Female entrepreneurs... on finding what you weren't looking for

Recently, I was having coffee with a friend.

This friend is a photographer by profession. He is hired by companies and individuals to shoot products, collections, etc.

For me, anyone who can make a good living doing something creative in the arts is something of a unicorn. To find something you love doing and make it your main source of income … that’s the dream.

It turns out he really likes his work and feels fortunate that he gets to do it, but it’s not where his creative juice lies. There are other ways he wants to explore his art —ways that he is excited about. I so appreciate this.

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One day, he set out to pursue his art in this new way. He had an idea of the shots he wanted to get at a specific location in the city. He arrived and looked around — but it wasn’t working. The light was off. The position. What he had in his mind wasn’t there to be captured.

He was discouraged. But he was also there, in this place he had traveled to. So he took a moment to stop and just look around.

And doing so, he found a shot he didn’t know was there. Could never have known was there had he not set out with his original idea and put himself in the position (time, place, weather = the circumstances) to discover it.

Beautiful.

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Why am I sharing this?

For one very specific reason…

Sometimes we are afraid to start.

You think: my idea is not good enough, it’s not ready, what if it doesn’t work, it needs more research, I don’t know if it’s the right thing.

BUT, if you don’t ever set out on the path…

📍you’ll never put yourself in a position to find out if it does or doesn’t work.

📍you’ll never have the chance to take what you learn (and get the feedback from others), to evolve your plan.

📍you’ll never put yourself in a situation to find something even better than what you could have imagined.

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As my recent CANDID CONVERSATIONS guest, Bookkeeping Coach Erika Millard, answered in response to my question, "What is one thing you wish you knew when you were starting out that you know now?”:

“I would say to just start. And to keep taking steps… Is it okay that I said I was going to one thing and then changed my mind? But I really do think, as you take those small steps and small actions, you find what is the best fit for you and what isn’t. And so I wish I knew, and had a little more confidence, that it was okay, and that those were going to lead to the thing that I love doing now.”

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By all means “get your ducks in a row.”

But once you do, please just start. You don’t know what you’ll find when you do.

And, as Erika (and my photographer friend) pointed out, it might be even better than you could have imagined.✨

If you’re stuck somewhere in the process and need help getting started, book a call with me so we can start to get you unstuck.

It's not too late...to start a business and create a life you love >>

Didn't get what you want? There might be a gift in that. >>

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Are you afraid of success?

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The time I asked for expert business advice (and didn't take it)