All the Phases of You: Why Your Journey Makes You Perfect for Your Business

Have you ever wondered if there was something deficient in you for being multi-passionate, or living a life of many (many!) pivots? I was reflecting on this about myself the other day after a conversation with a friend -- and was inspired to write this post as one part introducing myself, and one part encouragement to other career wanderers who've become entrepreneurs!

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I was on a road trip with a friend. We were talking about how she felt a bit lost. There were all these things she’d done in her career she loved and excelled at, but now she was in limbo trying to decide what to do next. Was she a loser for not having these external signs of continued success at 40? 

That’s when I shared with her something my second mom, Dotty, (aka, our childhood babysitter) said to me about 10 years ago when I was feeling like a complete flake with no purpose. “Sarah, there is no waste in God’s economy.” 

What she meant by that was that everything we experience in life – the good, the bad and even the ugly – is fuel for fulfilling our purpose and forming us into the people we are meant to become, with the skill-set or mindset for whatever will come next. (Of course, we need to be “awake” and open to growing, but that is another topic, for another day.) 

Think of all your past versions of Self as good compost for the garden of You – and for the business you’ve created!

When I think of it this way, all the things I’ve done in my career really do make me perfect for this “job” as an entrepreneur, ads manager, business coach, and leader of a highly collaborative team.

Here are 10 snapshots of all those Career Sarahs! As you read, maybe this will strike a chord with all your versions of You!

1: Community Activist

Out of high school I got a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from York University in Toronto. It turned a personal love of nature and commitment to the environment into a calling. Together with my friend Ange, we organized and ran an organic community garden – we ran workshops and field trips, too. I just loved working with all ages as a facilitator and educator – and I realize now, it was very entrepreneurial, too. Later on, I worked for several summers at the High Park Nature Centre and taught Outdoor Ed with the Toronto District School Board.

2: Classroom Teacher

The question, though, was “How do I get paid a living wage to do this work?” So I decided to get a Bachelor of Education to become a teacher. I thought I could use that degree to get a better paying job in an environmental NGO, but ended up pursuing the classroom. I definitely had some adventures that I loved (like spending my first year of teaching at a school in Ghana, West Africa), and adventures that were hard (a LOT of supply teaching). I could have signed a contract for permanent work, but something in me knew I felt boxed-in and unhappy. (I didn’t have the words for it yet, but this is where my proto-entrepreneur started to emerge.)

3: Non-Profit Manager

 I’ve got a heart for causes, and a skill-set for organizing people. So I found my way out of the classroom by working for five years with two large non-profits. I learned about big budgets, strategic planning, team leadership, and yes, lots of bureaucracy and politics along with transformative work for “people and planet”.

4: MarComm Manager

I’ve always loved writing. I’ve kept a journal since grade 8. I won the English Award my graduating year of high school.  Every job I’ve had, I’ve always done communications and marketing – officially and unofficially. I even dabbled in adding PR to my portfolio working with a local start-up hub for Tech Sector entrepreneurs and in my local MP’s office.

5: Yoga Instructor

 Life never goes in a straight line, does it? I love movement (in life and in my body!). It’s a key way I experience wellbeing and spiritual practice – it could be dancing, on a bike ride through the ravine, or on my yoga mat. I’d personally dabbled in yoga through my 20s, and being a natural teacher of almost anything, I volunteered to teach relaxing yoga to families at a local refugee settlement home. But it wasn’t until I was at a yoga class and the instructor didn’t show up and I easily subbed for her that I knew I needed to get my yoga teacher training. So, for the last 10 years I’ve taught casually – mostly in community settings – but there’s something coming for Niche Up Digital in 2024 that will integrate movement as part of the entrepreneur’s self-care kit!

6: Green Office Consultant

After leaving a toxic work environment, I decided to set out on my own as an eco-entrepreneur. It was 2007 and the economy was booming, and businesses were eager to integrate sustainability into their practice, but many had no idea how. It was a great idea in concept, but I had no network outside of my former workplaces, and no on-the-ground experience with actually running a business. It’s a learning curve, right? But then the subprime mortgage crisis hit with a follow-up recession. . . it was just bad timing to be a green start-up. Back to searching for a J.O.B. for me!

7: Social Enterprise Director

As it so happened, while I was networking to grow my business, I met the founder of a sustainable fashion NGO called Fashion Take Action. She needed an Education Coordinator. So I started volunteering. It was super fun and integrated a lot of what I already did in my personal life – thrifting, sewing, supporting local artisans with my purchases. What was new for me was being part of producing the fashion and trade shows and styling, but I caught on! Nine years later I was running the youth program called My Clothes My World as a social enterprise with 15 school facilitators. I even started my own side gig as a sustainable personal stylist, called Citizenne Style. However, after years of non-profit wages, it was time for me to move on. The experience was indelible though. I’d now worn all-the-hats and was a professional creative problem solver. I still wasn’t owning the fact that my path was entrepreneurship, I just knew that I enjoyed it.

8: House Plant Maven

Cue the pandemic and lockdowns. After experiencing the overwhelm of being online (controversy, injustice, anger, canceling, mental health, too many Zooms), I decided to really PIVOT from digital offerings and went hands-on with a houseplant + cute pots, baskets and macrame business called Petit Soleil Studio. I built my own Shopify store and even got a Start Up grant! It was actually quite successful. I developed a product line of eco-friendly plant fertilizer and pest control, and developed wellness workshops with yoga and terrarium building that people could do at home. But once the economy started to open up again and inflation affected my bottom line, I decided to close. It was a blessing for that particular time in my life and history.

9: Clean Beauty Maker

During the pandemic I also took on a retail gig working in a local shop that made all their own skin, hair and body care products from raw botanical ingredients. Customers could refill their containers, or buy the raw ingredients to DIY. It was so fun! I felt like a kid in a candy shop with all those materials and healing properties waiting to be alchemized. The Shopify website for this store was next-level because of all the SKUs. This is where I got the inspiration to create my own personal care product for women in menopause called Happy Kitty Salve. I have a Shopify store and “proof of concept” with 200 jars sold – I’m just waiting for an investor or partner to help scale it!

10: Meta and Google Ads Manager & Agency CEO

Which takes me to 2022 when I decided to get trained in Meta and Google Ads Management (the training never stops, really!). I added that to all my experience in copywriting, graphic design and business strategy (millions of words, 15 websites from scratch, 27 social media accounts, collaborating with over 100 entrepreneurs) together in my own agency, Niche Up Digital Marketing.

What does this all mean? In all of these roles, I was either teaching, writing and designing for digital platforms, working with entrepreneurs, or being entrepreneurial myself – sometimes all at the same time. Where I’ve landed is my sweetspot. 

Instead of thinking there’s something flakey about myself, I’m just owning that I love business, coaching, health and working with purpose-driven entrepreneurs. It’s my zone of genius – and I’m going to spend the next 20 years enjoying it and resourcing myself so I can focus on the things I love without burning out.

No doubt your own story has some resonance. All the versions of you – the highpoints and the “failures” (if you want to call them that) – have brought you to now. You have everything you need for the present moment. So double down on being You and finding the support you need so you can focus on your unique gifts and desires. 

My friend, there is no waste in God’s economy.