We all have that “dream job”. You know the one that you obsess over and orient your entire life around in hopes that one day you will climb your way up the corporate ladder, and finally get the job that is going to define the rest of your life. Well, the reality is that this dream job might not be the success marker you were looking for. Surprisingly, you might fall into something by chance that ends up completely changing your life and perception for the better. 

I wanted to be a sports reporter and I aspired to be just like Erin Andrews. Sports is something that I’ve loved at such a young age and the thought of being on the field after the rush of a good game and having the opportunity to interview athletes just filled me with happiness. It was what fueled me to skillfully major in communication and even went to grad school to help my chances of securing a top-tier job as a sports reporter, and I did it, well actually, I was close. I was fortunate enough to secure two internships at the MLB agency and the NFL agency. 

The thing about going into a field or having a dream job is that the majority of the time there are 10 folds of people gunning for the same dream and that reality hit me like a ton of bricks. Entry-level positions were hard to come by, even if you had the experience. For every entry-level position there were 20 times more people applying for it with a stronger resume than yours. I still powered through with my dream and kept interning and applying, but another thing they don’t teach you is that entry-level pay still isn’t enough to cover the bills. I decided to take on a side hustle as I worked on striving for the perfect job. 

It was here that I had my awakening. For my side hustle, I did what any other 20-something was good at, I started helping people with their social media. From here I just ran with it and the next thing I knew I opened my first social media agency Lone Star Digital Content. After some time of growing my company, I was ready to take on some bigger responsibilities. I dove full force into coaching and consulting, which led to the creation of Madison Tinder LLC in August 2018.

Your College Degree Doesn’t Define Your Career

I’m sure we all have had our high school teachers tell us that what we major in college will define the rest of our lives. I’m here to tell you that it’s absolutely not true. You can fall into a random industry just looking for an actual PAYING job and you can like it so much more than what you studied in college. However, I will say my communication degree did teach me about the communication industry and helped me strengthen my writing skills, and taught me how to tell stories that I took and applied to my company and clients. You can always take the skills you learn and transfer them into other industries, there are no skills that can’t be transferable. 

Find Out What Your Good At

Like I said previously, your college degree doesn’t define your career but what does define your business is your niche and what services you have to offer. You may have majored in business or marketing and never took a real liking to it, but had this idea that it was going to offer you the most money once you graduated and worked your way up. I hate to tell you this but this takes years, most people strive for the 9 to 5 job because it offers security, but entrepreneurship offers you freedom. When I figured out what I was good at and how I could profit from it not only did I start my own business, I also found myself flooded with opportunities to live my authentic life. If you know that this standard career model isn’t going to work for you then find what you’re good at and learn how to profit from it. 

When Something Feels Right–Run With It 

I didn’t magically just create my business overnight and I definitely did have a lot of doubt when I was first starting out. Just like any other new thing that you’re starting or even a major change in your life, you will face hardships. The goal here is to listen and to trust your gut. As an Intern trying to make my way up the ladder of success, I had a realization it would take me 10 years to ever reach a CEO position. I knew in my heart and soul that I was meant to be a CEO and leader now in my 20s, not at some point in the future. So when my social media agency took off instead of fighting it, I took what I had and ran with it. 

Also Read: https://disruptmagazine.com/how-this-multi-six-figure-entrepreneur-balances-her-time-as-a-brand-consultant/

Embrace the Hardships 

There is no such thing as a perfect business model and there is no such thing as a stress-free way to run a business. There is, however, a way to grow through hardships and this is so important when starting a business. There will be many ways that you can better manage your time, productivity, and execution of tasks, but in the beginning, it will all be trial and error. You have to embrace the mistakes and the hardships to figure out what is working and what isn’t. If you as a leader don’t take the time to audit yourself and how you run your business, you will never learn how to grow and flourish in all the right ways. 

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Madison Tinder is a 25-year-old marketing strategist who built a 7-figure business in just three years and is passionate about incorporating soul into her community of aspiring entrepreneurs. On top of being a successful business mentor for thousands of clients, she is the founder of Soulful Scrunchies and is the host of the Soulful Social Podcast. You can visit her site here or follow along on Instagram.