A New Reality

BY SATCHIE SEIDLITS

What if you know in your heart you are an entrepreneur, but have no idea what kind of business to start? What if you are ultimately unfulfilled in your current professional path, but unsure about the most responsible change of course? These are the questions that held me hostage for what seemed like an eternity as I struggled to find my professional calling.

The fact is, it has been my dream to become an entrepreneur since I was very young. I grew up the only child of restaurant owners and entrepreneurs. Watching my parents run their businesses and helping with their busy restaurants, I was inspired by their leadership, work ethic, and the freedom that entrepreneurship afforded them. For years, I struggled to reconcile my dream with the truth that I had no idea what kind of business I wanted to start, and with the unsettling fear of leaving a traditional work setting. I entered the workforce to learn and develop my skills so I could one day have the kind of self-governed life my parents had shown me as a child.

My professional background is an unusual one, pivoting between different industries and disciplines. My first job after college was in retail management as part of an experimental leadership development opportunity awarded to me by Wal-Mart, in which I was given a leadership role and over 150 associates to manage. I loved the fast-paced environment, but most of all, I loved leading a team. That was the single-most professionally educational time of my life, and I am so grateful to have had those two years. Ultimately, however, I came to realize it was not a career that was going to fulfill or sustain me long-term, as I worked a grueling schedule that left little time to sleep and almost no time for myself.

Craving a more traditional and predictable work life, and looking to explore my newfound passion for teaching and training I gained from my retail management experience, I left my position to pursue my master’s degree in education. I then taught elementary school for three beautiful and rewarding years. The people and the children that came into my life through my time as a classroom teacher have forever touched my heart, and I would not trade that experience for anything. Teaching was a respite from the fast-paced corporate machine in which I was previously involved, though demanding in its own way. Again, however, three years into my new career, I began feeling the familiar sinking feeling that this current path was still not quite right. I felt like a failure.

Though I was terrified to start over once again, I was more terrified to ignore the shouting in my head telling me that my true path was out there waiting for me, if only I dared to find it. I said goodbye to my teaching family, and I took the leap into the professional unknown, in search of that perfect mix of challenging and fulfilling. I searched for new jobs, wrote page after page of ideas for entrepreneurial ventures, and ultimately applied and was rejected from over 100 jobs (I stopped counting after 100). Rejection of this magnitude was difficult to swallow. I felt lost and defeated. I ended up taking a job at a new hotel that was opening in downtown Austin, hopeful that my roots in my family’s restaurant business might translate into a meaningful career in hospitality. Unfortunately, things were still feeling a bit out of place in my new position, and then life made things much worse.

A few months into my new job, I learned that my mother was terminally ill.

This new reality suddenly put all the stress and fears of my professional plight into perspective. My mother’s death brought with it a crystal-clear reminder that life is short and unpredictable. There are no guarantees, and time is too precious to devote to things that are out of alignment with your vision. In the sadness and grief that followed my mom’s passing, I finally had the clarity and courage to step away from the traditional work environment into the world of entrepreneurship. I moved back to San Antonio to be closer to my family, and I began working alongside my dad to assist him with our oldest family restaurant to generate income while I was exploring my new path. Fast forward several years and I am now proud to be his partner in the restaurant, still learning alongside him everyday.

Throughout those first years back in San Antonio, I helped launch a few artistic ventures while learning how to run the restaurant, so that I could find ways to exercise my creative muscles and apply them in a hospitality setting, where I am now tasked every day with solving unstructured problems that need quick and complex outside-of-the-box solutions…like how to pivot our business strategy to remain operating and profitable during a global pandemic.

I think back to those times I felt stuck in a job that did not serve my larger goals, and all the fears and excuses I would find not to change. What if I fail? What if I don’t make any money? We are conditioned to fear out of self-preservation.

If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve made the leap much sooner. I understand now that what I have to offer in our market is special, unique, and needed. I’ve realized that there are always going to be people out there doing similar things, but no one will be able to bring what I can to our product or service. The journey to starting my own business has been fraught with mistakes, doubts, and errors that cost me time and money. It has also been the most fun and rewarding experience of my professional life. Just like everyone else, I’m figuring things out as they come, learning from each pivot and mistake.

As with all entrepreneurial adventures, the path ahead for my new business is full of unknown challenges and obstacles to conquer. However, in the midst of this unknown, I have worked to gain the self-governed life I always dreamed of. Things have come full circle, too. I now have two children of my own who will be raised watching me run our family restaurant, and for the first time in my professional life, I know that I have followed my way home to my true calling.

Satchie Seidlits (33), Platfor(u)m Contributor

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