Why I am an unlikely business owner (and why it suits me perfectly)

Surprises, pivots and an invitation to reflect on your own journey

I never thought I’d one day own my own business. My personality, upbringing and interests just didn’t seem to fit with being a small business owner But four years into my business I see that having a business also suits me perfectly.

This is a post about surprising myself, pivoting and seeing myself in a new light. I hope that it inspires you and invites you to reflect on your own small business or freelance journey as well—do share your reflections in the comments, I love having conversations around this.

Why I’m an unlikely business owner

I tend to see myself as risk averse. By nature and through my upbringing, I tend to see the possible bad outcomes rather than the good outcomes first. I’m a chronic overthinker, preparing for any kind of scenario—particularly the bad ones. I’d say that this kind of thinking and behaviour was modelled to me as a child as well: growing up, one of my dad’s favourite sayings was “when in doubt, don’t overtake”, which for him didn’t only refer to driving but essentially to everything. When you’re in doubt, don’t make any big moves. Or any moves. It’s important to be really certain about whatever you do. Don’t make choices that are, or could potentially be, risky.

And having your own business was definitely something that I’ve long seen as being potentially risky. Growing up, I had no small business owners in my life. My parents both come from families of civil servants and having that kind of stable (government) job was seen as the holy grail. The idea was to find a steady job and to hold on to it for dear life. Owning your own business was simply not talked about, ever—small business owners didn’t exist in my upbringing.