She Did That is a documentary currently on Netflix that debut last month showcasing some amazing women and their entrepreneurial endeavors and how they've triumphed despite the obstacles they faced. In some instances, it was their circumstances that birthed their businesses. As the title of Daymond John's book, "The Power of Broke", being any kind of desperate is a heck of a motivator.

The women featured in the She Did That documentary are definitely inspiring to say the least. The stories they share, their journies, their challenges, and ultimately their triumphs. And although this post is not a review, if you haven’t seen the documentary, I encourage you to find out about it from these articles written by Forbes and Black Enterprise.

What I want to focus on for this post, because March is Women's History month, is how you can go from simply being inspired and into action. Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, and Fast Company reports that "Women of color account for 89% (1,625) of the new businesses opened every day over the past year". I mean, that's an insanely high percentage.

And although hearing that statistic is encouraging, and watching documentaries like "She Did That" is inspiring, how can you take that and apply it to your own life? I will acknowledge that not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, and not everyone is cut out to be one either. However, if you know that you want to be, feel driven to be one, but somehow still can't get your business off the ground, I want to encourage you that all isn't lost.

my story.

Speaking from personal experience, I interacted with Maya Elious in her early days back when Periscope was a thing, and in the midst of my confusion about what I wanted my business to be, she told me that maybe I'm just not meant to be an entrepreneur. I took that to heart and self-doubt (which for someone already struggling with low self-esteem was no good) took over and I questioned just about everything. I want to point out that I LOVE me some Maya Elious and her sister Mattie James, and I've been following their journey for YEARS. Before the big speaking engagements, and like I said, when Periscope was THE platform to get all the scoop.

For whatever reason though, I couldn't shake the notion that I AM an entrepreneur. And yes, my path looks nothing like the many others who successfully kicked off their entrepreneurial endeavors from growing their audience and popularity on Periscope (including Nicole “ScOprah” Walters who I and some thousands of other people watched quit her job LIVE on Periscope). Don’t get me wrong, popularity alone doesn’t make for a profitable business, these ladies all hustled!. And that’s just it. The reason my entrepreneur career didn’t kick off is because I wasn't ready so I didn't put in the work.

work through it.

Daymond John certainly has a point in that there's power in being broke, and wanting more for your family is certainly a motivator, however, we all have our own journey to travel and cross to bear. I know for myself, there were a lot of mental obstacles I had to work through. If your mind ain't right then sis, there are limits to what you can achieve. And even if you achieve some form of success, you won't be able to enjoy it because you have to work through the “stuff”. For me, my stuff manifested itself in my ability, or lack thereof rather, to effectively and consistently put in the work. For others, it can put their productivity into overdrive so they won't have to think or deal with what's actually going on. However, neither way is a recipe for success. I mean sure, working in overdrive may put more money in your pocket, but success is more than dollar bills.

1. get rid of stuff

So if you, like me, know that there's a business brewing on the inside of you, my first advice is to work out your stuff. How that looks is going to be different for everyone. It might be therapy, it might be implementing a budget, it could be picking up the phone and finally having the conversation you've been dreading and avoiding but that's haunting you and seeping into other areas of your life. You know the baggage and or burdens you carry, and as a wise person said, "if you want to reach out for something new you have to first let go of what's in your hand.” So stop carrying the “stuff”. If it’s something you can fix, then fix it. And if you can’t, then let it go to Him who can fix it.

2. get help.

My second piece of advice is to get a mentor or a strategist of some sort. You are the expert on the business idea you have, but you're likely not an expert on business. For example, if your passion and business idea is to make and sell jewelry. The way this was done and carried out in 1980, (shoutout to all my fellow 80's babies, lol) is far from how it's being done today. Today it might involve starting a YouTube channel with live demos. It might involve a Shopify store. But what exactly do you know about opening and running a Shopify store? You might have to pitch to influencers to showcase your jewelry. But the question then becomes, which influencers?, what the heck is an influencer? (lol), and do you know how to pitch effectively? You get my drift. Do what you do best, and get someone to teach you the rest. And if you're pockets are blessed like that, get someone else to do it for you :)

3. comparison.

My last but not least advice is, start where you are. In this age of social media we think that everyone just woke up with 10,000 followers and sponsorship deals lining up. I know you really don’t think that, but when we compare, or let me speak for myself, when I compare my 650-ish followers with someone else’s 65,000 I won’t lie, I feel like I have no reach. But here’s something else a wise person once said: You can’t compare your chapter 2 to somone’s chapter 20, and comparison is the thief of joy, so why are we comparing again??

final thoughts.

Being an entreprenur is not for the faint of heart. There are no shortcuts . You either decide that it’s worth it and go for, or you don’t. It might take you 1 year to get there, or it might take you 10. I’ve been blogging on and off since 2013 and my original blog is still alive over on blogspot.com. You can read my very first blogpost here. Having been on and off is what’s honestly hurt me the most. But I’m still here and I’m more focused and now.

Whatever your goals, dreams and entreprenurial aspirations are, don’t give up if it’s something you really want to achieve. I’m sure you’ve seen the picture above before on what the path to success actually looks like. So don’t be discouraged but keep at it. Like the MJ quote also above, the results of your efforts has no choice but to come. So let’s get it sis!

Grace & Peace,

/Vi

She Did That & So Can You - 3 Tips on Overcoming & Becoming an Entrepreneur