you are passionate about entrepreneurship and creating new things, gifted at your craft, and have been given opportunities to use those passions and gifts to love and serve others, you are called to create.”
Jordan Raynor in #CalledToCreate (Chapter 3: Discerning Our Calling)
“God has given each of us measured amount of time here on earth. Some more. Some less. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. Thus, we must harness our God-given ambition to lay all our efforts on the line. Urgency should be the mark of all we do. We ought to create as if it is our last opportunity to do so. We ought to lead as if the torch will be passed on in the morning. We ought to work as if our labors will cease tonight. Why work with such urgency? Because, in fact, we are all running out of time. Whether you’re age twenty or seventy, none of us are promised tomorrow.”
#CalledToCreate Devotional ‘Tick Tock’
Before You Die Live The Life You Were Born To Live.
“When you come to the end of your days, you will not measure your life based on success and failures. All of those will eventually blur together into a single memory called “life.” What will give you solace is a life with nothing left undone. One that’s been lived with relentless ambition, a heart on fire, and with no regrets. On the other hand, what will haunt you until your final breath is who you could have been but never became and what you could have done but never did.”
— The Last Arrow.
The Last Arrow
is your roadmap to a life that defies odds and alters destinies. Discover the attributes of those who break the gravitational pull of mediocrity as cultural pioneer and thought leader Erwin McManus examines the characteristics of individuals who risked everything for a life they could only imagine. Imagine living the life you were convinced was only a dream.
Get the book here.
If you enjoyed the post, please help share on your social media so more people can be inspired, or give me some claps, or leave some comments :)
