There’s an app for that! Get the latest issues of Business Heroine Magazine on your iPad or iPhone here > BusinessHeroineApp.com

Heroines, what’s your story in business? What in your experiences and background propelled to where you are now? Will you share with me?

I’ll go first!

I drove across the country from Alabama to LA in late July 2011 to follow a boy and embrace the idea of a new city. Fresh out of college (2 months to be exact), I was still cold-calling PR firms on the drive out here to ask if they were hiring and if they would be willing to meet with me.

Luckily, I secured three interviews before I parked my car and myself in Venice Beach, and one week later I had three job offers. (AKA: The best possible scenario for a new kid in a big new city.)

Four days later I began my first career in a corporate PR setting. I was eager, curious and enthusiastic – ready to prove that a sweet southern girl could hang with the big LA boys (and ladies).

My eagerness, however, was not met with critical thinking tasks, creative projects or any level of work that I felt was allowing me to contribute what I had to offer. And so, that almost achey feeling of “I can so totally give more!!” combined with the infamous soul-sucking commute to and from the office led me to leave the corporate world after a short ten months.

I know what might be thinking… Wtf? You had a secure corporate job and just decided it wasn’t fun enough? Don’t you understand you need to put in your time and work your way up?? You’re an example of why your generation is a bunch of ungrateful over-deserving elitists”… That one was a little harsh, but you get the idea.

But one skill I had developed was not only learning what to do from other people, but learning what NOT to do from other people. And if ten months was too long in an unfulfilling environment, then I sure as hell wasn’t going to waste any more of my time, skills, joy and life for any longer.

So there I was, 23 and jobless, because of my choice.

I pursued a couple of other interests – modeling for about a year, traveling overseas and eventually came back to working with a coverage monitoring team part-time. But there was something missing, something unfulfilled that I knew had to show itself sooner or later. (And hopefully sooner, as I was struggling at this point to know where to go next.)

So I did what anyone would do when trying to fulfill their innermost lackings and satisfy what was missing…. I got on Craigslist. And after some careful sifting I came across a internship posting that promised the excitement of traditional media with a new focus on a movement in business.

Enter, Business Heroine Magazine.

Two Skype dates and some email exchange later, I had stepped into a role alongside the founder, Anne Perry, which would open my eyes, heart and soul to a world of women and entrepreneurship that I honestly didn’t know existed.

A year later I am still learning and growing and feeling fulfilled from this world. And I’m able to use my own story and experiences of not wanting to settle and choosing to follow my passions to give back to the Business Heroine mission.

This was my divinely timed journey and story to where I am today, and I’m stickin’ to it.

We can have fun at work, right?

Some days there is simply more work to be done than hours available to do it. I had a day like that earlier this week and, rather than stress out, I’m decided to turn it into a game and have FUN.

When I was a kid I would play grocery clerk (dream job ’cause you get to scan stuff)

… and librarian (dream job ’cause you get to take a stack of books and stamp ‘em one at a time — open-stamp-close-repeat — nice rhythm eh?)

… and drive up bank teller (dream job ’cause you get to talk into a microphone, and send the canister down the shoot)

So I thought it would be fun to play busy businesswoman. Dream job, ’cause I got to tip tap my keyboard all important-like, wear my hair in a messy bun like “oh, such a busy day at the (home)office,” and during phone meetings I leaned back in my chair exec-style.

Don’t I look so important and busy?

What do YOU do to keep the “stressy” energy away?

XO!
Anne

If I had to choose one word to summarize the theme of my life throughout the last few months, I would pick “ balance.”

If someone would have told me that I would be working for what I consider to be the coolest company in the world (Google), while developing my own business (Svetshop) and helping build the most kickass magazine (Business Heroine, duh ;) in the world, while working to raise the vibration of our planet through Inspiration Campaign, all while falling in love with a man who I pretty much dreamed up and poof – manifested!

Well, I would probably say, “Bring it!”

Thank you universe, because you bought it, and now that it’s here let me admit this: I’ve been feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with everything good and wonderful and exciting.

Really? Yes.

Have you ever felt this way? I don’t like to make assumptions, but I will go for it and say, I bet you have.

And you know what? That’s OK.

I’ve learned that it is OK to feel overwhelmed for any and every reason. It’s OK to drop the metaphorical ball. It’s OK, as long as you pick it up.

I feel like it’s obvious that difficult things overwhelm us. But what about the good stuff? Well, at the end of the day it’s all just transient, so the important things that I keep reminding myself of:

The world will not end if I do not send that email…
My friends won’t hate me if I don’t come to their party…
Saying “no” is better than saying yes and then stressing out about it…

My business, love life and general well being will be healthier and more prosperous if I let myself drop that ball sometimes and remain kind to myself as I pick it right back on and keep on going.

Ladies, cheers to all that we do, and the grace and integrity with which we do it. Mostly, cheers to being our own best friend, because without self-love and compassion none of this stuff really matters does it?

May you find your balance, lose it, and find it again :)

Svetlana

I have a confession to make…

I’m still figuring out who I am…

Ok, it’s true – I’m 24 years young, but to be solid in life you need to be solid in who you are, right?

From the time I was about this young, I felt like I had to hurry up and become. Like there’s some unspoken timeline of when you need to finalize yourself.

(Something scary for a girl of many interests like myself).

But being in a community of women who are utilizing the evolution of their skills, interests and talents as they progress makes me realize that I can do the same.

The light has finally been shed on my former shadowy insecurities of figuring out myself! So, for now, I’ll just stay inspired by the Heroines who have come before me, and of course, those surrounding me.

Have you ladies ever experienced this? I’m curious to know where you are on your journey to being YOU.

Love and light,
Past, present and future Katie

This quote really hit home for me:

I realized I’ve been depending on a branch.

My little bird claws have been digging into that branch to prevent a fall. My little bird wings have been tensely clasped by my side, unwilling to pry themselves open.

Why? I’ve been sitting on that branch for so long, that I’d forgotten. I’d bought into the delusion.

But for a moment, my attention wandered from my rigid grasp… and I looked up. Guess what I saw:

Plenty of other branches available for playing on if I should choose to. Yummy worms on the ground just waiting for me to swoop down and enjoy a plump meal. Open space and blue skies to glide through as I please.

So now I’m shaking myself off and taking a good look at those precious wings of mine. Like, hmmm… hmmmmm! Where shall we go, little wings?

Can you relate, my birdie friend? Share your insights in the comments :)

Love,
Anne
P.S. I was also inspired by this quote:

“If you fall, I’ll be there.” ~ Floor

Oh yeah, duh! What’s the worst that could happen?

Have you ever had that feeling where you’re one step away from being totally overwhelmed with work and life, but you’re holding on to that feeling of giddy excitement because everything’s happening
all at once??

Yeah, that’s me right now – in my personal and work life. And luckily, I work pretty well in this state of teetering between “There’s not enough hours in the day…” and “OMG there’s SO much to look forward to!!”

From what I’ve learned being surrounded by Heroines, this is a common ‘limbo’ to be in. Excited by the incredible new launches and programs we’re creating but pushed to the point of stress because we’re over-achievers who need to give it beyond our ALL. On top of that, we’re probably working on about 10 things at once that all require our full attention.

But as long as we’re still enjoying the busy-ness,
then I think it’s ok to feel overment (overwhelmed + excitement) :)

Afterall, overwhelmed is only a bad thing when you start to feel disconnected from what you’re looking forward to. Otherwise, it’s just a high dose of productivity-focused happiness.

So stay busy, world-changers, and try and enjoy the ride. And I’ll try and take my own advice. ;)

What do you think about enjoying the busy-ness? Share your comments with me in the Facebook group!

Xoxo,
Katie

Quirky fact you may or may not know about me…

I live in a motorhome. Yep, it’s true. I am actually typing this right now from my little “home office” (aka: removed a built-in-bed, put carpet down, and plopped a desk in).

See, about a year-and-a-half ago my husband and I had a conversation over a bottle of wine about how it was high time we turn our work-from-home situation into a work-from-anywhere adventure. We sold all our furniture, bought a motorhome, and we’ve been exploring ever since.

Romantic, right? Well, honestly it was a long road to get to that type of freedom.

Here’s the full story:
https://businessheroinemagazine.com/how-i-went-from-trapped-and-broke-to-work-and-travel-freedom/

The reason I share this with you is because I’m super passionate about inventing our own paths. Whether that’s inventing your own dream business, deciding time-freedom means more to you than a steady (but boring) paycheck, or arranging your life to work while wandering, YOU get to decide how your life looks.

I often talk about five types of freedom – Financial Freedom (not depending on a job or anyone else for money), Time Freedom (doing what you want when you want), Location Freedom (going where you want whenever you want), Brain Freedom (clear thinking and peace of mind), and Creative Freedom (fully expressing your gifts).

In fact, I wrote about that too:
https://businessheroinemagazine.com/five-types-of-freedom-for-successful-entrepreneurs/

Point is, this is YOUR life. And life is short. And you can create whatever you want. So the question is… what are you inventing for your life?

Big love,
Anne

Throughout the last few weeks, my life continues to teach me three things:

1) Wear what you feel comfortable in!

2) Go where the love is…

3) Slow down. Yes, just like that. Breathe. Now slow down even faster. :)

For those whom I have not yet had the pleasure of virtually connecting with, my name is Svetlana and I am the Visual & Experience Director here at Business Heroine Magazine. If I had to pick one word to describe my purpose in this world, I would choose my life word, “Inspiration.”

Here at BH, I work with Anne, Katie and all of you wonderfully inspiring women to continue building our community, and creating the most supportive, useful, authentic, and inspired culture, and an overall beautiful experience for all of us.

A few months ago, I was going through a particularly rough time in my life (as we all do from time to time); then I started waking up every day full of gratitude, and would articulate all of the things I was grateful for.

I acted as if until I was 100% grateful for it all- the successes and failures, the people who left and those who were always there, the business opportunities and disappointments, and mostly, for that inner light I have within me, and you have within you, that sometimes just needs to be flipped back on.

Cheers to flipping our own light switches on! (And to getting by with a little help from our friends, a few cocktails, a yoga class, and/or etc…)

I look forward to connecting with all of you, and mostly to sharing inspiration. Have a magnificent day!

With inspiration & gratitude,
Svetlana

Hello Heroines!

Anne is out of town in the Canadian wilderness, and she’s left me in charge…. muahahahah! House party, anyone?!!

In case there’s a few of you lovelies who I haven’t met through email, Facebook or any other cyber world – I’m Katie, the Relationships & Content Manager for our Business Heroine team. It’s a tailor-made position that allows me to be the people-person that I am and still nerd out over traditional media and PR brainstorms! I’m very lucky. :)

Summer is going beautifully so far! I’ve learned to skateboard (mostly) and have enjoyed zipping around the boardwalk. It’s easy to love where you live when your home is like vacation. And other than a few too many lingering clouds in California, I’m feeling right at home for an Alabama-native turned Venice Beach-bum.

The coming weeks and months have me excited, too! I’m a sucker for the holidays or any other occasion full of favorites: family, friends and food… and not to mention some amazing FIRSTS and upcoming projects for BH!

Thank you as always for being the best group of Heroines out there. ❤

Have a beautiful end of the week and fulfilling weekend.

xoxox
Katie