Leaving your comfort zone behind…
October 17th, 2008
The voting phase of the Seeds for Success grant program certainly takes me out of my comfort zone. The process of getting people to vote for me is not natural to my personality. I don’t like to single myself out as more deserving of something than someone else. Both Dana and Karla have done a great job with their companies and if it were up to me, we would all get the additional money and mentoring from Yahoo and fwm. I want every woman entrepreneur to succeed. We must all help each other. However, in this case it unfortunately doesn’t work that way.
I’ve put in too much time, sweat, and probably some tears, over the past six months to now just sit back and not do anything because I’m uncomfortable asking people to vote for me. It took over 4 months to redo my website, and in the past two months I’ve put almost 100 products on it and have retail partners in four states and online. I’ve exhibited at three tradeshows and have built a product catalog. All of this while staying home with three small children and managing a household of five. I’m not going to say I didn’t get any help. My mom and mother-in-law have been amazing. Their constant support and willingness to help out have made all of this possible. However, when it comes to the business, it’s been mostly me making all of the decisions and doing most of the work. I don’t have a partner to split the work with (or even help me gather votes for that matter). As a CEO I must learn to rally people and gain their support. The voting phase has been a good exercise in reaching out to people and asking them to support me and the Red Koala. This is something I should continue to work on even after the voting has subsided. I have learned so much over the past six months and continue to grow in so many ways. The mentors have of course been very helpful. They have given me great direction, but the decisions and the work are still all mine. So if you have just started a new business or are thinking about it, make sure you have a good support system and are willing to leave your comfort zone in order to benefit your company.
October 24th, 2008 at 12:46 am
Abby,
I know that your imidiate family has to tell you all the time how proud they are of you and Davis for your accomplishments and the gutts it takes to get out there and make this venture a reality. As a small business owner http://www.cherriesdivine.com I can only imagine the awesome benifits that will come with you winning this grant program. Either way this thing is for real and I’m so proud of you two for going for it! We will continue to vote for you each day and pray that you are the one that wins the grant! Let me know if i can do anything to help.
Andy
October 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Truer words were never said. Every entrepreneur experiences the same things that you are. To my knowledge there are no “perfect business owners”. We all have strengths and weaknesses and the trick is to recognize them and grow your skill sets as well as get help in areas that are not strong points. I salute you for your efforts and self awareness. Keep the faith. I know that your business will take off.