I've been thinking a lot lately being done. When it comes to my business and even who I am as a person, I ask myself a lot, “Where is this going?” We all tend to be focused on the futureespecially in business, but what about the past? How did we get here and where are we today?

Every marketer knows you need to be an expert storyteller to truly connect with your community. It occurred to me that I have never shared my story of how I got here, writing this article for Entrepreneur.

Every now and then, I have people tell me that they look at my LinkedIn and see that I'm doing so well, 'I'm killing it'. But most days, I don't feel that way at all.

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If I'm honest, sometimes the wins feel eclipsed by the big losses that I don't really like to share. On a walk yesterday, I started thinking about a retrospective of my entrepreneurial career. I can stand here today proudly telling you about the business I built, but for the first 5 years of my business, I was ashamed to say, “I own my company.” I thought it would make me sound like a snob. I'd rather say I'm an independent marketer – suffice it to say I've got a long way to go.

Today I want to share that journey with you – in three acts:

Act I: Shrinking Violet

How did I get into marketing?

Well, my mom told me I had to earn money to leave home after college, so I majored in business. I loved to draw and create; numbers were never my strong suit, so Finance and Accounting was not going to be. I got into Marketing after seeing an opportunity to blend in business with creativity. I excelled in college classes and my internship and was ready to take on the world… until I graduated in a recession and couldn't find a job.

Fortunately, the wonderful company I interned with agreed to give me a nice title, marketing experience, and the ability to pay my monthly Blackberry bill until I found something permanent a year later.

I will never forget my first full-time agency job. I was on cloud 9. This place had it all, copy, creativity, production — all in there. I was an account assistant on three casino accounts, which meant a constant volume of jobs and work. Sometimes, I had nightmares about forgetting to submit an ad to a publication—it was intense, but I had so much experience.

However, after the second year, I got bored. I saw the trajectory of where my life as an account manager and I would take me wanted more. I was also ready to leave my parents' house and the big city of Philadelphia, so I moved to a global consulting organization – becoming the marketing manager for their life sciences division. It is important to note here that I knew nothing about the life sciences and was surrounded by a team of some of the smartest people I have ever met in my life.

Scared doesn't even begin to cover what I felt. Eventually, I fell into an abyss where I began to realize my worth – people wanted someone who could get things done. The more I achieved, the better my value (or so I thought at this point).

Based on my past experience, it was comfortable for me to move into the role of task manager. I can check things off a list like nobody's business! But if you asked me for an opinion on something, I'd turn into a hermit crab. I stuttered my words and became so embarrassed that I almost blacked out and couldn't remember what I said. However, I was great at taking notes, and whenever someone told me to do something, you better believe it got done.

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My next career move was to a boutique strategy agency. This was the place that made me fall in love with the brand. I worked at some of the most incredible brands and got my feet wet in marketing research, but I still felt unfulfilled. One of my clients once pulled me aside and asked me why I never spoke in presentations. She said I knew their account best and they wanted to hear more from me. This baffled 27-year-old Sunny. I knew I was the least smart and experienced person in that room – why would they want to hear from me?

The truth is, I was afraid to speak up because I felt it wouldn't be the “right” thing to say. I didn't know that there isn't always a right answer in marketing. It's about input and your opinion is valuable and needed. I was so afraid of sounding stupid that I was actually worse—someone who had nothing meaningful to contribute to the conversation.

If there was a silver lining to this time, it was that mentoring i got I was lucky enough to have some really great colleagues take an interest in me and my development and take that extra time to teach me skills I still use today, like how to handle conflict, speak confidently and make sure that the phone is definitely hanging. stand up before you start bad-mouthing customers.

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Act 2: Free Fall

Two years later, I got another job. I couldn't help it; I was unhappy. I always thought another role would fill the void. It was like Cinderella's slipper: I had to find one that fit just right.

The last role I had I knew it wasn't right, but I was blindsided when I got fired. I would like to tell you that I took it like a champ: cool, calm and collected. No, I cried. My boss's wife hovered over me as I packed my things and my coworkers all looked at each other in horror. Not a good look. I like to joke that it was like being dumped by a boyfriend I didn't particularly like, but that didn't make it any less scary.

I was nearing 30, out of a job and not sure what I wanted to do with my life. I immediately began applying to every job I could find in Philadelphia—but each interview discouraged me more. I had offers, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I would be doing more of the same and expecting different results.

A friend suggested it to me create my own business and start freelancing – all I had to do was build a website and do the work I knew how to do for others. Through another friend, I was introduced to my first client who needed part-time marketing help. It was enough to pay my rent, so I thought it would be a good bridge to my next full-time position.

I didn't know I would love working for myself. It took a few years to fully realize it, but I had the power and control to create my own reality. If I didn't like something – it was up to me to fix it. My successes and failures were all my own. Over time, I started getting more work and getting better at what I liked and didn't like, but I still had that overwhelming feeling of imposter syndrome. I would beat myself up so badly for every little thing that came up. For so many days, I would question if I knew what I was doing. But here's what no one tells you: you have to be here, in the place of uncertainty, to find the place of business confidence.

My biggest saving grace? Finding a great community of female entrepreneurs. After years of timidly attending back-to-back events, I finally committed to joining an organizing group. It was no joke—there was a ton of accountability and work involved, but having that support system of other women who had gone through similar things in their businesses lifted me up. They say you are the summation of who you surround yourself with, and it's true. Being in company of real smart business owners it made me feel smarter and more confident every time we met. I no longer felt like I needed to play small—instead, I felt encouraged to dream big.

At this time, I really started to invest in myself and my big dreams. I hired four amazing marketers, got an office space, took my business marketing to the next level and improved the quality of work. I had gone from having no idea what I was doing to having a sense of where I should be.

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Act 3: The Marketing Killer

Please know that I don't like to take myself too seriously and I'm laughing as I write that title. (I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan.) This era of my business feels very different. So much has changed and changed – in what I want, where I'm going and how I want to get there.

Ever since I was 21 and studying abroad in Rome, I've wanted to do marketing work internationally. This year, I traveled to London to exhibit at a trade show for small business owners, attended two UK marketing presentations for SMEs and am working on establishing partnerships with international trade organizations both domestically and abroad country. This is what lights up my soul at this moment.

I've also become much more in tune with why I do it. It's not just for me; because I want to leave a legacy of positivity and creativity – so that others know they have the ability to create their own paths too. With that in mind, I've tutored with the Junior Achievement League, volunteered with Be A Mentor, and created a scholarship at my alma mater (shoutout, Rowan University) to help support the next generation of marketing geniuses.

Full transparency: I don't know where any of this is going anymore. I used to spend so much time setting and planning goals—and while that's still helpful—I've found that living, experiencing, growing, and changing is one of the most rewarding parts of this entrepreneurial career.

When you take the time to create your own path, you can dictate where it goes. I used to think I was supposed to be on this path to success. I saw it so clearly in my mind. The funny thing is that as I ticked things off the list, I realized it wasn't what I wanted at all. The main thing for me is the autonomy of creating my journey and leaving a lasting legacy of support, creativity and fun.

On the road to entrepreneurship, we often wonder what we will achieve along the way – awards, accolades, recognition, etc., but I think the most important question we all need to ask ourselves is what we want to leave behind.