Major Takeaways
Progress over perfection: Even the smallest step forward is still progress—momentum matters more than speed.
Community and grace matter: Surround yourself with women who understand, and allow yourself permission to pause and recharge.
Celebrate wins: Every achievement, big or small, deserves recognition—acknowledging progress fuels motivation.
Keep Climbing Queens: Empowering Female Entrepreneurs to Rise Above Challenges
Welcome to Elevations, the podcast where we rise together step-by-step as entrepreneurs,
dreamers, and builders of legacy. I’m your host, Dr. Brenda Myers, and today’s episode is
dedicated to my sisters in business, the women who wear many hats and yet keep showing up
no matter how heavy the crown feels. Today’s episode is entitled, Keep Climbing, Queens.
So let’s be real, being a female entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. We are not just
business owners, we are mothers, we are wives, we are partners, we are daughters, we are
caregivers, we are leaders, and dream carriers. And on any given day, all of those roles can
collide.
What do I mean by that? I can be a wife today, and at the same time, I can be a problem solver,
or I can be a caregiver, or I can be going on my day and, you know, my daughter’s school can
call, so I have to go pick up my daughter and, you know, take her to the hospital, or the doctor,
or the dentist, or whatever the case may be. Anything can happen at any time, you know, or I
can wake up in the morning ready to crush my to-do list, but then something else happens and
I have to take care of that, or, you know, I finally get a chance to sit down and focus on my
business, then a household responsibility call, you know, I have to take care of that, or I may be
at home, and then there’s doubt that sets in. You think, hmm, am I really cut out for this? So
there’s so many things that go on in our heads, and so many things that we have to take care
of, so many hats that we have to wear as women, as females, as female entrepreneurs, as
business owners.
So, but here’s the truth. The fact that you are balancing all of those roles and still pushing
forward makes you extraordinary. You are proof that resilience is not just a word, it’s a lifestyle.
It’s a lifestyle, because we have to live it every day. We have to do this every single day, and the
fact that we’re doing it makes us extraordinary. Women are extraordinary beings.
We not only carry life, because that in itself is extraordinary, but the way that we balance all of
these roles on a daily basis makes us extraordinary, and the fact that we are female
entrepreneurs makes us even more extraordinary. So let’s talk about the challenges, some of
the challenges that we face. So missing a business opportunity because family has to come
first, because let’s face it, family comes first.
We have to put our family first. That’s a priority, you know. Family comes first.
Everything else is secondary. We love our kids. We love our husbands.
We love our lifestyle. We love all of that, and it comes first. So missing a business opportunity
because of a family, you know, that’s a challenge.
That’s challenges that we face, and sometimes we feel guilt because of it, you know, because
we missed a business opportunity, but guess what? That opportunity could possibly come back
around again, so don’t worry about that, because your family comes first, but that is a
challenge that we face, you know. We struggle with the guilt of that. We also struggle with the
guilt of working too much or not working enough, you know.
That’s something that we deal with. We struggle with either working too much or not working
enough. That’s something we have to, you know, deal with in our minds.
There has to be a balance there. Sometimes we feel like something goes lacking if we don’t
work too hard or if we don’t stay the extra hour, but whatever we didn’t get to that day, we can
get to it the next day, you know, unless there’s a deadline. Unless there’s a deadline and
something has to be done that day, we’re gonna stay and we’re gonna make sure that we get it
done, because guess what? That’s what we do, but we also feel like, you know, if we don’t stay
and get something done, we feel guilt for not working enough.
Wow, that’s heavy. That’s heavy, because we are the business owner. We are, you know,
entrepreneurs.
We are the bosses, so it’s up to us to make sure everything gets done. So, we want to make
sure that we’re working enough to make sure everything happens. So, you know, we struggle
with the guilt of that, so we have to find a balance in that, and sometimes it seems like we
watch others move faster than we do, you know.
What does that mean? That means that while we seem like we’re moving at a slower pace and
other counterparts seem like they’re moving faster, you know, sometimes we feel a way about
that, but guess what? Everybody is on their own journey. Everybody is on their own path, so just
because it seems like someone is getting there faster than you, it’s okay. We shouldn’t even be
comparing ourselves to someone else, because their journey is their journey, and your journey
is your journey, right? So, don’t worry about them.
While you’re looking at them, you’re probably missing out on something that you could be
doing in your path, so let them have theirs, and you keep watch on your own, you know,
watching others seem to move faster while your pace is slowed by, you know, responsibilities,
you know. Just let them go on on their pace, but just pay attention to yours, pay attention to
yours, and just worry about what you’re doing, so that’s something else. That’s another
challenge that we face.
Just worry about your situation, and then you won’t be concerned about how fast they’re
moving. You won’t know. You won’t know the difference, okay? And so, another challenge is
days when revenue didn’t meet expectations, you know, and then you question, like, is the
sacrifice worth it? Is the fact that, you know, I’m working too hard, I’m not always home, is it
worth it? Because the money is not coming in fast enough, or the money is not what I thought
it was, you know.
Things take time. Things take time. Building a business doesn’t happen overnight.
There are some hits and misses, and there are some wins and some losses, so we just have to
know that it’s not going to happen overnight. Money is going to come. It’s going to come.
You just have to stay the course, but it’s going to come, but don’t get down on yourself if the
money doesn’t come as fast as you thought it would, and the revenue does not meet the
expectation right away, okay? But it’s coming. It’s going to come if you stay the course, and if
you continue to do the things that’s required of your business, okay? And now, there are a few
things that I want to share with you that’s going to help you keep rising, okay? You have to do
certain things that’s going to help elevate us, because if we continue to stay in the same
position mentally and not grow in our mind and with our focus, then there’s no way that we can
progress, or there’s no way that we can grow, so we have to do some things that’s going to
elevate us, okay? It’s going to elevate us and help keep us rising, so the first thing we’re going
to have to do is mindset shifts, and what do I mean by mindset shifts? Mindset shifts remind us,
we have to remind ourselves of our daily process, progress, okay? No matter how big or small,
we still have progress. We still make progress.
I am a person that keeps lists. I enjoy crossing things off my list. To me, that’s progress.
Even if I can’t cross off one thing a day, that’s still progress, and that gives me a sense of
fulfillment. When I can cross something off of my list, that gives me a sense of fulfillment, so
remind yourself daily that progress, no matter how small, is still progress, okay? You don’t have
to move fast. You just have to keep moving.
Let me say that again. You don’t have to move fast. You just have to keep moving, okay? So just
remembering that progress, no matter how big or small, is still progress, so make that mindset
shift, and the second thing is community.
Surround yourself with other women who get it. That’s major. Surround yourself with other
women who get it.
Build a circle that reminds you that you’re not alone. Oh, that’s major, because you’re not the
only one who is going through that. You’re not the only business owner who’s going through
those feelings, who’s feeling the things that you’re feeling, you know? Other business owners
have felt that.
They’ve been where you are, with the doubt, and with the anxiousness, and with the feeling
that maybe it’s not gonna work, the doubt. Am I doing enough? Is this the right thing to do?
They’ve been there, and they’re there for you, to encourage you. You need to surround yourself
with someone that could tell you you’re not alone in what you’re feeling, but they should also
tell you if you just keep going, it’ll get better, okay? It’ll get better.
The third thing is grace. Give yourself permission to rest. You’re not failing when you pause.
You’re recharging to come back stronger. Wow. If the wind goes out of your sail, you have no
choice but to stop.
If the wind goes out of your sail, you have no choice but to stop. You can’t go forward. You can’t
go anywhere, so give yourself permission to rest.
Take a break. It’s okay. Just take a break.
Reset. Pause, and then once you recharge, you come back stronger. It’s like your cell phone.
When the battery goes out on your cell phone, no matter how many times you pick it up and try
to dial or call somebody, it’s not gonna do anything because there’s no power. There’s no
power to it, so you have to plug it up, and you have to recharge it, right? And once you recharge
that battery to a hundred percent, oh, you can go another, what, day or two without charging it
again, and it works a hundred percent better. Same thing with your body, with yourself.
You have to recharge it. You have to take a break. You have to pause, and then once you take
that break and recharge yourself, you come back stronger, and you have to give yourself
permission to do that.
It’s okay. The hardest thing for us to do is allow ourselves permission to take a break, step
away, pause, because we really are afraid that something will maybe fall through the cracks or
we’ll miss something, but no, we won’t. We’re on top of things.
Sometimes things get overwhelming, and that, you know, that’s the reason why we probably
should, you know, take a rest or pause, but it’s definitely necessary, okay? The next thing is
systems. What do I mean by that? Use tools, planners, apps to help manage your business and
your life, because you don’t have to do it all in your head. You know, a lot of people are going
to, they’re using apps or they’re using, they’re getting away from paper.
I’m old school. I still like my hard copy planners and my paper products. I have to have tangible
items, you know, to see my schedules and my calendars, so I use tools, but it’s okay to use
apps.
I’m not against apps, but just use some type of system to help you organize your life, because a
lot of the stress comes from having to remember all of those things because we try to keep
them in our head, but no, you don’t have to keep them in your head. Write them down. Put
them in an app.
Put them somewhere where you can access it quickly. You can push a button and pull it up.
What do I have to do today? What’s on the calendar today? You know, you can push a button
and pull it up, you know, not just for business, but for your life.
You know, what do the kids have for after school? What school activities do they have? You
know, what games do they have? What sports thing they have going on? Because, like I said, we
wear many hats, and not just for our businesses, but for our family, so you want to be present
and want to be there for them as well. You know, does my husband have a function, an office
function or something? You know, we got to keep up with all of that, but the worst thing to do
is try to keep it all in your head. So, utilize the tools that are accessible and, you know, put it at
your fingertips.
For me, I like paper, so I’m old school. And the fifth thing is definitely to celebrate your wins.
Don’t wait until the big moment.
Celebrate sending that email, closing that deal, or simply making it through a tough week. You
did that. Celebrate it.
It’s okay to pat yourself on the back. You know, the song goes, encourage yourself. Sometimes
you have to encourage yourself.
Pat yourself on the back. I did a good job. I did that.
You know, you did that. Encourage yourself. Celebrate the wins.
I sent that email. I sent that tough email. I may have had to rewrite it two or three times, but I
sent it.
It went out. Cross it off the list. You did it.
I closed that deal. You know, all of those things, that’s progress. That’s a big moment.
That’s a win. No matter how small. It’s a win.
You had a tough week. You made it through. It’s Friday.
You know, you got the weekend coming up. Be excited about it. Be excited about it.
Don’t go through the whole weekend worrying about what you got coming up for the following
week. You know, take some time to enjoy the weekend. Take some time to celebrate the wins
that you had for the week, the current week.
Okay? So to every woman listening right now who feel like she’s carrying the world on her
shoulders, remember you were built to elevate. Let me say that again. You were built to elevate.
Yes, you wear many hats, but every one of them is a crown. So keep going because the lives
you’re touching, your children, your family, your clients, your community, are all watching you
rise. Thank you for joining me on this episode of Elevations.
If this message moved you, share it with another queen who needs the reminder. Until next
time, keep climbing, keep shining, and keep elevating. I’m Dr. Brenda.
Thank you for listening. Bye-bye.
