Confessions are truths about ourselves that heal wounds when spoken.
I moved to NJ from NY on April 21st, 2012.
Finally, my husband and I were moving to our new home! A home we had talked about, envisioned (literally on my vision board) and saved for for years. It was the start of a beautiful new chapter in our lives. Ready to raise our children in a community, with an actual backyard our kids and dogs could run and play in, a pool club only 1 minute away, blue ribbon schools: The American Dream.
We closed on the house 2 weeks after having Samuel -the baby. My store in Staten Island had finally found it’s groove after building it for 2 years and here I was in a state of shock, numb and in utter disbelief.
I had suffered from postpartum with my first son, I was doing everything in my power to not go through or put my family through that roller coaster again. Also, I was focused on the move, the new baby, my oldest son’s smooth transition -yet, I was in total limbo with my store. I had taken care of everything and everyone else, but I had not prepared my business for this move.
So you understand, when I started my business in 2009, it had literally become my lifeline. I was practically alone in Staten Island, my husband still works long hours and I had allowed overwhelm and insecurity, alienate myself from the world. My business had given me all that back, it forced me to get out of my comfort zone, meet new people, connect with women, etc. (my story is an interesting one, you can read more here).
This move, while anticipated and amazing, well, it was cramping my business. WTH was I going to do now?
I was back to square one here in NJ. With the exception of a few ladies I had met through networking, I knew nobody. For someone who is so “connected”, I remember sitting in my new workshop thinking: Fuck, I got nothin’!
Thinking about how long and how much work it had taken me to get my business to where it was and that I had to do that all over gain, pissed me off. So much that I shut it down. I would still go to networking meetings, I continued to foster my virtual relationships, but other than that…I was doing N.A.D.A.
I sat and thought long and hard about how to get myself out of this rut…I had to get new clients, I had to meet more women. My usual networking events were far away, the local ones S.U.C.K.E.D. (that’s a topic for another post) and this time I wanted to continue to build my brand, but I wanted it to have a strong impact in my community. Why? Because entrepreneurship and motherhood can both be very lonely and I knew that I could not be the only woman who was feeling as isolated as I did in this area.
So I did what any entrepreneur would do, and this is my confession: I got a J.O.B. (gasp). It was the kind of job that allowed me to meet women, everyday, with disposable income who wanted to look and feel their best. What’s that? Yeah, my target market. On top of that, I got a SICK employee discount, to good to pass up.
I had previous retail experience coupled with the years of networking and my makeup mastery (thanks Má for making me take that class) from day 1, I did really well! Customers where happy and having phenomenal sales allowed me to meet some pretty phenomenal people (buyers, brand managers, etc.). As time passed and although I was only there for 2 1/2 months (I wasn’t thrilled about a set schedule…entrepreneurship will do that to you), as an innate connector, I became friendly with those phenomenal people. They have since become huge supporters of ETTWomen’s mission.
I had of course prayed for direction and my gut told me this was something I had to do. In that 2 1/2 month period I met Lynette, my ETTWomen business partner, and if you’ve been following us, you know how much ETTWomen has grown and the impact we’ve made in our community. Most importantly, it has become a hub for connecting women entrepreneurs to each other, it has given women a much needed breathing space to grow and learn.
While getting a job felt like I had failed my business and myself, looking back on it today confirms ETTWomen’s mantra: Everything happens for a reason.
Do you have a #confession to make? Try releasing it. Not only does it feel really good 😉 you may just be helping someone else have a breakthrough in their life or business.