I’ve felt down before.
Entrepreneurs have those moments. Moments that are intentionally left blank by the popular media. Moments that are not really highlighted. Moments that are full of fear, uncertainty and distress.
Those moments are real. I’ve felt them first-hand more than enough times in my journey as a start-up entrepreneur.
Yesterday (December 19) is the day for our annual Christmas party. A day of celebration and joy of how God has blessed the world with His only son Jesus Christ. And a day to celebrate and remember God’s goodness to SEO Hacker as a company.
The festivities started with a humble acoustic worship service and a short devotion from a former teammate. Followed by dinner and a performance from each of the four teams – Linkbuilding, Blog Management, Web development and Social Media.
It was an extremely fun night. And in the middle of it all, I was handed a small Mason Jar for a gift – filled with my team’s heartfelt messages. I wasn’t expecting anything from my team as I am rarely in the SEO Hacker office (I come by only every Wednesday as I’m the sole salesperson of the company and I’m often out on the field.)
I was really overjoyed to receive a gift from each of the people in my team. People I love and care about. People who I consider as family.
I’ve felt down before.
But that night was the turning point. It was the night that wrapped up all the frustrations, fears, risks and betrayal. It was a night that clearly spelled the start-up journey as “worth it”.
John Maxwell taught me to see everyone in my team as a ’10’. While I’m guilty of not being able to practice that each time, it’s something that I try to consciously remind myself to do. Someday I hope that it will be engraved so deep in my heart that I don’t need to remind myself about it – I’ll simply live it out.
Yesterday was a mark in my life. A mark that a Philippine company can be different. That it can be run by someone who is leading from the front rather than managing from behind. It is the proof I sorely needed that what I’ve been doing all along has an effect to the people in the team – and that it can go on to be a thriving culture that will be the core of our values as a company.
To my team who made the effort to encourage and appreciate me, thank you. You guys are what SEO Hacker is made up of.