I will try to boil this down to the short version.
I never thought I would be an entrepreneur. Ever.
But I always wanted to be.
I love hearing people's success stories and always pick up on the common thread: they took a risk to get to where they are. I always wanted to be one of those people but didn’t think I had the guts. I had a secure, comfortable job in TV news for two decades, why would I leave it?
That is a loaded question, and I will unravel it as easily as possible: I wanted to use my voice for more. So much on the news these days is so negative, and I started to see good stories pushed aside more and more for things like politics and crime. I saw how divisive it was and how uninterested many people became in it. I think there will always be a place for national news, but I question the longevity of local news. This article from Pew Research is really fascinating. It depicts how ratings in local news have been steadily decreasing, while advertising revenue for on air has been decreasing (digital advertising has increased) yet it shows more hours dedicated to local news. Translation: more news programs continue to be added locally while viewership has been decreasing. Another translation: local news on television doesn’t hold the value it once did to many people.
With all of that said, just like many of you who have expressed this to me for years, I was also tired of the negativity. And honestly, I got to a place where I know my worth, my value, and what I bring to the table, and it wasn’t to stay in something that is fading (in some aspects) just to be comfortable. It was being confident enough to walk out the doors knowing that I can do so much more. For me, it was in part about freedom. Freedom to use my voice how I want. Freedom to be myself, unapologetically and authentically. But it was also the realization that things will be more difficult, as I try to build a business from scratch. And that was the toughest part.
For about the first year I really rode out the twists and turns to figure out what I enjoyed doing. People told me that it takes about a year for a new business to find its foundation, and it most definitely did. About a year into it is when I saw the path. I know the pillars of my business, what I am doing, and where I want to go. I have figured out how to scale what some people told me was an unscalable business. Tell me I can’t do something and watch me do it! When you have confidence in yourself and in what you are doing, you find ways to make things work. Now, a year and a half in, I have a Coaching business (Media, Public Speaking, Presentation, Confidence), I have a podcast where I do use my voice for good (Credentialed with Jillian Mele), and I recently started Skill Studio, a platform dedicated to online courses for Professional Skills that are affordable and allow you to view the content as your leisure. And I have added a list of speaking topics to my portfolio that I am so passionate about and love sharing my insight and knowledge with others! Point being: we don’t grow by being comfortable and we don’t evolve by repeating what we did the day before. We shine when we push ourselves past the limit that we know.
I cannot even begin to express how excited I am to be using my voice for good, and how excited I am to be a part of the here, now and the future: the digital world. Times have changed, I have changed, and I love the journey I am into the world of the unknown. I certainly have no idea what the future holds, none of us do. But I know one thing for sure: I am now one of those people who, years from now, can look back at life and say, ‘I bet on myself and took the risk.’ And gosh, that feels really good.
