Meet Deb. A talented painter with lots of life experience, and much of it hasn’t exactly been a Cinderella story. Truly, her life has been difficult. It’s a typical entrepreneur story.
Deb’s childhood was filled like so many of our own. Hardship, tragedy, and a good dose of unfairness. As a child, she was diagnosed with a condition so serious that she wasn’t expected to live. Much of her life was spent indoors to avoid exposure and to preserve the little energy she had.
Deb’s escape, the joy she could find, came from within. So, she painted what she felt. Colorful, vivacious, and bursting with energy. Miraculously, she survived another year, and another year, and guess what—she’s still here.
When Deb joined the Passion To Profits Facebook challenge it was clear from the get-go that she was committed. I found out later that she was ready to put herself on the line because as her pain point at the time was so high, she knew there was no other choice than to make a move. All part of the Entrepreneur Life I wrote about a few weeks ago.
And make a move she did. Deb had many revelations throughout the challenge and she signed up immediately for the guided online/live program Turn Your Talent Into A Business – Transforming Passion Into Profits.
A typical entrepreneur story
Deb started strong and actively dove in to the training. My work goes deep, not wide, so our first step is to connect you to your work. With that we build the foundation on what makes you get up in the morning. Did you guess it? “Stuff” that we thought was far behind us inevitably comes up.
For a creative person, self-awareness is key to delivering your message through your chosen medium.
Total breakdown
It is not uncommon for my clients to have breakdowns. I actually consider it a great thing, and here is why.
When you are stuck, you want to move through these three B’s in this order: Breakdown – Breakthrough – Breakout. If you are stuck and your business is not growing, a breakdown of some sort is needed.
Without a breakdown of the existing pattern no new one can emerge.
When I saw Deb was fighting tears, I knew something had touched her and she was clearly moving through some heavy internal stuff. In a controlled group setting we provide a safe environment and support each other. The group stepped right in and together we held the space for her. Deb stuck it out, courageously.
Afterward, Deb reached out to me personally to share her heavy story, and she asked me to stay my course with her. She requested that I continue to provide virtual kicks in the butt, some tough love, plus compassionate guidance and encouragement to boost her self-confidence get her through to the other side.
The breakthrough
At Week 4 of the course, Deb sat with the biggest smile on her face. She laughed and participated, her demeanor was animated and funny. Imagine the rest of the group sitting on a Zoom video conference with our mouths gaping open wondering what had changed. Deb gladly shared what made the difference: she experienced the breakdown followed by the breakthrough. She could no longer be contained within the box she had known all her life. She committed completely to herself, her work, and to finally showing the world all the beauty she sees.
A completely different person emerges
There she was. Deb seemed like a new person. She shared how great she felt now that she had finally decided this was her time to show up for herself so she can inspire others with her art. True to form and a typical entrepreneur (at least typical of those working with me), she has already secured an art exhibit and is pursuing opportunities to showcase and sell her work.
The Only Way Out is Through – Acrylic on stretched gallery wrap canvas by Deb Breton & Sheridan Gold
The breakout begins
The next step is key to success in entrepreneur life: staying the course. The group is now only a few weeks away from presenting their Foundational Business Plans. The breakout phase is focused and execution needs to be consistent.
Why this matters to you
Entrepreneurs attempt to find their place in the world, to connect their passions and sense of purpose to an endeavor that generates profits.
We want to share our gifts with the world—those pursuits that light us up inside and—and we want to be fairly compensated for the services we provide.
Please be aware that this journey is like a trip around the world. At different times you need different skills, and you’ll have to change the course when your strategy is no longer effective.
In any case, you need to find the Red Dot, your starting point, and then determine where you want to go.
This is the only way to figure out what you need to get there. Most will need a guide to keep them on the path. Expect it, embrace it, and find the person with whom you gel. I’m sure glad Deb found me or maybe I am glad she found me so I can witness her breakout.
To visit Deb’s website and learn about how you can add her pieces to your collection, or to co-create your painting with her, please check out her website.
Beate Chelette is The Growth Architect and a results-oriented businesswoman with an entrepreneurial spirit and a proven track record in growing, building and scaling women’s businesses. Once $135,000 in debt and a single mother, she successfully sold her business to a global entertainment media company owned by Bill Gates in a multi-million dollar deal.
Through her online courses, one-on-one training programs and live speaking events, she mentors women entrepreneurs with her 5 Star Success Blueprint, developed with the knowledge gleaned from her growing, scaling and selling her own company. Beate has a deep commitment to supporting women.
She is the creator of The Women’s Code, the fourth step of Growth Architecture that is focused on Supporting Balanced Leadership. Her proprietary methods specifically address women’s obstacles and she leads from experience, having survived in business in a highly competitive male-dominated environment.
She is a respected speaker and mentor and is the author of the book “Happy Woman Happy World How to Go From Overwhelmed to Awesome”, a book that corporate trainer and best-selling author Brian Tracy calls “a handbook for every woman who wants health, success and a fulfilling career.”
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