A career-changing moment or experience
CEO
entrepreneur
in Pursuit of the Dream
While posting an update on my Facebook wall, I was struck by a help-wanted ad that made me drunk with
excitement. It seduced me back to the
days when I looked for other peoples’
approval and respect via job interviews,
which I viewed with the same enthusiasm others reserve for diamonds or a
ridiculously expensive car.
Even when I started my first business
in early 2000, I still went on interviews
with just about anyone who asked ...
just for fun.
I felt a strange kind of high getting
ready for the interview, picking out the
perfect outfit and heels and styling my
hair. I couldn’t wait to get in that room
with my interviewer, to be grilled about
my experience and my vision for my
life three to five years from now.
But here’s the twist: I did not want
a job and had no intention of accepting
it even if it were offered it to me. This
reverse power play— with the candidate
(me) being interviewed for a job she
really did not want—was too exciting
to pass up. It fed my desire for other
peoples’ approval.
Last week, when I saw Facebook’s
ad for a marketing and communications director, it stirred this same desire
again. Although a successful entrepreneur for over 10 years, I felt compelled
to apply for the job, actually going so
far as to update my resume. I wanted
the chance to interview, get the offer,
and have the immense pleasure of
turning it down!
Sometimes, I dream about the early
days of owning my own business, when
interviewee
the idea of the steady paycheck was a
strong temptation. If you are a business
owner or entrepreneur, you probably remember the allure of the regular
paycheck and the 9-to- 5 routine with
weekends free, two weeks of paid vacation and sick leave. It sits in your memory
forever. But after tasting the misery of
unfulfilling jobs in gray cubicles, you
realize you never want to return.
Do you hear the primal call to take
hold of the American dream, to break
free from the paycheck and pursue your
own destiny as boss and trail blazer?
As a CEO and entrepreneur, I can tell
you it is the toughest job one could
purposely choose—and no interview is
required. Just guts, hard work, years of
no pay, and steadfastly holding to the
dream of succeeding.
For those of you who have lost your
jobs in the last couple of years, and are
bravely heading to entrepreneur-ship, I
want to encourage you to hang tough.
I now run a very successful company.
I am a book author and sought-after
public speaker. Being an entrepreneur
has filled my need to become bigger and
better in ways that a steady paycheck
never could provide.
Heather Lutze is a nationally recognized speaker, trainer and consultant in search engine marketing, pay per click (PPC), search engine optimization
(SEO), and social media marketing. Yahoo!
Search Marketing trusted her to train their
advertisers for more than two years, and she
is currently a monthly columnist for Website
Magazine. Lutze is author of Findability
Formula, the Easy, Non-Technical Approach to
Search Engine Marketing, and has owned the
Findability Group for the past 10 years.
