I never would have started Three Ears Media if I waited until I was ready. In fact, I did try to start a company almost 10 years to the day before I actually launched this one. It was called Kibben Social and it was a company for 3 days. Yes, really. I filed the paperwork and promptly filed the termination paperwork with an offer letter in hand just a few days later. I remember that moment. I was sure this offer was some kind of sign I wasn’t ready to be an entrepreneur. 

When I circled back to entrepreneurship to start Three Ears Media, it wasn’t because I felt inspired by a great idea. It was a really bad day that was the cumulative consequence of a life shifting event in my family. Overnight, my Mom went from fully independent to 100% disabled when she tore every single tendon in both of her hands thanks to a severe rheumatoid arthritis flare up. I worked remote and wanted to help so I packed my bags to go move in for a few weeks. I would work from 9 to 7 pm, take an hour off, then go right into caregiving duties as my Mom’s night nurse. 

I lived this schedule for two weeks before I made the mistake that would ultimately push me off the ledge into the leap. That monumental mistake? I missed a punctuation mark on a bullet in a slide. Yes, I’m serious. He yelled at me for that. He said things to me like, “you have no talent,” that day. They were so specific and mean hearted, I cried immediately after I hung up. I have more empathy for him now than I did back then. I know he was under a lot of pressure. But still. 

Those words lit a spark inside of me. I don’t know what to call it besides rage-induced insanity, because I busted out of that guest room and into the living room where my Mom sat recovering from surgery with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on TV and blurted out, “I’m quitting that job and starting a company.” Like anyone who chose their career based on a perception of guaranteed certainty, she said, “no, you’re not.”  

That day I only knew one thing for sure: I was not going to let anyone talk to me like that ever again. I couldn’t guarantee that I could avoid a bad manager in another job, so I was going to hire me. In those first two weeks I picked a name, built a website, and ordered business cards so that I could say from the stage in Las Vegas on day one, “I’m starting a company today.” 

I was not ready or prepared in any way for entrepreneurship. That was almost 8 years ago, I think. I lost count around 5. 

Lately I’ve been talking to a lot of people who tell me they aren’t ready to take on their dreams for one reason or another. People who are facing a caregiving crisis like I was. People who have awful managers just like I did. People who got the worst surprise of their life when the layoff notice landed in their inbox. 

I’m writing this letter today to tell you that you are not a cake and you’ll never feel ready. 

There’s no magic formula or perfect way to prepare for life. The only guarantee in this world is uncertainty. Waiting for certainty is a sure way you’ll be waiting forever. You’re ready.