When starting a business the word disappointment can appear often. It isn’t so much something I would describe as appearing on a weekly, or even a monthly basis, but more so it is a hill you will need to power walk on a daily basis. When you get into the heat of marketing planning and strategy for your businesses, this hill can feel even steeper.
When I (Claudia Lopez) started this amazing community with the intention of pouring my energy into those who wanted to leverage Marketing and Business to be 1% greater every day, I found myself being met with both the most unlikely of opportunities and the disappointments of starting a business daily. Today I will share with you a specific example of how I took a W & an L at the same dang time.
The Win – Atop the Peak of “Mount Stupid”:
All my creative mental energy was being poured into the <1% Club. I had gotten a recommendation to read up on a few specific amazing women in the venture capitalist space and had been about halfway through Arlan Hamilton’s “It’s About Damn Time” before I felt courageous enough to find her on LinkedIn and send an invite to connect. Welcome to the peak of “Mount Stupid.”
I was riding my courageous high of how I was going to get this done and her amazing story struck a nerve for me, pushing me to delve even further into her book, the marketing space, the entrepreneurial space, and maxing my connections on LinkedIn for the week.
I had just finished dinner with the family and brought the kids upstairs and laid them down for bed when I popped my earbuds back in and unpaused Arlan’s book. I swiped down on my notifications bar and…
WHAT? She accepted my connection request?! There is no way.
I am reading your book – you inspire me – I am awe-struck by what you have been able to accomplish – and you accepted my connection request. I celebrated at the top of Mount Stupid that night.
A couple of weeks later, I saw Arlan post a note regarding an info call she was going to be doing for her Inner Circle program, I submitted a registration to attend. (I could find $10,000 right?) I got on the call and for the first 5 minutes, it was just us… I had the opportunity to tell THE Arlan Hamilton about my baby community. This is the time people pray for, this is the amount of time people beg for to be able to pitch to a VC, and I accidentally got 5 lovely minutes.
I told Arlan all about my mission, where I came from, why I wanted to change Marketing for the BIPOC community, and how I thought her program could help me mitigate my often high expectations. I told her specifically “I don’t want to disappoint myself.” To which she replied “There will be disappointment. But being able to apply the learnings from those who have been there may ease some of the disappointment.”
I still look back on that Zoom recording and replay those 5 minutes.
The L – Welcome to The Valley of Despair:
It has been 2 and a half months since I started my community (clearly a lifetime…) and 2 and a half months since I connected with Arlan on LinkedIn.
It has been only 2 months since I got to meet her virtually and in that time I have been putting pencil to paper on growing my community. Surprise surprise, with the knowledge of what it takes to actually grow a community that is in love with Marketing and Business, takes HELLA WORK😂
Gaining outside perspective, getting feedback from end-users, and creating partnerships that can thrive in a valley of “No’s” is a steep hill of disappointment that I now get to walk every day. But as with any other repetitive exercise I find myself noticing a few changes daily.
My lung capacity grows larger, I can talk about my business and my mission for longer, my passion builds and as I hear the voice of other thought leaders and their work, I strive to give them and my family a shining example of what someone who listens can do.
My will to walk farther grows, and I push myself daily with new ways I can improve my community. Whether I am applying my own life stories, supporting other businesses, having 1:1 discussions with marketers, or elevating others with a mission to grow, I do it. I will do something new nearly daily.
Welcome to The Slope of Enlightenment:
This is where the hard work kicks in. This is where your foot is on the gas. This is where your endurance must shine.
I will create a safe place for marketers who look just like me.
I will bridge the gap between BIPOC professionals and BIPOC businesses.
I will give BIPOC students access to a career and space that generations past could not access.
I will be 1% greater every day.
The Less Than 1% Club 