I received my first box of StarrWriter business cards yesterday – YAY. I opened the package, pulled a card out, looked at it and felt a tinge of disappointment. First thoughts: the logo was flat and the font didn’t capture the personality of the business.

I stared at the card trying to convince myself that it was the perfect example that every business card aspired to be. I mean I’m a professional marketing consultant – shouldn’t everything I do exemplify topflight marketing acumen? If I handed this business card to Don Draper he would immediately fall into a crazed puddle of panic as he receded into the shadows knowing he has met his creative match, right? Unlikely, but I would like to believe that he would give the card a respectable once-over and look at me for a millisecond before sliding it into the inside breast pocket of his $2,000 suit jacket as he turns to get in his limousine and speed off to hook his next big client.

I am in week two of taking StarrWriter full time and like the business cards everything is new. This is the baseline, nothing from which to compare or build. It’s an exciting time as I realize everything is possible…well except at 3 a.m., nothing is possible then. You see that’s what time I've been waking up nearly every day for the past couple weeks in a cold sweat with thoughts of doubt and questions of why did you leave a perfectly good job to risk it on your own? The terror of having your income substantially cut not to mention the seed money donated is coming from said substantially cut income can knock you out of REM like nothing else. But cold sweats lead to hot showers and me getting dressed, feeding the cats and walking the dog just like I always have before heading to work.

I decided to give StarrWriter everything I have because I love to create and help others. Mom and Dad were gifted artists and while their aptitude to draw did not find its way to me I did pick up the art gene as a writer. I’ve done well to make a living with that gift, too. My hope is that applying that gift, along with a few skills attained over the years and a relentless work ethic seared into my soul by my first employer (thanks Dad), will lead to a successful firm that will bring benefit to every business it touches. It will be scary and there will likely be more 3 a.m.’s waking up wondering what the future brings. I will stumble, fail and take wrong turns, but I will turn around, get back on track, achieve, grow and win. If you don’t go out of bounds sometimes you will never know what lies off trail.

And those business cards are growing on me. I will still make changes before ordering the next batch, but that should be the philosophy for everything we do in business and life. Change leads to learning and through learning we grow; may your changes lead to all good things.