You might know me as an advocate and educator in the areas of mental health and burnout. That is, in fact, the message I have been bringing to the marketplace in the bravest way I know how since 2018. It is a message I still carry through public speaking and online programming.

Maybe you know me as a non-profit speaker, facilitator and consultant. Maybe you know me as an attorney.

But I only recently started to “lean in” on an area of my work that, until just last year, I did mostly for free . . . mentoring and advising start-ups and entrepreneurs and spending a ton of time in the women entrepreneurship space in Knoxville, Tennessee.

So how exactly did I go from attorney . . . to Executive VP of a for-profit . . . to CEO of a non-profit . . . to self-employed by necessity . . . to mentor and advisor to entrepreneurs?

Well, it’s a long story, but here are some of the highlights . . .

I decided that I wanted to be an attorney when I was sixteen years old. And I did not reconsider that decision until my first week of law school. Oooops.

I entered the post-graduate workforce with a law degree and a solid liberal arts background–no math courses after high school–and only the business courses I had to take to graduate law school. So, naturally, I ended up in business?!?!

When I took my first job at a commercial real estate start-up, I didn’t even know what a general ledger was. A few years later, I rewrote the general ledger. And over time, I put together every system and process we had for the property management and brokerage side of the company. Some of those processes are still in place today.

After ten years at the real estate company, I reorganized myself out of a job in the summer of 2008–right before the bottom dropped out of the real estate market and the economy. I literally helped disassemble and redesign my “baby”–the company I had loved like my own–in an attempt to help it survive what was coming (even though we really didn’t know what was around the corner).

After nine months spent freelancing as a lawyer and trying to get clear on my passion and vision for my life, I found myself in the role of CEO for a newly formed regional non-profit with a 46-county, 3-state footprint and approximately 70 full-time staff for six years. This non-profit had been created out of the forced merger of three legacy organizations, and we ran it very much like a start-up. It was a chartered affiliate of an international organization with a 100- year history.

The objective was to create the vision, strategy, culture, systems and processes that would allow this brand new organization to leverage its new capacity in the face of shifting market conditions. Within three years, I found myself sitting at the table, representing local affiliates, in strategic work that would guide an entire movement.

And then I crashed and burned. Because I pushed my body, mind and soul too hard for too long. Because I didn’t know then what unmitigated stress and unresolved trauma can do to a body. More on that story here.

I became self-employed out of necessity because I was chronically ill and no longer “fit” in the high-performance, corporate culture. And even once I was healthy and strong enough to return to a more traditional J-O-B, I couldn’t bring myself to go back.

Freedom tasted too sweet. Even though that freedom has come with its fair share of sacrifices.

Part of the “freedom” I chose was the freedom to continue to speak openly about my mental health at a time when doing such a thing most likely made me “unemployable.”

Since 2015, I have served as an advisor, mentor, sometimes lawyer, and consultant for entrepreneurs, start-ups and non-profits. And I “officially” hung my own shingle in 2018.

I have seen a lot. I have made tons of mistakes. And I have learned so much along the way. I am not an expert at everything, but I am really good at connecting dots, identifying resources, and encouraging entrepreneurs to trust their own voice, wisdom and path (and to invest in their personal well-being along the way).

Bringing an idea into the light and turning it into a sustainable business takes courage, creativity and resilience.

Building a business that allows you to thrive as a human being is a little rebellious (when measured against cultural norms).

Owning your own business (while also playing all of the other roles in your life) is not for the faint of heart.

Encircling yourself with a community of like-minded, supportive humans is powerful.

With these ideas at the forefront, I announced a new program this year–a group coaching program for women-owned businesses. And last week, I launched the first two cohorts of this program.

After day one of the first two-day workshop, I texted a friend acknowledging the humor and irony in putting a financial model around something that brings me such joy after only six years.

The initial feedback from the participants has been incredible. The synchronicities have been palpable. And women who were not able to participate in the first round have asked when the next cohort will begin. So, consider yourselves “in the know.” The next cohort will launch in March. If you are interested in more information, please reply to this email.

And if you find yourself considering entrepreneurship, embarking on the journey, or wondering if you have what it takes, know that there is a whole community of people out there ready to support you, myself included.

Love,

Booth

p.s. A new episode of the podcast came out last week! Listen here for more on the gifts that can come with learning to surrender.