What I learned @ Female Founder Collective...
In March, before the pandemic blew up, I went on a retreat of sorts. It was a personal retreat you could say. I spoke to my partner after getting accepted into the Female Founder Collective and we both agreed that this was a great networking opportunity. Even with the early news of Covid, I anxiously packed my bags and flew to New York.
The reason it took me sooooo long to write this recap is because I was gutted and exhausted after processing all the emotions of quarantine life, how it affected my clients’ businesses and of course, how it affected my business. It was a lot to handle all at once and I had severe writer’s block. The crippling sort.
I can say we survived it thus far, we obtained the loan, we reinvented ourselves and our client’s messaging into a virtual world of happy hours, consults, tutorials, social media LIVEs and the like. The far majority of us crawled our way to present day. I know the fat lady has not sung yet.
Not all were lucky and I think about restaurants and the hospitality industry almost daily. It’s not lost on me that nothing is a sure thing including our client roster at Oak Street Social. I bless up daily and pray that ALL businesses continue to grow, thrive, pivot and recover their revenue. But man, this pandemic has called us to dig deep…deeper than ever before. You have to flush your ego down the toilet and return to square one. Remember that hustle?
What I am grateful for is that I can continue to work remote anywhere, anytime and have done so since 2003. In some ways, this set up our business up for success so that the initial pivot wasn’t a hard right but more of a soft right.
So what was it? Think of it as boot camp for your business. From morning until evening I sat and LISTENED. I took financial workshops. I took selling workshops. I took fundraising workshops. I took value proposition workshops. The cast of speakers was incredible which should come as no surprise given that this collective is the brainchild of a certain Rebecca Minkoff. A true fire starter yet the kindest, most humble entrepreneur you could ever meet.
One of the highlights was meeting and listening to Ally Love, my favorite Peloton instructor alongside Emma Lovewell. This workshop changed me. I couldn’t take notes fast enough. Every time I hop on my bike, I write notes of quotes and things she says, hence a full hour of her talking a mere 10 feet away from me was enough to make me cab back to my Airbnb and start pitching clients at 8:00pm. That is what this workshop did for me.
Below I wanted to share 12 of the powerful takeaways that I stored in my notes and notebook. I re-read these constantly. Especially during the pandemic…
Owning a business is messy. It’s a shit show and chances are your peers have no idea what they are doing either.
Fake it until you make it.
When you negotiate, don’t discount and when someone asks for your price, increase it by 20% expecting to negotiate.
If you don’t invest in yourself, no one will so take the time to do something that makes you feel good. These powerhouses all disconnect after work and have hard and steadfast rules about when they leave work every single day.
A failure is not a mistake it’s a lesson.
Fail and fail fast. Move on and dust your shoulders off.
If you don’t know the why about your brand…you’ll never convince anyone to invest in your company or your product.
Everyone is scared. Take a deep breath and do it.
Ask yourself the why’s: Who am I? Who do I want to be? Who do people see me as?
Be honest with yourself and how you spend your time.
Set financial related goals that are actually attainable. If it’s not attainable, it’s an utter waste.
The most powerful woman in the room is you. And here’s the book you should read to solidify that.
As we all take the time to do the work, all the work that is required in the present moment, I wanted to share that this served not only as a cathartic moment but as a reminder that owning a successful business is not for the meek. Sometimes you cry, most of the time you laugh and sometimes someone tells you that you did a mediocre job. The key is to take that mediocrity and turn it into the next greatest invention or profitable account; once again reminding us that perfection is so very overrated.
And hey, if you are on Peloton, find me at OakStOats!
My agency is moving towards it’s 10th anniversary. (@oakstsocial) I’ve been waking up frequently wondering, “how did I/we get here?” Tbh, it’s a bit of a blur.