When the Scary Stuff Happens.

There's a lot to be scared of while starting a business.

So far, in my involvement with Thread, the excitement, the passion, the learning, and the fun has all out weighed the scary.  And then a scary thing happened.

The thing where I am leaving my day job, a bit earlier than I had originally anticipated, and am taking the leap into Thread. A leap into a time period of an unreliable paycheck, part-time work, and having to be very aware of how I spend my money, and how much I have left.  Which, hey, from what I understand is part of the whole start-up thing at some point.

Luckily, I'm in decent shape.  I supported myself as a student, and I can do it again. And the encouragement of my family and friends and colleagues as I made this decision has been nothing short of wonderful.

What really surprised me is that unemployment has loomed as big scary threat since I joined the ranks of the working world. What if the recession catches up with me, what if the non profit I work for doesn't get funding, what if I lose my job?

And then when the actuality of not being salaried stared me in the face, I took a deep breath (ok, first I panicked a little and then took a deep breath), and, made a plan. I emailed contacts, set up interviews and part-time options, looked at all of my accounts, and realized it was going to work out.

Because I'm not losing, I'm gaining. I'm gaining the opportunity to focus on what I want to do with my life right now, rather than having to shove it to the back burner until after work hours. I'm gaining the joy of waking up to go to an office I can't wait to get to, where I spend my day surrounded by smart, brave, funny people.  I'm gaining the chance to really make this work. And if it means living like I did as a student for a little while, than so be it.

I'm grateful that I have something in my life I feel this passionately about, that I'm willing to take a risk for.

So sometimes, the thing you thought would be so scary happens, and you realize that its not actually that scary at all. And then, there's no limit to what you can do.