Define Your Own Path By Redefining Your Skillset
The thought of being an entrepreneur has always scared me. It seemed like such an unsteady, risky path to take. The idea of a constant paycheck, benefits, and someone else dictating my workload seemed safe.
But for me, it wasn’t.
My employers’ reviews were filled with comments like “We don’t know what to do with you” or “You’re a bit too much” or “You need to pull back on your opinions.” I constantly felt like I was being pushed inside a box and not allowed to fully flex my capabilities. I went through a few positions this way. Loving the industry, but not feeling like I fit.
The reality hit me. No job is secure if it is not right for your skillset. It can be unstable if you’re working for a company that doesn’t recognize your value. It’s not celebrated when you present bold ideas to management. Instead, you are told they are too extreme. It’s not healthy if you file a complaint for harassment and are handed an NDA with a severance check. There is no stability for your family if you are not working under clear expectations and always running full speed at an undefined goal.
My personality is not for everyone. I am a sarcastic, no-bullshit kind of woman working in a male dominated industry.
I have little to no patience for a lackluster status quo when the only excuse for no change is the inability to get uncomfortable. I push on people. I want them to be their best. But I am also a single mom, working my ass off to provide comfort, stability, laughter, and the bear hugs my young kids need.
I spent a large chunk of my career looking at my mom status as a weakness. Always trying to make up for time I was out of the office for the kids. Trying to assert myself as a professional who could easily separate home from work. Clearly drawing a line in the sand and feeling dread anytime my family life intruded on work.
Why do we do this? Being a single mom puts me on a different playing field. I have to deal with more bullshit, tantrums, arguments, mediations, and negotiations in one day than most of my counterparts deal with in a week. And I’m not just talking about with my kids…adults are just as bad, if not worse. I am decisive, honest, diplomatic, blunt, and never waste a minute.
I refuse to stick to the way things have always been done because that has never been an option for me. There is no choice but to constantly evolve, improvise, and be tactically creative in every single aspect of my life.
Why was I letting others (and myself) make me feel like I wasn’t enough?
In June of 2020, during a global pandemic in the middle of a divorce with no real plan or assets, I took the leap. I started my consulting business.
My only tactic? Start talking about the issues that I knew were holding construction business owners back.
Did you start your business because you wanted to do it differently and better than you’ve seen it done before?
Are you so deep in the trenches doing the work that you haven’t laid your foundation for the growth you are experiencing?
Do you feel like you are running full speed at a wall every single day with no solution to improve your quality of life?
Are you experiencing turnover on your team due to lack of structure, communication, and/or culture?
Is your home life suffering because of the energy you are putting into your business? Not enough time with your children? Maybe you are teetering on the edge of a divorce?
Are you running your business with the same plan as the day you started?
The list goes on and on.
The number of responses I received was insane. Business owners are drowning out there. They are not receiving the support they need and the pressure to provide is overwhelming.
How can you restructure your business when you can’t stop running it from the ground?
There is no formal training for this type of consulting. It comes from my years of running small businesses from the top and the bottom. I understand the terror that comes with growing a team. The gut-wrenching stress you get when constantly running the numbers to see where things lie. The constant pull between family and business. You have to work hard to grow something, but you miss out on so much at home.
And I understand the construction industry mentality. I love it. Need it even. It's gritty, beautiful, complicated, scientific, building the world around us, critical to our economy, down to earth and breathtaking. Promoting the importance of every aspect of construction — from concept to build to interiors to who knows what else — is what fuels me.
I want to elevate this industry and the personalities within it.
Construction needs strong women like me. We are tenacious, hard-working, unapologetic, smart, black belts at multitasking, passionate, outgoing, and maybe a little bossy. We are gaining ground supported by men and women paving the way ahead of us. I have felt nothing but support since making this move to entrepreneurship.
I’m now successfully running Steel Toe Consulting and Crew Collaborative, a nonprofit focused on construction workforce development. I’m pursuing welding, shooting drone photography, and even looking at becoming a part-time arborist. My work-life balance has never been better. I make my own schedule, I give my best self in each moment — business or personal. I’ve become a more engaged mom because I’m more fulfilled and secure.
Raging against complacency is necessary because there is no room for growth if you settle for the way things are. This chapter in my life has been non-stop personal growth. My kids will tell you that I am a good mom. My mom will tell you I am more myself than I have ever been. My sister will tell you I’ve never been stronger. My friends will tell you I’m pushing for things I believe in. Personal growth is uncomfortable, but the best things come from beyond your comfort zone.
Turn your skillset on its head. Analyze what you consider weaknesses. Could they actually be strengths? Your perspective is unique. Do not stifle it or allow yourself to follow the crowd when being pulled in a different direction.
Let me know how I can help.
About the Author: Unapologetic, candid, and inspirational, Kristina McMillan is one of construction’s strongest and most influential female voices. Founder of Crew Collaborative, she is a motivational construction industry thought-leader with over 20 years of experience in team leading, marketing strategy, workforce development, and operations know-how.