One of the things I have enjoyed most about making the jump from working in a corporate environment to working for myself is the opportunity I’ve found to be part of a whole new community of entrepreneurial women. In fact, I have been blown away at the amount of encouragement, support, creative brainstorming help and even business referrals I have received from my new friends.
I am excited to be part of two virtual business strategy groups where I’ve learned a great deal of information I hope will serve my clients beautifully. I have also made some amazing connections with spectacular women all over the country who are doing inspiring things with their dreams. In one of those groups, I have met Nicole Bernard. Nicole lives in Oregon and runs a business that helps other women-owned businesses with marketing and support for their social media presence. In addition to these services, Nicole hosts a podcast called Bubbles & Biz, where she pops a bottle of champagne and speaks with business owners about their journey. Earlier this week I had the opportunity to be a guest on the podcast to talk about the journey of LetterJess so far.
So now it’s time for complete honesty: I was so excited to be on the podcast, but the morning of the interview I woke up with a panic stirring in the back of my mind. The devil on my shoulder whispered softly to me, “What do you have to offer other business owners? You barely know what you’re doing yourself. They’ll probably laugh at you. You should just cancel.”
But thank heavens there’s also an angel on the other shoulder. I like to think the angel on my shoulder sounds a little like Chaka Kahn, and immediately countered with, “You’re every woman. It’s all in youuuuuuuu……”
Moral of the story is this: I didn’t cancel. I popped open the bubbles and talked some biz with my new friend Nicole. It was scary, but I did it anyway, and I’m proud of myself. It’s taking small steps to do things scared that has always led to some of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and I have no plans to stop taking those steps now.
New things are scary, but the rewards are great; even if the only reward is the feeling of pride that comes from putting yourself out there. Being fearless isn’t a thing. We are all scared of something. Big things, small things and all the things in between. But do the things anyway. DO THEM. Don’t wait to be ‘ready.’ You’ll always find another reason to put it off. Open yourself up to all the great things that can come from overcoming the fear. You may even make a new friend along the way!
Cheers to my new friend Nicole. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your podcast. If you’d like to listen to our conversation, you can find the Bubbles & Biz podcast wherever you source your podcasts or by following the link provided for you here. You can also ‘meet’ Nicole online on her website here.
