A part of my own growth has been learning how to become more authentic, and how to trust myself. Here's what happened so far:
It took me a while to openly share my story – the real story with struggles, not just the bright side of it. I still remember how nervous I was that summer day when I wrote about battling postpartum depression, and the toll the depression took on my marriage and business. And, when I shared with my community how difficult it was to manage it all – little ones, home, business, and navigate through transition...
Once I felt ready to not just talk about it, but to ask for support, I also took action that would eventually get me back on track. That was in November of last year, and at the time, I didn’t even know what direction my business would eventually take. I was just comfortable enough to talk about the struggles.
So, once I did it, it was like a new world opened up!
The feedback was incredible – from outpouring support to people thanking me to start a dialogue on such important topic.
So, how did that affect my business in the months that followed?
1. Almost immediately, I gained numerous new members of my loyal community. People, women, moms who were now able to identify with me and my message.
2. Women who reached out for support felt comfortable in sharing their struggles, pain, and so I was able to better support them.
3. Industry leaders began to take notice of me as I kept putting myself out there. Invitations for collaboration on various projects began to come my way. The most mind-blowing realization was that the people whom I used to aspire to be like were now sharing their stage with me!
4. The first quarter of 2016 was a record-braking one since I’ve been in business (2011), and I signed up more clients in the first three months than the whole year last year.
5. Podcast, radio, and TV hosts began reaching out to have me on their shows where I could share my story with their audience. (In one of those weeks, I had 6 interviews).
6.Through the journey, I gained some much-needed clarity and experience that allowed me to finally decide on the direction I wanted to take my business, who I wanted to work with, and especially how I wanted to support them.
So, I would invite you to trust yourself, and to take a look at your own journey - not to dwell upon the not so pretty parts, but more to see what you can take from them, turn into lessons, into advantages, and how you can change your story moving forward.
