Angle: David Scholes published an article in his Entrepreneur’s Handbook publication that took his readers by the storm. As I starred at his famous article, I couldn’t help but wonder: is the success of a big entrepreneur greater than the success of a little entrepreneur?
He wrote the piece well.
It was short.
Elegant.
To the point.
Part of the success is a result of David being a great writer.
The other part is a given: what millionaires have to say about business always creates an intrigue.
But how big is “big” to a millionaire, and how big is “big” to a small business?
Chances are, you have probably never heard of small businesses like Elaine a business mentor, Candice a custom cake baker, and Belle an Equus corporate coach, before COVID19.
When conversations and emails started flying back and forth, I realized, these 3 women, were true inspirations – sort of, guiding lights of what is possible for others like you and me.
You would think, the lockdown would pull the rug under their feet as the phones stopped ringing, appointments start falling off, and silence started overtaking the business.
Not so.
Meet Elaine:
“As a business mentor, a subscription box owner, and a managing director for Polka Dot Powerhouse (PDP), I had a ton of “Oh crap, what am I going to do” thoughts. It was wise words from my own coach, who reminded me that I could use this as an opportunity, or a death sentence. I had a choice. once I could see the opportunity in this chaos, I chose to encourage others to do the same. To see this as an opportunity. while some people were so afraid to make money or promote their business during this time, I chose to run a Facebook ad and get people to subscribe to my subscription box. And boy did they ever!!
I also decided to rush a free education week, to help other people make their own mindset shifts and wound up having 7 people join me in my new group coaching program.
Our PDP meetings had to get shifted to virtual meetings, and that has had some challenges, not everyone is up to speed with technology programs like Zoom.
During this time of the pandemic, I was also reminded about this amazing podcast that Brene Brown did with Russell Brand. I rewatched it. Her philosophy about people doing the best they can, really helped me shift and remember that people are doing the best they can even if it doesn’t look like it. Who am I to judge?
Here are the 3 biggest lessons learned:
Lesson #1
You have a choice. We have choices every single day. To get up out of bed. To put on pants. To be kind. To help others. Every single day, we have the power of choice.
Having a negative attitude will give you negative results. 100% guaranteed.
Lesson #2
People are still spending money. They may be spending it differently, but they are still spending money. We cannot assume that people will not buy what we’re selling, because of a pandemic. You do not get to be in charge of other people’s checkbooks.
Meet Candice:
“Our main business is custom cakes so when the pandemic hit (right at the beginning of our wedding season) we basically lost ALL of our business. Events were either canceled or rescheduled until the fall. I wasn’t happy in the business, to begin with. I have a 9-year-old girl whom I never get to spend much time with so I already had been looking for a change. Then the shelter in place happened and I decided to use it as an opportunity. I now had all the time in the world to read that book or take those online marketing courses or anything else that never got done as well as spending time with my daughter. I ended up joining a network marketing company after being introduced to a product that EXCITED me! Now my new purpose is to transition out of the cake business and make the network marketing company my main business and have the freedom I need to be more present in my daughter’s life.
My takeaway from this: It may seem like a dismal situation but I looked at it as an opportunity. An opportunity to “find me” and figure out what’s really important to me and to find my purpose and start heading down that path to happiness.
Meet Belle:
“Over the past four years, I have been working on coaching with horses business. Covid-19 gave me the time and space to get laser-focused on my niche. I’ve created a program over the past few weeks called Awaken Your Inner Truth. I help women and corporations align with their truth so they can create a beautiful life (what Belle Vivienne means) full of connection, passion, and fulfillment.
What I have learned through this experience is that we have choices every single day on how we want to show up in the world from the moment we open our eyes. Using clear intention, self-compassion, and love for the thoughts and fears that come up, when we can connect to our higher power, the universe will show her support in magical and mysterious ways. Even in the most frightening moments of uncertainty, having tools and a means for grounding and trust is huge in the unknown.”
Dave’s millionaire might have been BIG in terms of “big money” he was making millions, or perhaps “big success”.
He was running not 1, not 2, not 3 but 10 businesses; but for Elaine, Candice, and Belle “big” meant a breakthrough that opened up a whole new horizon in their lives.
The kind of breakthrough that demands taking control in the moments of complete uncertainty, having the heart to look around the corner, and see their businesses from a whole new angle despite being in a time warp when many stood frozen.
- They knocked out their fears
- They jumped on opportunities and created new paths and visions for themselves
- The learned lessons all of us can apply in our entrepreneurship in taking steps forward
…and now they shared them with all of us.
To guide us and inspire us.
How do you see women entrepreneurs in your world doing things to light up our paths, encourage and inspire us? Or perhaps you’re one of them?! I’d love to hear those stories.
Let’s celebrate them!
About the Author: Aleksandra
