Growing up...
I was always very entrepreneurially-minded.
In elementary school, my siblings and I would catch tadpoles at the beach and sell them at school in little water-filled plastic bags. (This was before we were conscious of the term “animal cruelty” by the way. We were kids, okay! Don’t judge! lol).
By the time I reached middle school I took my entrepreneurial endeavors up a notch. I would buy candies at the dollar store, then mark up their price and sell them at a slightly cheaper price than what our school’s ASB would sell them for.
However, being also incredibly philanthropically-minded led me to donate pretty much everything I earned in middle school to charities and orphans in third world countries.
You could say I had a big heart. And I still do.
I also had big dreams. And still do.
My goal from the start has been to create a business that wouldn’t just serve as a means for me to make some cash, but to fulfill what I felt was my life’s purpose while simultaneously using it to positively impact the world and others around me.
I’m ecstatic to say that after years of trial and error (and repeated failures), I finally have that business.
A business that allows me to travel freely while working from anywhere…
A business that allows me take my incredibly deserving and hard-working mother on vacation.
A business that allows me to take care of my family members and spoil my friends.
A business that allows me to give generously to any charity, church, or organization I so choose.
A business that allows me to live out my passions and my purpose in the way that’s most fulfilling to me.
But it wasn't always that way...
I feel like a lot of entrepreneurs have this really sexy story about how they invested in a single coach and their business just seemed to magically take off with ease...
That's not my story.
It's not that I've been one to neglect responsibilities, I've grown up accustomed to being a hard worker. I just had this intense longing to be able to do what I wanted, when I wanted.
It would be quite some time from that day at the beach that I would be able to make that happen.
Let's backtrack to when I was 15: I had just began working for my aunt’s boutique, and by the time I was 20 I self-published my first book. At age 21, I was working several jobs in retail and the food industry, while trying to pursue my side hustle of writing and blogging.
I eventually landed a job at one of the top 5 restaurants in the United States, but was a series of nonstop panic attacks that forced me to quit my job at this a 5 star, 5 diamond restaurant. I realized that I needed to do something that would provide me with the freedom and passive income I desired so that I wouldn't have to worry about relying on living paycheck to paycheck.
I began investing in my personal development like a mad woman, putting courses on credit cards and watching every free training and webinar I could possibly get my hands on.
The first business course I invested in was one on how-to sign-up coaching clients through a telephone sales script. At the time, I had no idea how to even coach, and yet I was setting up phone calls with complete strangers asking them to sign up for coaching with me.
I didn't let the fear of anyone's opinion stop me. I didn't let my own self-doubt or inexperience get in the way of me taking action. I was desperate. I felt like I had no choice. I had to make this work. I couldn't go back to working for someone else. But unfortunately, I eventually ran out of advertising money and I had to stop setting up client discovery calls and go back to having a "real job."
I landed back in the service industry, but this time instead of serving champagne, caviar, truffles, and aged cheeses that came from a 200-year-old recipe originally served to Kings; I was killing cockroaches in the back kitchen and scrubbing rat poop off the floors.
It was humbling to say the least.
A lot of angst, tears, trial and errors, falling down and getting back up again later; and now I'm finally here. Living the life of my dreams with the business of my dreams.
The road getting here hasn't always been pretty, but it's been worth it.
If you’ve had a longing in your heart for freedom to do what you want when you want... If you've had a longing to be your own boss and make a living pursuing your passions while making incredible impact; if any of those things have ever appealed to you or crossed your mind, know that you’re in the right place.
Don’t waste years of time trying to figure things out on your own like I did.
Take it from someone who’s been there, done that— and get to your desired destination faster than you ever would have on your own.
![I feel like a lot of entrepreneurs have this really sexy story about how they invested in a single coach and their business just seemed to magically take off with ease... I feel like a lot of entrepreneurs have this really sexy story about how they invested in a single coach and their business just seemed to magically take off with ease...](https://import.cdn.thinkific.com/162323/YuXa8k9DQdqPhktiRI37_BrigitteBell-18.jpg)