Audacity on Sunday Morning!

I have been away from my blogs for a little while. I must say sometimes a little shy about wearing my heart on my sleeve or sharing what I am really feeling for fear of that someone will take offense and right something nasty that will hurt and make a sensitive issue more painful than it needs to be. Oh Boy!!!!

I don't know if I ever mentioned that I love Sunday mornings! Two of my favorite shows also happen on Sunday; 60 Minutes and Sunday Morning on CBS. Of course I am up and watching Sunday morning and feeling very happy and contented. My puppy Louie is laying right beside me looking content, loved and loving. Pets are a blessing.

This morning however, I woke up and found the words to describe some very complex thoughts and feelings that I have been feeling forthe last 2 weeks. In the last 15 months, I lost my company that I built from my basement for the past 12 years and I lost my good friend and business partner in the process as well. It has been privately painful and more complex than words can imagine. But this morning I woke up with the words to describe these events but only from a business perspective. I often get asked what happened and I struggle to seperate the emotional from the professional. I was motivated to write it down after seeing an inspiring piece about another female CEO on Sunday Morning on CBS. It is so important to seperate the two and understand the complexity of things.
So here is the professional synopsis:
I created my first company in the basement of my home 12 years ago. After achieving tremendous success and about to reach for the next level growth my business/finance partner and his new business associates thought that if a social worker could do this then a white business man with a background in marketing could do 4 times better. In this society before Barak Obama who wouldn't believe that claim? It made good business sense because slick marketing execs have felt with their MBAs that they understand people better than the people who work intimately with individuals and their complexities. By the way many of those slick marketing outfits are now out of business because they sold so many companies a bill of goods that had no sustainabilty. People have to come first before inflated profits. But remember the audacity of a "Community Organizer" to think he could organize a nation to be the President of the United States. What audacity!!!! How could a social worker think she could build a business built on developing personal potential, self care and empowerment? What audacity!!!!!
Fifteen months after I was removed from the helm of my company and replaced with the traditional white male model of doing business they lost over 1 million dollars per month in sales and declared bankruptcy last week.

What do we learn from this experieince?
Have the audacity to believe in yourself and walk way from those who do not believe in you.
Can a woman more specifically a black woman have the audacity to believe that she knows how to market to women who look like her? Yes!
Can women run successful businesses? Yes!
Does it hurt like hell that some of the women (who looked like me) actually said, "we could do better, remember she is just a socail worker". Yes
Is it also true that the majority of women stood behind me and were supportive, respectful and understanding? Yes!
Do I praise God for the majority that believed and the minority who didn't and therefore taught me even more about human behaviour? Yes!
I am still learning and growing and processing? Yes!
I am now building my own new company and building on my experience? Yes!
I am now achieving my Soul Purpose!

What is your Soul Purpose????

Happy Sunday morning,
Much love,
Nadine