Jessie Lyon is an entrepreneur.
I started being a business owner because I was looking for a way to marry profit with ethics, something I believed in. I met my business partner, we had an idea to start a give-back artisanal lifestyle brand, and then, we did.
According to the 2017 American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, 81% of business owners say their happiness is due somewhat or entirely to being an entrepreneur, and 94% of entrepreneurs say they are happy with their lives. Why?
I asked myself this many times throughout my ongoing journey. When I was operating out of my boyfriend’s old, stick shift, gold Volkswagen Jetta and pitching boxes of blankets to shop owners across the Ottawa Valley, I often asked myself, what am I doing? When my first warehouse was a storage unit without electricity, I asked myself, am I missing something? When my partner and I were the only two people doing all the jobs at our company, there were many dark days that brought this question forward.
So why?
I’m an entrepreneur because it is my natural state. I trend toward grey zone, the thing that we’re aiming for but cannot see, that gap makes me excited. I’m an entrepreneur because I know the power that business has to change. I’m an entrepreneur because I never give up. What began as me selling to my neighbourhood boutique, has, step by step, grown into a brand represented by shops across Canada and the US, a network that supports over 100 artisan partners. Not overnight, but every day, driven by something hard to describe, that feels most like an unwavering commitment to my task, and its greater impact. I’m an entrepreneur because my community supports me in doing so, I would be nowhere without them.
So why are entrepreneurs so happy? We’re happy because our thoughts, feelings, and actions are aligned, and every step we take is governed by our gut. The humility and grit that the entrepreneurial journey forces us to take makes us constantly reassess who we are and what we’re standing for. That definition and drive feeds you, and it feels really good.
Connect with Jessie:
Pokoloko website: pokoloko.com
Pokoloko Instagram: @pokolokoltd
Personal Insta: @jessieblyon (not very active on my personal Insta, but very active on Poko)
