Celebrating One Year of Self-Employment

I originally wrote this piece for my business website, but decided it also was very appropriate for this site. Plus, I don’t get to post here as often as I’d like, so yada yada yada two birds, one stone …

Wow. That’s all I can say about the past year, and that’s a wonderful thing.

It was 12 short months ago — June 1, 2013 — that I officially launched Why The Fuss? Technical Solutions with nothing more than an idea, a loose plan of what I wanted to do and accomplish, and a small loan from our savings account.

You better know who you are
And where you come from
Lay the path to the place where you belong
From the day you were born
To where you trod on
No one holds you to limitation

— Steven Rene Jacobo | Tribal Seeds

The past 52 weeks have had their highs and lows. Thankfully, things have mostly been on the positive end of that scale. But one thing that was certain on Day One (and it has applied each and every day since) is that I learn something new every single day. Whether it be the trials and tribulations of business accounting or struggling to overcome an obstacle that arises during website construction, I come away from each and every day with a sense of accomplishment and achievement.

And that is exactly why I decided to go all-in and start this business. It is also why I included the Tribal Seeds lyric at the top of this post. Ironically that song pulsed through my ears as I began to write this and, as Steve’s words so often do for me, it just seemed apropos.

I have always known where I come from, but for many years I struggled with my career path. What am I here to do? How can I best use my skills and talents to help others and advance myself?

Sure, I have the education to do whatever I am asked to do, but I often finished the day feeling somewhat unfulfilled. Working in a cubicle, answering to someone else, never really suited my personality, no matter how good or bad the situation and supervisor was.

It’s not that I can’t answer to someone else; it just always has frustrated me when that person was unresponsive, irresponsible, uninvolved, unintelligent — or all of the above, which is what I encountered in the job I held immediately prior to launching WTF? Technical Solutions.

I now sit here and contemplate what the future holds for me and WTF?, and I am very excited about both. Failure is neither an option nor a goal, but it certainly could become reality if I allow myself to become detached from the day-to-day ups and downs of self-employment.

But I won’t let that happen, and there is one simple reason why: I finally found my path and I will wake up each and every morning and do my best to pave that path to success.

In this job, I don’t complain about the need to work long hours, evenings, and holidays (although sometimes my loving and very supportive wife might tire of it …).

In this job I don’t finish a project and walk away knowing that I could have put more into it, because I love what I do and want my work to reflect that.

In this job I have finally found my direction, and there is no limitation to what I can do or where it can take me. I won’t let anyone outwork me or tell me that I should do things differently.

I finally have found my calling. And it feels fantastic. Thanks to everyone who has helped make the first year a success, and here’s to many more!

Cheers,
Eric Kuznacic
President, Why The Fuss? Techncial Solutions