the "nos" I've gotten

learning to embrace rejections are redirections

I have been saying I want to have my own business since I received my first paper paycheck at 16 years old. I worked for family-owned flower store a few miles away from home. Over the years, I did almost every job at the shop: front clerk / cashier, florist, call center associate, flower show attendant, delivery support person, and more. It was where I gathered all of my courage to ask for my first raise - and was granted a $.50 hourly increase from $6.75 to $7.25. Since then, I’ve continued to work for other people’s companies in more entrepreneurial environments. It has never quelled my desire to own a company of my own.

I have had so many ideas over so many years. I got insanely frustrated with myself when I couldn’t bring myself to act on them. I wrote entire business plans, had excel sheets, interviewed people, checked out real estate, but I always failed to take action. Here are a handful of businesses I’ve tried to start:

• bilingual daycare

• barre studio

• female-identifying co-working space

• pcos health tracking app

• platform for online teachers to distribute content

• dating platform based on voice memos only

• natural wine subscription company

• flower farm CSA

• plant store owner

In addition to failing to start those businesses, I’ve been rejected from many, many volunteer, training, and mentorship opportunities in the entrepreneurial space:

• multiple startup incubators

• multiple startup volunteer jobs

• venture capital training programs

• hundreds of jobs

Looking back at the long list of rejections, I feel proud of myself for persevering over many years and lots of disappointment. I did not have the tools to embrace these rejections when I was going through them. I felt like a failure. No matter how many times someone tells you that “failure” is a part of life or a part of being an entrepreneur, when you are an ambitious person like I am, your career is part of your identity. It feels awful to watch the same patterns happen, time and time again, and be clueless as to how to change the script.

Now, when I think about all of the “nos” I’ve gotten, I feel a sense of relief: none of them were right for me. In fact, they were redirections that were pointing my towards this very moment in time. I finally have the safety, the mindset, and the process for taking action to make this dream a reality.

I feel scared yet excited to take messy action. I don’t have it all figure out. I don’t have a three year plan. I have typos all over my website. I don’t know every answer. But I’m willing to put myself out there and see what sticks. What I love about it is that it’s completely my own. I didn’t join a program, or go to business school, or inherit the idea from someone else - I created it with my whole soul.

Do you see your rejections as redirections? Do you have faith that what’s meant for you will find you? If you want to change your script, consider working with me!

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