Five Things I Learned My Fourth Year of Business: Part 5

Four years ago I registered my business: McEwen Media Consulting. I had no idea what this business would be or what a consultant does. And I couldn’t begin to fathom how much this process would change me. Every year as I mark the anniversary of this pivotal decision, I share five lessons I learned about myself and my business.

This year was the most challenging, so it’s hard to boil the learnings down to five. But as I always tell my clients, share publicly the pain you have processed and learned from. Keep everything else to yourself until it’s the right time to share.

A lot of these learnings have come up in my conversations with other business owners in my new podcast Pivotal. Be sure to subscribe to the McEwen Media YouTube channel to receive new episodes every Tuesday starting May 13.

Your business idea might be part of a bigger calling. You'll never know until you answer it.

Lesson #5: Find Your Calling and Answer It

One core element of my media training is to help clients build a story that is bigger than themselves. The more meaning, the more impact, the more urgency it has, the less pressure you put on yourself to be perfect. It’s instrumental in building confidence. And it’s become instrumental in helping me make better business decisions.

McEwen Media started out as a vague idea. Before it had a name, before it had a business number, even before it had a social media account it was a feeling.

A feeling that I had arrived at a moment bigger than myself. 

After decades of telling other people’s stories, it was time to tell mine. To use my words and my voice to share my experience.

The first idea was actually to start a lifestyle brand for single, child-free women in mid-life. 

Then I thought about being a van-life blogger travelling across Canada with the dog in a camper van.

Then I thought I would be a course-creator and show people how to look better over Zoom.

I didn’t know at the time what these random ideas all meant. It’s only in looking back that I see, my calling was trying to call me.

It was asking me to look at my life - what I’ve experienced, what I’ve accomplished, what I value - and share it with others. There’s value in who I am and what I have to share.

As I started to share what I know about storytelling and media, clients started knocking on my door. They wanted to know more about this, and they wanted to hire me to guide them through today’s media landscape.

Now, instead of telling people’s stories, I empower them to tell their own stories. I know the joy and fulfillment that comes from figuring out the editorial value of one’s life. This is what I coach. 

I know how to tell a powerful story. And I know how to teach others to do the same. I know how to help them find larger audiences. To pitch with persistence. And to build confidence in what they have to offer.

It’s a strange thing when these ideas come to you. It’s never clear how they’ll make you money. It’s never a sure thing these ideas will work out. And you won’t know until you allow yourself to get curious.

My calling is to be a brilliant storyteller.

I answer my calling in my work with McEwen Media - the training programs, courses, workshops, and Masterclasses.

I answer my calling in how I create content. I only know how to create value-rich, informative content. I know how to serve an audience and I’m grateful for the chance to serve this audience.

I answer my calling in delivering keynotes and workshops, which I plan on doing more of in the future.

So many entrepreneurs want the plan mapped out in the beginning. They’re encouraged to write out a business plan before they take any actions. 

I have tried writing a business plan every year I’ve been in business. 

I only successfully completed one this year. Because the idea wasn’t clear until this year. I hadn’t identified a calling and the many ways I choose to answer it - one of which is the business.

For some people they can start with why and move from there. But if you’re following an idea that is bigger than you, it might take years of trial, error, and curious exploration before you find out why it’s chosen you to express it.

As Aflred Adler famously said “I am grateful for the idea that has used me.”

Business is numbers - money comes in, money goes out. You strive to have money left over so you can invest in making more.

Entrepreneurship is something bigger. You’re committing to making something that doesn’t exist. This idea, this dream, will ask more of you than any corporate job or position you’ve ever held before. It changes you. And if you allow, it changes you for the better.