It began as a simple question…what am I going to blog about this week?  This led me to reminisce about some of the amazing things – and not so amazing things – that have happened in the past 5 years.  There have been many successes – and double the failures.  There’s been amazing guidance and some really bad advice.  All in all, every single thing that has occurred has gotten me one step closer to what not to do!  And of course closer to discovering how to make a big dent into the pressing issue of staffing North Eastern Ontario Long Term Care facilities.

THE GOOD:  the successes, the Plan A friends, the knowledge and the vision.  It’s the things that entrepreneurial dreams are made of.

• Writing the rules and the map for my vision
• Tapping into creativity and imagination to solve big problems
• Surrounding myself with amazing people at work (and play)
• Working with a dream team
• More freedom throughout the week
• Being unapologetically true to myself and my values
• People who believe in our mission
• Clients who truly appreciate what we do
• Community support through organizations such as NORCAT, The Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, The Sudbury Regional Business Centre, etc.
• The growth
• The way I get to use my mind on a daily basis
• Living outside of my comfort zone
• The interesting opportunities that present themselves
• Creating my own schedule
• Further developing services and products that keep me excited
• Standing up for what I believe in
• Being part of a change that I want to see for our most vulnerable population
• Inspiring people to do the best for our elderly and the people who care for them
• Investing in future leaders in my companies
• The valuable learning
• Awesome mentors

THE BAD: those necessary lessons that happen for me to make me a better entrepreneur

• The failures – there’s been many and they are usually expensive
• Stress – being an entrepreneur is not for the faint at heart
• You’re on-call every single day to somebody
• Not as much time for my personal relationships
• Cash flow, cash flow, cash flow!!
• Finding balance
• You can’t pass the buck
• Long hours
• Being the Jill of all trades

THE UGLY: The things I would have never had known unless I had become an entrepreneur in our sector.

• It’s only the 5^th year and the eldest of our baby boomers have reached 65 and we’re already struggling to stay on top of our shift requests
• The realization that we’ll never hit 100% of shift requests
• The support for what we do is limited
• The red tape I deal with to access help
• People who sign up to help but who don’t keep their commitment
• Trying to keep the business lean is very challenging
• Challenges that we face just because we are in North East Ontario such as geographical issues, an HR shortage, a greater population of aging adults, etc.

And the lists go on!  With all of that said, however ,I still smile more as an entrepreneur than I ever did working for somebody else so I’ll take it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly!