This is real

“This is real.”

Those words hit me like a freight train this last week. Cue instant panic.

I was talking to Kirsten G. Bryant, my amazing Chief of Staff (and MVP of all time), after a big meeting we had and I casually said, “I feel like we’re finally starting to have a real business here.”

She looked at me, dead serious, and said:

“Kate, are you kidding me? This has BEEN a real business for months.”

And just like that, it clicked: I’d been waiting for some magical moment when everything would feel “official,” to tell me that this was a full fledged business, but I don’t know if it ever will.

So my question out there to all of you entrepreneurs, consultants, solopreneur, freelancers, business owners is this:

When did it feel real? When did it click that you officially had your own business and may be in it for the long haul?

Was there a trigger point? A special moment? A milestone that made you gasp? A check that came through that made you dizzy? A goal you met, the size of your team?

Or have I watched too many movies with too many arms crossed, self satisfied smile, plop down on the couch because the store is open, shop has launched, first customer walks in, big client is landed, and just general big aha moments? Or do you just keep building and it never feels quite real?

When did you know? Curious!