[00:00:26] Kc Rossi: Today. I wanted to share with you my hot tip and what I wish I knew when I first started out because this time of the year in 2021 marks my 30 year anniversary of being a full-time entrepreneur.
And over that time, I've amassed a ton of information. It's been a windy road and it definitely has not been necessarily an easy journey. And I want to share with you a little bit, rewind the clock. All the way back to 1991, when I was 19 and started my first official business, you know, where you kind of get the DBA and you do all the things and you have a business card and all of that good stuff.
[00:01:22] And my very first business was a photographic jewelry company that I started with my best friend called Montage. And we took these beautiful images. Many of them were nature settings and created these collages. That we were then able to mount and dip in this really cool coding. So these little mini pieces of art could be worn as jewelry, hearings, and pendants.
And I knew that really at a very young age, but definitely, especially once I met Cher, my bestie, who was all about doing things that were unconventional. And harnessing creativity. I loved the fact of the freedom lifestyle and being able to travel and all those good things. So I was definitely attracted to entrepreneurialism at a very young age.
[00:02:16] So we decided we were going to take our wires and drive them down the east coast and try to sell them to upscale, gift shops and boutiques. Well, right before, shortly before we decided to jump in the car and do that, I had gone into my friend's closet, looking for a foam core board, which was something that we use to mount the photo images on.
[00:02:42] And I did not realize that that closet actually had one of those false doors that opened right up into the basement level below. It was just hooked with one of those hooks and eyes from the basement ceiling. So. Down. I went 13 feet, and landed on my face and lost consciousness needed 22 stitches, the whole shebang.
[00:03:09] And this really kind of was literally a bunk on the head that, this entrepreneurial journey may not be that easy. And we still persevered. We stayed with our plan, did a little healing maybe for about a month. And then we packed up our wares. We literally rented a geo metro vehicle and everything that we owned, we shoved in the back.
[00:03:34] We lived in the vehicle for a month as we tried to sell. And as you can imagine, I had no professional training either did my best. I had zero knowledge of what sales were, or how to close a sale. I got to remember it was 19 years old and it was basically just like, we're going to do this. So in a way, there was this naiveness slash maybe stupidity, but there was this conviction that we believed in what we were doing.
[00:04:06] And we were so connected to the. The desire of that freedom, lifestyle, independence, creativity, and really going on the road in and having some fun together. And here's the thing. All of that was amazing to kick it off. And what I found happens is because results don't happen like this, and this is where a little bit of that naive newness comes in where you feel like, of course, it's amazing.
[00:04:34] And the world's going to see how amazing it is. And then we're just going to make a bunch of money and live an amazing life as well. And we know that that's not necessarily how things happen. Success, in general, is not this linear straight line. It is a windy road and it does have a lot of variations and learning lessons and bumps along the way.
[00:04:55] And so one of the things I was to say was a big mistake that I, that I learned now is back then we pivoted so often we didn't leave. Any time for our ideas to take hold in the ground and sprout garden, we don't plan to see then just expect to see the results tomorrow. And I do think that that was my mindset when I first started.
[00:05:24] I also think it's a lot of people's mindsets when they're pivoting or starting something, as well, because we're so excited about the idea and we're committed to the idea. But we're also looking for results. Navy on an unrealistic timeline, that was the case for my best friend and partner, and myself and we actually pivoted nine different times in a four-year period.
[00:05:49] And they were completely different businesses from exterior house painting to the jewelry line to, nutrition counseling. All over the board. And so that was definitely something if I was to share or impart any wisdom that I learned, in the beginning, is to give it time, to take hold and to seed and be careful when you're pivoting, if you're pivoting almost like a popcorn brain, definitely be super aware of that.
[00:06:21] The other thing which I feel is like the. The number one hot tip that I wish I doubled down is, self-trust because that initial piece, when I was 19 of that conviction and that just like, we're gonna, we're gonna persevere and we're going to get this, you know, going that started to fade over time.
[00:06:45] And it was something where. Once you subscribe to the school of influence where you then are comparing yourself to other people, or again, you are trying to be on an unrealistic timeline for what you deem success should look like. Then all of these little pieces infiltrate our confidence level, our self-efficacy our self-regard.
[00:07:11] I mean, everything that ties into. That self-trust piece. And so I really wish 30 years ago that I cultivated confidence and self-trust. Because we bring ourselves with us wherever we go. And when we're not looking outside for the answers, everything in our life shifts, we, I believe have outsourced our power to experts and blueprints and even Google.
[00:07:43] And we have moved away from exercising and strengthening our inner core intuition. And in that, I definitely feel that we see the trickle-down of what disempowerment feels like, which is insecurity and it's slow to make decisions. And then if we do make decisions, we're conferring with multiple other people, whether it is friends, family, colleagues, we're asking people that aren't even in our industry.
[00:08:14] And I often think about that, especially for entrepreneurs when we have this great idea. Even though our gut is telling us, hell yes, this is amazing. We will then sometimes go to our partner or our friend who is more conventional or maybe has a nine to five job. And they maybe even have a risk aversion and we're asking them their opinion.
[00:08:37] And so that's something that I became really aware of that I started to shift away from this initial kind of. Luckiness or naiveness right out of the draw at 19, when I started shifting away from that core principle, it really opened up the door for a lot of self-doubt unnecessary struggle. Having these challenges come up like Groundhog day.
[00:09:00] So my hot tip to you is to double down on your self-trust and to really lean into what that means for you as far as. Cultivating your confidence. And it was interesting because I just am a fan of like knowing the atomology of words and definitions of words. And before I jumped on, I was like, what does double-down actually mean?
[00:09:24] I know that we have a slang connotation around it, but it came up as passionately recommitting. I was like, oh, I actually love that. So passionately recommitting.
[00:09:48] And the double-down definition of passionately recommitting is something that I continually need to remind myself every single day when it's like, okay, how am I going to lean into that gut wisdom? And sometimes it takes putting some mindful blinders on or boundaries, if you will, of what information we're going to take in and really staying committed to, again, that deep.
[00:10:13] Why? Because I think part of that perseverance that came in 30 years ago of just like, this is what I'm going to do is because I was so connected and attached to that sole purpose and deep, freedom, independence, creativity. And so that's one way that we can kind of backdoor into our confidence and self-trust is having that deep, why front and center, and then double downing, which is passionately recommitting to that.
[00:10:41] Every single. Every single day, how do I pay attention to my gut wisdom? How do I tap into my heart? How do I stay connected to my deep why? So that's the message I wanted to share with you today. This is something again, it would have made my three decades of entrepreneurial. So much smoother, but I am a believer that everything happens for a reason.
[00:11:04] And we get to try and try again as the sun comes up, we get to try again and just keep on keeping on. All right, my friend, I hope that resonates. If it didn't let me know. And until. Brief joy.
