I am an entrepreneur.

Believe it or not, that’s a little hard for me to say.

Today I was writing an email to a friend who is my client’s daughter. We don’t always become friends with our clients’ or patients’ families, do we? Unlike the days in dentistry, when I felt like I wanted to keep some level of separation from my patients in our relationships, now I get to become great friends with all of my clients. They share their personal lives, and when appropriate, I even get to connect with their families.

I feel so grateful for it. It’s what I always wanted in dentistry, but due to the nature of the dentist-patient relationship, I could never get that. I always felt a separation, like patients never understood me. They never understood how much I wanted the best outcomes for them. Instead, I always felt like I was on the defensive, no matter how great of friends we’d become.

I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Whether it was fear of a lawsuit, a complaint, or fear of them getting mad at me if something didn’t go perfectly; I was always on edge.

That chasm separating our mutual understanding always had me practicing in fear.

That isn’t healthy.

I know, I digress, but today’s post is more of a free-flowing journal entry.

Because I “get” my clients, and they “get” me, I feel comfortable opening up the friendship boundaries that I could never allow in practice. And it’s a beautiful thing. It’s so freeing to get to authentically connect with your clients with total freedom. Don’t get me wrong. I did love connecting with my patients– in fact, that was one of the only things I loved, but there was always a protective wall there.

Anyway, this client of mine is a wonderful person. He had a very successful practice, and as he was ready to retire, he didn’t fully want to retire. He wanted to plan his next phase and keep living life on his terms. Through our connection, I got to know his daughter because she wanted to and did become a coach.

So here I am, emailing her this morning with a little update. As I was sharing how I’ve voluntarily overworked myself for the past few years, I caught myself hesitating writing, “the life of an entrepreneur,” when describing myself.

Why was that so hard for me to say?

I almost changed it to “being self-employed.” But when I caught myself doing that, I forced myself to write “entrepreneur.” Because that is what I am.

And you might be too, even if you don’t know it yet.

We always think an entrepreneur has to be a Steve Jobs or an Elon Musk. It’s someone who is a savant, a genius in their field. They sacrifice, and have passion, and often work until 3 am because they are so obsessed with their mission.

But that’s not me. And it might not be you either.

You can be an entrepreneur without being that unicorn. If you create a business, you are an entrepreneur. If you want to work for yourself and create something out of nothing– even if you’re a normal person, why can’t you become an entrepreneur?

Let’s open up the definition of what an entrepreneur is. Because in thinking you have to be a certain way, you limit yourself from even trying.

I always knew I wanted independence. I didn’t want to have a boss who I always had to report to. This is why I became a dentist. Even though I didn’t want to own a practice, I wanted that autonomy that comes with being a dentist. And I always had jobs where I felt that freedom most of the time.

When I sought out change, I didn’t know what I was passionate about but knew I wanted that life. So, I kept trying for it until it happened. It wasn’t super focused, or streamlined, or fast. But it worked. Eventually, I built something out of nothing and found my passion work.

It shows that you don’t have to be willing to sacrifice your whole life to start your dream business. You can take care of yourself and take breaks and go to sleep at 9 pm even while starting a business.

In fact, I’d argue that if you didn’t take care of yourself, something will break anyway.

This is the beauty of starting a side gig.

It allows you to start slow. Maybe if you’re not pulling those 3 am nights, you will have slower growth. So what? Isn’t the point of this to make you happier? No one ever says, “I want to start a business, so I can feel more trapped and exhausted.”

If you have that desire like I had, know that you don’t have to fit into the “entrepreneur” mold to create what you want. You just have to have the desire and belief and keep going. We might not build the billion dollar empire, but that’s the beauty of entrepreneurship: you get to create the life you want.

Yes, my build is slower, but I’m enjoying the process, not the end point. I’m living. (Or at least trying!)

And so can you. Show up, take the pressure off, and remove the labels of what you think you should be; and the right thing will come your way.

I challenge you to stop diminishing how hard you work and start believing that you are enough. Become a cheerleader for yourself and celebrate the small wins.

That belief will begin to grow, and when you believe, you can dream and achieve– on your terms.