I just wrapped up my 2nd annual Launch Your Business LIVE 3-Day Boot Camp in Atlanta! To be honest, I’m still processing the magnitude of the transformation that our Happy Black Woman community experienced this weekend.
It’s hard to pick my favorite moment over the course of 3 amazing days, but at the top of my list is what we were able to do together to give back to the next generation of women in business.
As we prepare for what will be an EPIC Launch Your Business LIVE 3-Day Boot Camp in Atlanta, the word “possibility” has been heavy on my mind.
Because what my team and I have been hearing a lot lately is:
I wish I could come to the event, but I can’t take off from work.
I know I should be there, but I can’t travel to Atlanta.
This is exactly what I need right now, but I can’t afford it.
It got me thinking about something one of my mentors, Valorie Burton, told us at her Coaching Training Institute many years ago.
I was sitting on the beach in Waikiki the other day and I realized a shocking fact:
As of this year, I’ve been working for myself longer than I’ve ever worked for anyone else.
It’s been more than 5 years since I quit my full-time nonprofit job in DC. And to be honest, at this point I feel like I’m permanently unemployable!
I was only 27 years old when I left my job and made the decision to become self-employed.
And I don’t regret it one bit.
Of course, there have been ups and downs and twists and turns.
For instance, I had no idea that after 3 years, I would end up shutting down my first business to build a new one!
But it was the very best chance I ever could have taken on myself.
Today, I wanted to honor this milestone in my career by sharing the blog post I published on my old website the week I submitted my resignation, which was back in December 2009.
If you’ve been thinking about taking the leap, I hope reading these words from that pivotal time in my life offers some insight for your journey as well.
Yesterday, I came across a great VIBE interview with Food Network TV star Sunny Anderson.
In the interview, Sunny offered some powerful career advice from her own journey:
Fight night selfies with the fam!
I’m still catching up on my sleep after spending the weekend in Las Vegas for fight night at the MGM Grand!
My family was in town to see my cousin Keith “One Time” Thurman beat Robert Guerrero.
We are so proud of our champ and I was inspired just by being there in person to see what it looks like to go after what you want and WIN, no matter what!
Pictured from left to right: Lisa Sasevich, Marni Battista, Rosetta Thurman, Kerry Ann Rockquemore and Dr. Venus Opal Reese
I had a great time in San Diego last week learning and speaking on a panel at my business mentor Lisa Sasevich’s Event Profit Secrets training.
I looked at this picture and realized that I have literally been surrounding myself with successful women over the past year, including the “Black Women Millionaire” Mentor herself, Dr. Venus Opal Reese!
All of these ladies inspire and motivate me to keep doing the work to empower thousands of women in our Happy Black Woman Community to create their ideal lives and businesses over the next few years.
Our community is already growing much faster than I ever imagined, so stick around for the ride! Just in terms of our reach, we’ve gone from ZERO to 13,000 Twitter followers, 20,000 email subscribers, 75,000 pageviews/month and 200,000 Facebook fans. On the revenue side, I’ve gone from replacing my previous salary to surpassing the 6-figure mark with our transformational products and programs.
At this point, we reach a LOT of women all over the world every single day and still, I am constantly looking for additional ways we can spread the word and help even more women claim their freedom through personal development and entrepreneurship.
I remember when Happy Black Woman was just a little itty bitty blog back in 2010 when I had first quit my 9 to 5 nonprofit job and I was writing about the exciting, yet terrifying transition from employee to entrepreneur.
5 years later, here’s what I know for sure:
I often get the question:
“Rosetta, how did you find the courage to quit your job and work for yourself full-time?”
What many people don’t realize is that I didn’t just make an impulsive decision one day to leave my job.
As a coach, I love celebrating my client’s big WINS!
Not only does it lift them up, but it energizes me and constantly reaffirms my commitment to the work of empowering women to transform their lives.
Last week, one of my private business coaching clients booked her very first PAYING client for $1200!
It was such a wonderful experience to see her open to the possibility of actually getting paid to do what she loves – and eventually be able to leave her job.
I feel so blessed to be able to support the women in our tribe who are stepping into their power as changemakers in this world.
If you have a coach…
“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” – Lucille Ball
My grandmother always taught me that the way you end the old year is how you will begin the new one.
Since I had decided that 2015 was going to be the year of “fun, love and adventure,” I wanted to do something to honor that theme for my 32nd birthday on December 31, 2014 – the very last day of the year.
And that’s how I ended up jumping out of a plane in Playa del Carmen, Mexico!
I gave myself the gift of SKYDIVING, which was pretty much one of the scariest and most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
Check out the video of my jump below! I booked my tandem jump with Skydive Playa and they took good care of me throughout the process.
At some point along the journey to reach your big goals, you might begin to wonder…
Is all my hard work ever going to pay off?
If you’ve been asking yourself that question lately, the video below will give you a reason to keep moving forward, even if you’re feeling discouraged right about now.
Rosetta Thurman is a nationally-recognized author, speaker, mentor and coach dedicated to helping women create their ideal lives.