this & next month’s sacred threads will be focussed on soft entrepreneurship & leadership, written by jessica fawn
last week i asked my instagram audience to ask me anything about business.
many questions were along the lines of..
“how did you get started?”
“what were unexpected challenges?”
“how do you stay on top of things?”
“how do you stay grounded in all the chaos?”
each question required SUCH a big answer, that i decided to pour them all in a long live video.
you can watch the video at the top of this post, or read what i shared below:
picture by anne laoût
my story • a timeline
i like to think that my entrepreneurial journey started the year i said “f*ck it, let’s try” which was
2020 - the yolo year
at the end of 2019, i gave myself exactly 1 year to try, play around, and see what happens.
somewhere i had heard the phrase “Shitty First Draft” (the idea that everything is always a draft & never perfect) and applied that to everything.
i created & promoted free challenges, giveaways, workshops, anything. (to my random little audience of 300)
i cocreated with women who were ahead. slowly, i grew.
all i did in my spare time was learn, learn, learn; business podcasts, books, youtube videos, pdfs - i consumed anything i could get my hands on.
i worked 3 part-time jobs to financially support my yolo year.
2021 - the take-off
in the start of 2021 i gave myself a challenge - to create a few reels.
within those few tries i realized that something crucial had been missing this whole time; my personality.
through these videos, i could show my humor & cynicism- things i hid before because i thought they weren’t ~on brand~
the videos took off, my audience grew exponentially, my income grew - i was on an upwards spiral.
2022 - the crash
2021 & 2022 were big, bright & beautiful years when looking at the numbers.
when looking at my mental health though, they got increasingly dark.
the scolding online,
the financial instability,
general business chaos -
intensity started rising in all areas. and i wasn’t prepared.
at the end of 2022, i crashed. i took 3 months “off” and had to rethink what i had created.
2023 - the new horizon
in the process of crashing i learned one of the most important lessons of my life:
anxiety is not the enemy. it’s telling me something important.
my anxiety was telling me things i didn’t want to hear:
i need create financial stability (safety)
i need to protect myself from online visibility
i need to break free from the toxic dependence on instagram
i had no choice but to listen. so there i went; focussing on financial stability, diverting my social media presence, finding other ways to share.
as a result, i created the platform temple (which now sustains me, pays for 10 teachers, 1 artist & a copywriter).
i commited to slow, sustainable business. launch stress & IG stress started fading.
my theme for 2023 was Big Tree Energy, and i started to grow strong & tall.
2024 - flowering from overflow
looking back it almost feels impossible that so much happened in such a short time.
about 4.5 years later, i’m here, sitting on a solid foundation of safety, blooming in full.
i found the balance between being a boss & a baby, a king & a queen, a muse & a maker.
so many lessons were learned. let’s get into those now.
the lessons • what i wish i knew
here is a list of things i wish in advance. each would’ve saved me tears, time, energy.
learn how to rest & take it seriously
learn to hear your inner truth and ALWAYS listen
learn to self-regulate & never judge emotions. acknowledge that what you are doing is inherently terrifying to your nervous system.
allow yourself to lean on others; collab, cocreatee, outsource, get support early
realize the parts you hide might be the parts that hold the gold
realize you are NOT your business, you’re a human being. act accordingly; have other passions and hobbies.
always remain a student. stay humble; you’re never done learning
find your why - what hurts you most in the world? what has hurt you? let it fuel you when you want to give up
have clear systems & routines; use productivity tools so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each time
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS - don’t fall for the manifestation trap / abundance bullsh*t. people who promise “7 figures”, “5K days” or “quantum leaps” are puppets in a pyramid scheme that is destroying many lives. rather - get clear & empowered in your finances. don’t give that power away.
this is all from me today.
i’ll be sending a few more of these soft entrepreneur notes in the coming weeks.
if you want to respond to this, just hit reply!
much love
jess
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