Rosetta Thurman just knocked my brain for a loop. For those of you who don’t know, Rosetta Thurman has been working in nonprofit sector for a long time, has been featured on the Foundation Center website, and has just written a book called “How to be a Nonprofit Rockstar.”
She said, “I’m no longer a nonprofit professional. I’m an entrepreneur.”
And she articulated something that I’ve been interested in addressing for awhile, but didn’t know how to say.
Rosetta writes,
“Managing a nonprofit and managing a small business are very similar. When I was working full time as a nonprofit employee, I had mostly isolated myself within the sector when it came to my colleagues and continuing education. There was already so much to keep up with in our own little community, that I rarely ventured out to conferences, trainings or even blogs that dealt with more business-focused topics.
Boy, did I miss out on some good stuff.
Now that I’m in business for myself, there’s so many new things I’m learning about management, sales, marketing, finance, social media, etc. And leadership.
Yes, leadership. However you want to define it.
Helping people. Exerting your influence. Teaching others. Making sh*t happen. That’s what it’s all about. For me, at least.”
And honestly, that’s how it’s been for me too. I want to help people, teach people, and make things happen. And that doesn’t have to happen under the label of nonprofit professional, or development professional. It will happen, for me, under the label of entrepreneur. I’m going to own that now, too.
Obviously, I’m still helping nonprofits achieve their missions, and consulting with them. However, over the last several months, my clients have been more and more businesses and individuals who want to improve their social media presence, digital marketing chops, and earning capacity.
I’ve started to sell a lot more ebooks, and do a lot of speaking engagements and teaching around how to create your digital marketing presence. And I like it! I like the direction my business is going.
So, do I still want to help social causes? YES. Do nonprofits have the market cornered on do-gooding? NO.
So much of my life revolves around helping people become financially independent without a job, that I have some conflicts about continuing to help people find jobs, which is weird. For years I advocated and helped people find jobs in the nonprofit and government sectors. And I still think that if that’s your path, good for you!
But I’ve found so much joy in being an entrepreneur over the last two years that I wonder if more people who are unhappy in their jobs now would be happier as entrepreneurs.
I mean, for me, the transformation is palpable.
Internally and externally.
Example? I went back to see a close friend in Portland, and she told me, “Your face looks so peaceful now. You have this inner peace radiating from within.” And you might that’s just a nice compliment, but then I went to a post office that I used to frequent, and one of the postal employees said, “Where have you been?” I said, “I moved away” and he said, “What have you been up to?” And I said, “I’ve been doing my own thing” and proceeded to go down the list. He was impressed, and said, “You look so much happier now.” And so there you go. Unbiased evidence that being an entrepreneur can make you happier.
So, what’s going to happen here?
I will keep writing here for now. And I will keep writing my book on social media and digital marketing, and to that end, I’ll be writing more over at Treyz Social Media. I’ll be writing tweets @wildwomanfund. AND I’ll be tweeting at @ctrlsearch as well. Feel free to follow me on Ctrlsearch if you want more tips on how to brand yourself online, create multiple streams of income for yourself, and become more financially free, as well!
Other than that, not much will change.
I’m the chief marketing officer in a project that is kind of like Yelp for everything, we’re seeking Angel funding right now, and that’s pretty exciting to be involved in.
There’s so much going on that I am so happy and I am overwhelmed too.
Do you ever feel caught between two worlds too?
Tell me your story.
How do you deal with the disconnect?