Show up messy, learn from falling, ask for help, and have a big vision
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***Click here for part 2***
After many long and arduous months of thinking, overthinking, analyzing and overanalyzing…I left my 15+ year career in healthcare to pursue a freelance writing business.
This was definitely NOT something I did on a whim or impulsively and I plan to share exactly how I made this decision.
I grew up with parents who preached about getting a stable job that pays the bills and gives you benefits…and I did that for 15 freaking years!
But now, I’m starting a new chapter in my life. Freelance writing has been my side hustle for years. And I’m so excited, scared, amped and nervous at the same time. To quell those mixed and uneasy feelings, I decided to reach out to those who have gone through it already, seek their advice and capture their lessons learned.
As a proud Asian female, I’m eternally inspired by other Asian women who are leading their lives with unapologetic power and grace. I asked each of these amazing women the following question:
“What were the biggest challenges you faced when you started your business? And what would be the most important piece of advice you would give to others who are starting their businesses now?”
Dr. Annie Vovan (Avenue Mama)
“Every dream is worth pursuing no matter how big or small.”
Dr. Annie Vovan is a former Pharmacist with a doctorate in Pharmacy turned serial entrepreneur and executive coach. She teaches other moms to start their dream side hustle and how to never live with regret. She is passionate about women embracing their power to start that dream business.
She is the founder of Avenue Mama, a community of small business owners that are moms on a mission to make an impact in the world. They offer events and workshops. The Avenue Mama Podcast covers mindset, motherhood and entrepreneurship.
Here’s what Annie had to say:
“Challenges: The number of times I let my family or friends make me believe my idea was crazy or silly. Like how dare I charge that much?
Looking back now, I wish I only listened to the advice of people who have the success I was looking for and were in front of me instead of people who have no stakes in the game, and had never been in the arena of having a business and really listening to what I really wanted to pursue. instead of having other people tell me there is no way I can do this.
Advice: you could read all you want, listen to all the podcasts, and watch other people do what you want to do; but the only way to get started is to take that first step and the only way to get better is to take the next step.
The thing is, the first draft will never be your last draft. If your first draft was perfect, you’ve waited too long. Show up messy, early, before you’re ready. The people will find you. Those who love and support you will always be there for you. The people who judge you will always judge you so don’t let them get in the way of your biggest dreams.
Every dream is worth pursuing no matter how big or small. It’s worth pursuing even if it’s just for you.”
Dr. Stephanie J. Wong (Color of Success)
“Put what you’ve learned into practice”
Dr. Stephanie J. Wong is the host and producer of The Color of Success Podcast. The Color of Success communicates the stories of Asian/Asian Americans and ethnic minorities as they build brands, businesses, and careers, and mental health strategies to deal with self-doubt, anxiety, and barriers.
Dr. Wong is an Asian American, licensed clinical psychologist and entrepreneur quoted in Forbes, US News & World Report, SELF, and Shondaland. She works in private practice with Tech professionals, most of which are ethnic minorities, and at a hospital, serving military veterans. Her training in clinical interviewing skills has led to fireside chats with diverse podcast guests.
Here’s what Stephanie had to say:
“The biggest challenge to starting my own business was the steep learning curve. As a clinical psychologist, I did not have the traditional business training or background and learned on-the-job how to establish a sole proprietorship, create a website, file taxes, etc. As many entrepreneurs know, you wear many hats, hopefully in my case, very fashionable ones!
My biggest piece of advice is to learn from various sources, including podcasts, books, blogs, friends, and colleagues, and try to put what you’ve learned into practice. It will be clumsy many times, but you learn from falling! Just be sure to get back up, oftentimes, with support!”
Sheena Yap Chan (The Tao Of Self Confidence)
“Having support systems and help can go a long way!”
Sheena Yap Chan is a Keynote Speaker, coach and author on building self-confidence. She is also the founder and host of the award-winning podcast called The Tao of Self Confidence where she interviews Asian women about their inner journey to self-confidence.
After going from having low self-esteem to being the confident woman that she is today, Sheena uses her experience to help women overcome their self-limiting beliefs to live a better life.
Her podcast has gotten over one million downloads to date and has interviewed over 800 women on the topic of confidence. She has interviewed celebrities, 8-figure CEOs and more. She has been featured in multiple notable publications, including MindValley, Thrive Global, The Manila Times and more. Sheena is also the TOP 100 Filipinos to follow on LinkedIn for inspiration and learning in 2020 by Marketing In Asia.
Here’s what Sheena had to say:
“The biggest challenge I faced when starting my business was myself. I was holding myself back a lot thinking I wasn’t good enough or worthy enough to create the life that I desired. This was something that I dealt with for years. I also always wanted things to be perfect and not mistakes for the fear of being judged by my peers.
Also, I thought I had to do everything myself since asking for help was considered a weakness or a handout in our culture. Trying to do everything myself ended up me having major burnout.
I think the most important piece of advice I would give to others would be to be okay with asking for help. When I realized I didn’t have to do everything by myself and asked for help, my business and confidence grew to a new level. You can hire a coach, hire an agency or be part of a women’s group.
Just because you are in business for yourself, you don’t have to be in business by yourself. This journey can get very lonely and having support systems and help can go a long way.”
Becky Choi (Tummy Warrior™️)
“Follow your heart and have a big vision.”
Becky Choi is a Certified Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist, and the founder of Tummy Warrior diastasis recti coaching program. Becky is a mom of 2 little ones with a passion for diastasis recti (DR) as she experienced severe DR twice. She helps moms heal their diastasis recti, strengthen their core and improve their health and fitness.
She has been featured on Toronto Sun, CTV, Yahoo Finance and Amazon Kindle. Becky is the author of Diastasis Recti Secrets for New Moms: Proven Methods and Postpartum Exercises for Healing Core Weakness and Weight loss.
Here’s what Becky had to say:
“The biggest challenge, in the beginning, was that I just didn’t know what I really needed to do. I had to figure everything out by myself, know that it will work out and have faith and belief that it will work out for me.
At the time, I only had 100 people following me but everyone starts like that in the beginning. It was hard to grow my social following and juggle my business as a mom. I had to take care of my baby, learn how to run my business and keep working on my fitness recovery journey. How was I going to divide my time to do all these things?
The mindset is very important to your success. You have to think about your vision, destination and what you really want. Don’t aim for something small because if you aim too small, it will take the same amount of effort to reach something big. You might as well have a big vision because it will pull you and give you enough motivation to keep working on this.
You have to have passion for what you do. If you don’t have passion for what you teach or create and you’re just trying to make money as a goal…it will be very difficult for you to sustain. You might as well get a part-time job.
You have to find something you love and you really think it will be impactful for other people and change their lives. Follow your heart and have a big vision and believe! Right now, all the dots are all over the place but it will straighten out as you walk through these trenches. You will connect these dots in the future. It might be messy but have faith and do lots of mindset work.”
So Readers, which piece of advice resonated with you the most?
