BELAY Solutions is one of my favorite organizations. Co-founded by Bryan Miles and his wife Shannon, BELAY was recently ranked #1 among small companies in the 2017 Top Company Cultures List Presented by Entrepreneur and CultureIQ.
Originally called eaHELP, they expanded the horizons of their Virtual Assistant service model to include MAG Bookkeeping, copywriting services, and web support services. In January 2017, the Miles Advisory Group suite (eaHELP, MAG Bookkeeping, Render and Ellipsis) came together under one name – BELAY. This name has a great deal of significance to our leaders because of its core meaning: To belay is to provide the support a climber needs to ascend.
Bryan and Shannon are two of America’s most influential business leaders. In fact, if you have not gotten Shannon’s new book The Third Option: Why a Woman Doesn’t Have to Choose between a Career and Family, but Can Actually Have Both and Succeed, click HERE. You will not be disappointed.
Below is a LinkedIn article written by her originally entitled Conquer Your Fear Of Failing To Fulfill Your Dream. The content is so important I want to make it available to you.
After reading, if you are considering a virtual assistant, click HERE and start a conversation today.
Now onto Shannon’s comments:
___________________________________________________
Are you thinking about stepping out and fulfilling your dream like starting up your own business or side gig? Are you finding yourself wondering if it’s worth the risk? I know exactly how it feels to stare down those daunting fears that threaten to destroy dreams. I also know what it feels like to conquer those fears. Here’s my journey to starting my own business.
Uncertainty & Sacrifice
When I started BELAY with my husband in 2010, we went all in, leaving our jobs and cashing out our 401(k) that we had worked so hard to build up. We knew the reality that if things didn’t go well for our business, we would have been without benefits, a steady source of income and our retirement funds.
During that time of uncertainty and sacrifice, I often thought of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, who said, “The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” This quote really hit home for me when I heard Richard Branson say it while on Necker Island. Trust me when I say my dream of owning a business scared the living daylights out of me. There were a lot of sacrifices along the way, but I was determined to make it work.
When I started BELAY, I was in my early 30s. The timing felt right to take the risk and create a virtual assistant company. If I hadn’t taken that risk, I wouldn’t be where I’m at now, as co-CEO of a business that has tripled in size and landed on the Inc. 5000 list four times.
Achieving Success Isn’t About Luck
Fulfilling your dream isn’t about luck. The truth is, there were struggles, decisions, sacrifices, and tough times that had to happen for us to be where we are now. It’s about making things happen for yourself. Start by asking yourself where you see yourself in five years. I know, it’s a horrible job interview question, but I challenge you to move beyond to the next questions: What do you want to feel? What do you want to experience in your life? Who do you want to be?
Whatever your answers are, you need to set goals around them that go beyond just the work itself. And yes, goals that help you face your fears. As George Burns said, “I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.”
What About a Backup Plan?
Did I have another plan in case our new business didn’t work? Absolutely not! We were all in! I’ve actually never been good at finding a backup plan to anything. That’s the way things work in my mind. Was I absolutely sure this was the right thing to do? Of course! My mind, my faith, and my own determination were all pointing in this one direction.
I look back now on how I felt totally confident that this was the right thing, and I don’t know whether it was from wisdom, boldness, or just plain stupidity! But it wasn’t completely unfamiliar ground; time and time again in my professional life, I’ve seen a clear next step. I’ve been able to make a decision about something and then make that decision into reality. So in one way, this didn’t actually feel like such a stretch at the time; it was after the fact that I realized what a big step it was.
Setting Aside Fears
Just recently, I conquered another fear. I wrote a book called ‘The Third Option: Why a Woman Doesn’t Have to Choose Between a Career and Family, but can Actually Have Both and Succeed.’ It was something that had been on my heart to write for about four years, but I was held back by fear and time. When you’re starting a business, there’s no time to be writing. There are 7,000 other things that have to be done, not to mention the fact that I wasn’t sure my book would even be worth reading.
I kept asking myself what could I possibly say in this area that hasn’t already been said? I was afraid of putting my voice out there. But I kept coming back to the idea of sharing my story, sharing the stories of other women that we’ve partnered with throughout the years, and really challenging the reader to look at their work and their life differently.
I was still sitting on the idea when I attended a conference in 2016. I was talking with a coach, expressing my reservations of writing the book, even though I knew I was called to do it. “I didn’t invent part-time remote working. There are no new ideas under the sun.” “Yes”, she said, “but the world hasn’t heard your story and your voice.” I sat in my seat thinking, “Ah, dang it. You’re right. I’ve got to get this out there.” At that moment, the book was no longer about me, but about those who would be impacted by my story.
I couldn’t be here today telling you to put aside your fears and fulfill your dream if I hadn’t done the same and spent 2017 writing a book.
Dream Big!
I know it sounds cliché because it’s so powerful, but you need to dream big. Take that leap you are dreaming about. Sure, starting a business is not for the faint of heart, and for those who want to do it, it’s awesome. Even writing a book is daunting, but as I learned from those who have gone before me, you can’t succeed if you never try. So, whatever you are dreaming about; go out there, conquer your fears, and fulfill your dream!
Shannon
BELAY offers expert-level, weapons grade, business-class options for organizations looking for bookkeeping, webmaster and administrative support. To learn more about their virtual solutions and start climbing higher, go here.