Women Entrepreneurs Share How They Have Overcome Moments of Doubt & Discouragement

I lost my job as a well-paid information technology manager.  Devastated, depressed, demoralized, and disgusted I had to dig deep inside. The loss caused self-discovery.  I read, studied, prayed (a lot), and decided to venture out on my own.  Why not? What did I have to lose? Les Brown says, ‘when you fall, try to land on your back, cause if you can look up, you can get up’ and that’s what I did! I got up and I never looked back. I discovered it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Barbara H. Smith’s high energy coaching, corporate training, and public speaking engages, empowers, and converts entrepreneurs, executives, and small business owners from sideline onlookers to actively transformed participants in life and in their careers.

I remember falling ill unto the point of being disabled shortly after I resigned from my job. I remember feeling on top of the moon at having the courage to demand my worth and charter my own path of success as an entrepreneur, only to feel as if that was taken away from me due to illness soon after resigning. But it was the experience during those times of disappointment and defeat that fuel me today and highlight my resilience.

Alesha Brown, The Joy Guru, is an award-winning entrepreneur, book publisher, and transformational speaker who encourages audiences by igniting the fire within and helping them take center stage. She is the owner of Fruition Publishing Concierge Services (a division of Alesha Brown, LLC) where she offers ghostwriting, writing coaching, and full publishing services to help people share their stories with the masses.

I ran my business into the ground. I lead with an iron fist – exhausting my team, my clients and myself. The fruit rotted, the tree withered, and I was desperate to be uprooted and planted elsewhere. In a moment of defeat, I threw up my hands and relinquished control. That moment changed everything! I opened the door to wise counsel, hit my knees in prayer and rebuilt my team in humility. Today, I’m on a mission to show others that leading with love makes all the difference in the world. 

Courtney B. Riley is the Founder and CEO of Proximo Marketing Strategies. Headquartered in Gloucester, VA, Courtney comes alongside business owners from all walks of life and all corners of the globe, transforming their businesses from the inside out by helping them step out of chaos and into their God-given purpose.

It was a tough blow losing my biggest on-going account.  I cried, then got mad, then rolled up my sleeves the very next day and took on the world in a whole new way. Redefined, refocused, recalibrated, pulled up my big girl panties and forged ahead like never before AND it worked. I replaced that business with even more business AND that client came back a few months later and they are even more profitable for me now.

Shelley Smith, owner of Premier Rapport Inc, a business consulting firm firmly focused on workplace culture. She believes, knows and lives that workplace culture isn’t built in a day; its built every day. She shows up with her clients just like they do; daily.

The hardest season of my career as a business owner was last year during Q4, the presidential election, and COVID. What happened? We lost 3 of our highest paying clients in 2 days, with little savings and right when the company finally seemed to beheading in the right direction. What did I do? I went back to the basics and persevered doing everything in my power to talk to everyone I could, even going door-to-door. My back was against the wall and I had to do anything and everything to keep things afloat.After much anxiety, crying myself to sleep at night, and knowing no one was coming to save me, after two hard months of back-to-back sales I scored 4 new clients in 1 week… and business has never been better.

Kollin Lephart has proved that she is resilientin everything she does, and continues to show that you can do anything you putyour mind to. She is the Founder and CEO of Destination M+PR, a digital marketingagency, and loves nothing more than helping others and chasing that feeling –the feeling of passion and pure joy.

When dealing with disappointment, discouragement, and defeat, I first analyze what went wrong or has changed and then look forward.  In looking back, I evaluate what I should have done differently and avoid the blame game. Then I look forward.  I focus on solutions, different strategies, and innovative tactics to take advantage of anew reality and eliminate past errors. My approach is like driving a car: Most of the time I look in front of me, but I also have an eye on my rear view mirror.

Linda Abraham is the president & founder of Accepted, the admissions consultancy & essay editing company that she founded 1994. She is the host of the Admissions Straight Talk podcast and the co-author of MBA Admission for Smarties.

When Chargebacks911 first launched, we took an accelerated approach for everything. It was a breakneck pace that worked for a startup, but as we grew more established, we quickly realized it was simply not sustainable. There were moments I doubted we would ever reach a place of stability. I think what kept us going was that we truly believed in what we were doing. Our solutions and technology were revolutionary in the payments space, and we had the ability to change the game for merchants. We knew we had something special on our hand sand that made all the difference in the world.

Monica Eaton-Cardone is the Co-Founder and COO of Chargebacks911. This risk mitigation firm protects more than 2 billion transactions annually to help online merchants optimize profitability through dispute management. Chargebacks911 is headquartered in the Tampa Bay area, with offices in North America and Europe. Monica has more than two decades of experience in the fields of eCommerce, payments, fintech, and fraud prevention.