GENEROSITY WILL TAKE YOU far
Hello friends,
I wanted to pop in here and share my why behind the Finance 101 for Entrepreneurs workshop.
When I was 24 years old, I had a dream to design an eco friendly, vegan, and ethically made backpack. I had never been to fashion or design school and I sure as hell didn't know a thing about business.
But the idea stuck. I couldn't get rid of it. All I could think, breath, and speak was this backpack idea. I didn't know how I was going to do it, or who could help me get there. I just knew that I HAD to do it. I had to make this backpack real.
Sure, I didn't know how to get started…but I knew how to talk about it. So talk about it I did. With EVERYONE. Every single person I met knew that I was on a mission to make this dream a reality. My family. My friends. Random strangers I happen to meet on the streets of NYC. I'd say this:
Hey, I have this idea…I am going to make a sustainably and ethically made backpack for people like me and it's going to be made in the USA, and eventually when I get this business off the ground the proceeds are going to support girls education all over the world. I didn't go to fashion school, I know nothing about how to design a backpack, and I know nothing about business. But, I do know this: I need to do it.
Everyone I met to my surprise was incredibly supportive. You see the movies in the fashion industry and how cutthroat it is, but I had the opposite experience.
It went a little bit like this:
I told someone my idea -→ they then told someone else -→ that someone else knew someone that could help me with [insert aspect of idea that needs support: sourcing fabric, the design part, the business part, the crowdfunding, etc] -→ they'd connect us and I made a new friend and connection to help me make this idea a reality.
Someone always knew someone, and that someone that always knew someone? They didn't hesitate to connect me to them.
Through this, I met everyone I needed to meet to support all aspects of this idea.
This led me to meet Priya Malani of Stash Wealth. She was speaking at a conference that I happened to be at thanks to the coffee roastery that I used to work at with my partner. (they hooked it up with a free ticket for me in exchange for a coffee sponsorship - again, more generosity wins!) I didn't know anything about the conference, or about Priya, and I still was lost around all the business finances of things. At that point, I had made the backpack and was about to do a Kickstarter launch and I was terrified that I'd receive all this money and not know what to do with it.
Priya gave her presentation and I was literally in awe. She wore high black spandex boots and exuded this confidence that I dreamed of having one day (still working on that one, lolz). She also had a WEALTH of knowledge. At the end of her presentation, she said to reach out to her if anyone had questions.
I was scared to talk to a financial professional if I am being honest. I went back/forth about walking up to her and asking if she had any business tips for me. I see all these other cool cats come up to her to ask questions and of course, spiraled with all these thoughts:
I'm not as cool as them. they are so cool. their ideas are probably better than mine and worth her time. you just have this stupid backpack. it's not even cute. who do you think you are? you don't know anything about money. you shouldn't be fundraising and asking people for $10,000 when you have no idea how to freaking manage it. you barely have savings! you didn't know anything she was talking about!!! you don't even know what to ASK her. THEY know what to ask her, that's why they are already TALKING to her and you're HERE just watching like a freak!!!!!!
Yes, my brain can be very mean to me under high stress situations like this one lol.
BUT, somehow, miraculously, my LEGS started moving. I was WALKING towards her. I couldn't believe it!
And before I could even open my mouth to ask a question, she spoke first.
“Thank you for coming to my workshop! I hope you got a lot out of it - do you have any questions that I can support you with?”
wow….she is just as nice as she was in presentation mode
“YES. Actually, so I have this backpack, here it's right here. ~shows backpack~ And I'm doing a Kickstarter for it and I launch next week and I have no idea what I'm doing but I know that I need to be prepared about the business finances and everyone keeps telling me different things, so I don't know what to believe, and I don't even know the questions I need to be asking you but I do know that I need to know this stuff…”
I was terrified by the way I rambled all of the above. Could she notice I was sweating profusely underneath this GARB?! The mean thoughts were beginning to kick in until…
“OMG, congratulations on started your business and making your idea an ACTUAL thing! I actually have a lot to say, here, take my email and we can hop on a quick call.”
I couldn't believe it. Even reflecting on this right now, with you all makes me SO emotional because her generosity changed everything for me.
A week later we hopped on a 20 minute phone call where she shared with me trusted free resources I could use to find information I was looking for. She recommended the Profit First book to me (which I live and breath by within my own biz finances still till this day). She taught me the power of an LLC and so much more.
And then a couple weeks after our call, I receive an e-mail from her in my inbox with the subject line: “Best of luck with the launch today!”
She remembered my launch day.
I don't know if Priya remembers me anymore (it's been almost 7 years since then), but she changed the trajectory of my life.
I share this story with you because the generosity of the people got me to where I am today. This is what I'm bringing to this workshop. That same generosity that was given to me.
You will get real value and education that you can take action on, a REAL human being (me, ha!) that actually wants to know you and your amazing businesses and business ideas, and a connection that will continue beyond the hour and a half we have together during this workshop.
Now that you know my why, if you want the recording of the workshop PLUS the 40 page pdf guide I used in my presentation you can get it right here!
Thank you for being here, in this mighty corner of the internet. :)
Stay Shiny,
