And so the worrying and the stress begin...again, I'm turning 28 next year and apparently there's so much I should have achieved, so much money I should have saved up and that I should be earning so much more...
Unfortunately or fortunately my life took a different turn at the age of 25. I found myself working a permanent and comfortable 9-5 job with ok benefits, nice cubicle, basically living, a life nothing close to my dreams. I was not content,I knew my strengths and capabilities and I had a clear vision of how I'd like to live one day and what I'd like to be doing. I did some job hunting and another ok job came along and I took it for the sake of a better pay but most importantly for the sake of something new, I yearned for a new start.
Just to give you a bit of background I'm an entrepreneur, I studied fashion and retail and have extensive experience in design, manufacturing, buying and merchandising. I know what you're thinking and yes to add on to your thoughts this is an industry that won't necessarily make you a millionaire unless you start a business, work hard and Lady Luck pays you visits often, we know, we know but we empower so many people in our supply chain and I truly believe that retail and consuming proudly South African product can strengthen the economy in a major way but that's a conversation for another day.
Back to my quarter life crisis, I resigned from the the new job I got months down the line because my employers could no longer afford to pay salaries, people were resigning and it was all way too much to handle, I was trapped once again. I decided to put my big girl pants on and start a business with my savings, knowledge, contacts and experience.
My business started off great which was so unexpected, over time though I've experienced all sorts of challenges, cash flow, late deliveries, black tax, missed debt payments you name it it has happened. As challenging as this life is my business is growing, I put my all in it, it's rewarding financially at times and sometimes it isn't and when it isn't I often get questioned, I often get told to go back to a permanent job,I get asked when I'll accept that entrepreneurship won't let me live a safe and secure life as a woman who wants a husband and kids... Who's going to want to end up with someone who currently had nothing truly tangible to show? In my quarter life crisis find myself surrounded by impatience and I become inconvenient to so many people around me.
I become withdrawn and start to train my mind to know and be confident in my journey and in my cause. I put a lot of things into perspective and learned not to let my emotions get the best of me because most hardships are temporary, no hardship lasts forever. Growing up and the challenges that come with it actually make you wiser which sort of makes aging a positive. Material gains can be attained overnight and can be lost the night after that. If you're going through a quarter life crisis find comfort in the fact that older equals better. Go after your dreams and work hard at it! There's no better time than right now! Put yourself first and if you're in your late 20s like me just take it easy, watch what you consume and keep a clear & sound mind you'll be good things will be ok.
As an entrepreneur you'll have more than one or two crisis, embrace the hardships,learn from them and keep your eye on the prize, the amount of growth and knowledge gained is invaluable! We need people like you to change the world so don't give up.