The Next Five Years

June 2020 marks five years in business for Faith Wachter Consulting, LLC.

Whoa.

Most small businesses fold within the first five years so if you’ve made it that far, you’re more likely to survive the next five years. Indeed, this is a significant landmark for me as a business owner.

I never pictured myself as a business owner or entrepreneur.

I just knew I had a certain level of expertise in one area, and people were seeking me out for that knowledge. I had to learn on the job what was required to be a successful freelancer. I think about my first clients, and how they generously took a chance on a new consultancy. I think about my early days of networking and the smart women freelancers who advised me on how to build my business from scratch.

Then I think about the several instances over the last five years where I wasn’t sure my business would survive. Clients come and go, contracts begin and end, opportunities ebb and flow. As a business owner, you learn on the fly how to refine your message, cultivate new leads and clients, and fine-tune your service offerings to meet market demands. You have to cover your business expenses, manage your team, and manage your clients’ expectations. While you’re pulled in a thousand different directions, you have to maintain your focus and manage your growth.

I think a lot about the last 3 months when a global pandemic and recession threatened to upend businesses in every sector and in every geographic area. Logically, I thought for sure that this was the end of my little boutique agency, but instead, it was another beginning. The new at-home culture effectively elevated the importance of social media marketing, and suddenly my services were in demand.

I think about what I’ve learned over the last five years, and there’s one thing I know for sure:

I love what I’m doing. AND, I’m having fun doing it.

Surprisingly, I love being a business owner and the freedoms it affords me. I love working with my clients and helping their businesses to grow. I love managing a team of whip-smart women who teach me something new every day. In addition, I love the additional whip-smart businesswomen I meet through networking who inspire and motivate me to be a pro-active problem-solving entrepreneur. I get to create my own solutions and chart my own path. I love being part of a dynamic, innovative industry that will only continue to grow and evolve and gain prominence. I love being in charge of my day, and I love being in charge of my own destiny.

These first five years have been a RIDE, for sure.

My business has dramatically transformed from how we started in 2015. Whatever the next five years have in store, I expect that it may not be what I picture now. I know that I’m surrounded by a tribe of supporters that will continue to help me push through it. Meanwhile, I have plans and goals to sustain our momentum into the next five years.

I’m forever grateful to my team, my clients, my tribe, my family, and all who keep me going. I’m raising a virtual cup of tea to all of you, and to the next five years of meaning-filled conversations online.