Most of us had dreams or aspirations as a kid. Some want to be a Doctor when they grow up, while others hope to become a fire fighter, police officer, teacher, or serve in the military. All of these and many other occupations are certainly noble professions and important roles in our society. But how many of us actually grow up to become what we dreamt of as kids?
I had many dreams as a kid. Like many boys growing up in the 70’s and 80’s I wanted to have a long and successful career as a professional athlete, motorcycle patrolman, musician, or sports broadcaster. In fact, the answer to the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” might change weekly.
In the end, I graduated high school and headed off to college to major in broadcasting and my career path was set… until it wasn’t.
Like many 18-year-old kids, I realized I simply wasn’t ready to make a firm decision on how to spend the next 40 years of my life and halfway through college I knew that broadcasting was NOT the career path I wanted to pursue.
While admittedly feeling a bit lost at that point, I decided to shift my focus to what I was good at and leveraging my strengths.
Since I had God-given leadership skills, was extremely detail oriented, and possessed a strong aptitude for business it made sense for me to pursue a career in business management. Over the next 14 years, I held several management positions that afforded me invaluable experience in administration, employee management, operations, and sales. As I embarked on that path, little did I know it was preparing me for something so much bigger… so much better.
After nearly 14 years in the corporate world, I made the decision to walk away from it and pursue my own path. I knew it would not be an easy transition because I was approaching my 35th birthday at the time, had a family to support, and had absolutely zero experience starting and running a business.
For some this would have been a difficult decision to make, but for me it was just the opposite. After years of experience in the business world, I knew I had compiled a wealth of knowledge and experience that I could use to help other people be successful and though the path I had taken to become a business consultant was a bit circuitous, it was necessary.
So what were the founding principles of my consulting business?
While this is different for everyone, there were really 3 core tenants for me:
These were my founding principles when I started out nearly 15 years ago, and I have not strayed from them. In that time I have served hundreds and hundreds of business owners and learned many valuable lessons that have blessed me on my journey. I will share just a few:
If you are thinking of starting your own entrepreneurial journey or searching for your purpose, I hope this window into my life and the path I’ve followed will inspire you to take action. If you’d like to talk it through with an experienced consultant, I’d love to talk with you and see if I can help. You can reach me at kent@kentgustafson.com.
Schedule a one-on-one call with Kent to create a financial plan with lasting impact.
