I started Barefoot Brainstorming when I was 45.
It’s actually the second time I have started a business.
My first business was an advertising agency called Square Peg Inc.
My dream, when I launched Square Peg, was to build a unique, no bullshit, nimble, highly creative shop, that one day I could sell to a bigger agency that needed what we had built.
That sale was my retirement plan.
And, that sale never happened.
Instead, we were faced with SARS, an economic downturn, and clients squirreling their budgets away to prop up lousy P&L’s.
So, I shut it down.
The part of me that I could never shut down was my entrepreneurial spirit.
I returned to corporate life, paid the bills, and agonized over getting out of bed every morning!
I realised then that I am a serial entrepreneur with no sense of age limitations.
I left a secure senior well-paid position in the corporate world to start a brainstorming company.
When I told people what I was doing, I was meant with silence, shuffling of feet, eyes wide open, gaping-mouth shock!
I didn’t care. I was so far past needing or caring about anyone’s approval.
I guess by 45 years of age, I had figured out what fed my soul in terms of work … or what I loved to do to earn an income that never felt like work.
My intention and my passion set my path. I finally knew what my motivations and goals were.
You absolutely have to know, otherwise you’ll chase the wrong things and end up somewhere miserable.
True entrepreneurs seek freedom.
The definition of freedom is completely subjective, and knows no age limits.
It’s more about a lifestyle than a benefits package, or an end-of-the-year bonus … or a retirement plan.
Chase the lifestyle, not the paycheque.
