From Entrepreneur of the Year, to Rock Bottom and Back

May 1, 2008, I started my journey as an entrepreneur and life has never been the same.

Like all entrepreneurs, I started my business because I knew I could change the status quo and help move the needle in advancing our industry forward. In 2008, I co-founded a website design company with my best friend. He was an art major and I was a self-taught web designer, so it was a great partnership. We also shared a common belief that the web and websites needed to evolve and we were willing to use the latest technology available to make this happen. We loved pushing the boundaries and building websites using technology not yet fully embraced by the masses. We were also very fortunate to have had clients who allowed us to be progressive.

Over the years our reputation for progressive web design and customer service started to grow and so did our company. In 2014 things were looking up. We had our best revenue year on record, gained some high profile clients and our reputation continued to grow. We also know that it was time to move our company in a new direction to keep up with where the web was heading and what our clients expected in terms of helping them grow their businesses. It was an exciting time.

I ended 2014 on top of the world and with great expectation and hope for 2015. The year started out great! We picked up more clients, we started charting a new course for the business and I had an unexpected meeting with some of the leaders from the city we do business in.

In February, 2015, I was awarded with the Entrepreneur of the Year (remember that meeting I mentioned above?). I had the honor of appearing before our city council and being presented with the award by our mayor. It was a moment I will never forget. It was humbling and I was so grateful that I was chosen. It’s a highlight of my entrepreneurial journey for sure.

Things were good. 2015 was showing great potential and we were coming off a great 2014. I had high hopes and was excited about the future of my business. It was a place all entrepreneurs aspire to be. All the hard work was paying off.

Things would suddenly go from great to rock bottom. As the year progressed the challenges began to mount. The deals we had in the pipeline dried up, we couldn’t buy new clients and our bank account started dwindle. This isn’t the first time we had hurdles to overcome. It’s the ups and downs of business. I was hopeful that things would turn around and continued to work hard to turn things around. Nothing changed, in fact, things got worse. For the first time I was terrified that I was losing my business.

As the year progressed, things continued to get worse. Things started to change with me as well. I started losing hope, I questioned my abilities all the time and I began to wonder if I wasted 7 years of my life. I felt lost and my passion was gone. This had a major impact on those around me. My relationships suffered and my business suffered even more.

The darkest moment of my journey came in October, 2015. It was the start of the end. My business partner and I decided that is was time to close the business. Even though it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made, it was the right one. We officially closed the doors the end of December.

How does one go from having an up and coming business and receiving Entrepreneur of the Year to having nothing? What happened? What lessons did I learn from all this? And where does one go from there.

Passion. I didn’t realize how powerful one word could be. If you are an entrepreneur, this one little word is the difference between success and failure. Over the past couple of months I’ve come to realize that the reason our business closed had everything to do with my lack of passion. Passion is a strong driver. It motivates you to keep going and to get back up when you get knocked down. It influences your decisions, attitude and leadership. It is everything.

I had to take a step back and figure out what was next for me. I did a lot of soul searching and asking myself some hard questions. I’ve listened to the advice of friends and family. I got knocked down pretty hard and needed to know where I was going to head next. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. If I was going to move forward I needed to rediscover my passion again. I am happy to report that I did just that.

On January 4, 2016, I am launching a new venture. I don’t know what the future holds for the new business. I don’t know if it will be successful or not. What I do know is that I am glad to be back.

As an entrepreneur things get tough sometimes. It’s hard work. You will experience highs and lows. You will have major wins and take some loses along the way. You might even hit rock bottom sometimes. Don’t give up. You are not alone. Find that passion within that made you want to be an entrepreneur in the first place and hold onto that.

You can do it, I believe in you.