First of all, YEA RIGHT! There is no such thing as a typical, average, or normal, 29-year old entrepreneur. I am pretty sure that there is no such thing as a normal entrepreneur, much less one of the age of only 29. An entrepreneur is unique, a risk taker, a visionary and passionate for something so much that they take it upon themselves to start a business, and assume all risk for the sake of success. I don’t believe any of those qualities are found in “normal people”. On that note, what defines normal?
I was once told that being normal is vastly overrated and for boring people. Now at my wise old age of 29 (haha), I couldn’t agree more. When I was younger, I tried to be like everyone else, the popular kid, as you will. However try as I did, I never succeeded. I was, instead, the awkward and weird kid. Boy, did I play that part well. Today I strive to stand out, to not fit in, and to break the bounds of what is normal. I think as a 29-year old CEO of a marketing firm with clients across the globe, I’m doing a pretty good job at not being “typical”.
My clients also help me stray from what is normal. I work with companies across a variety of industries including an e-commerce lingerie company, florists, chiropractors, dentists, cleaning services, an event production company, beauticians, even a non-profit that send breast cancer survivors on vacation. I am constantly adding new clients and industries to my list and this keeps me on my toes. I love learning new skills and strategies for the businesses I work with.
When you work in an ever-changing industry like marketing, learning new things daily is a must. Marketing is not a career path for the boring, the normal or your typical person. It is an industry you go into to be creative and be challenged on the regular. Marketing strategies are constantly changing and evolving and that is what makes it fun. I am yet to meet one boring person who works in marketing and that just proves to you that marketing isn’t an industry for the bland.
Now, I respect and understand that people come from different backgrounds and feel differently about being normal. Fitting in, for many people is their lifestyle choice because it’s comfortable and doesn’t draw too much attention upon them. For others, like me, I dread the thought of fitting in and being just like everyone else. That is what makes life so much fun, we’re all different in so man ways…whether you want to admit it or not.
What about you? Do you strive to stand out or fit in? Why?