This week we are asking members of Ladies Who Launch to share their stories of Fearless Launching. Lisa Kothari is the founder of a children's event planner business.
Opportunty knocks twice...walking through my fear...
I actually started Peppers and Pollywogs as a small side-line business back
in 1997 in Washington, DC. I never had the courage to make it the
full-time business that it was begging me to become. At that time, I had a
very good full-time job doing very interesting work, getting paid regularly with
good benefits, and working within a "stable" office environment. More
kids' parties kept coming my way, especially around this time of year, i.e.
Halloween!, and I even started getting parties to plan in New York City.
There was something to the business and to what I brought to it. Once 9/11
happened, I decided to simply take a break, leave Washington, actually leave the
US for awhile. Not only did I leave my full-time job, but also shut down
Peppers and Pollywogs.
People asked me when I shut it down, "Would I ever do it again?" I
didn't have an answer, it just wasn't right in that time and space for me.
After three years of being abroad in India, Canada, and finally Australia,
I returned to Seattle mid-2005. Again, friends who had known me and my
business asked if I would relaunch in Seattle, I didn't particularly say that I
would. I again put my mind to finding a full-time position in the local
area, which I found within a consulting company serving the needs of local
start-up companies. Within only a few months of working there, I attended
a networking event and I met my present business partner. I casually
mentioned Peppers and Pollywogs and a week later he asked is he could send me a
business plan he had written while in b-school. I said, "Sure.." and he
responded, "This isn't any business plan, this is actually the business you ran
in DC!" And that is exactly what he had written. As I reviewed his
plan, I could not believe how the plan laid out not only my business, but the
inefficiencies in the market, and how it could be scaled to help busy parents
plan their kids' parties. Phenomenal "A-HA Moment!"
So, there I was. I never had completely owned the business in DC
fully, although the signs were there pointing me in that direction. Here,
three years later, in a completely different city, my business had come right
back around to me...meant to be? It was in that moment, that I walked
through my fear and gave myself fully to the all of the signs that had been
there all along, but were now staring me straight into the face.
Seven months later, my partner and I are engaged fully in the business
building the site, writing robust content, meeting the market's needs. We
are just now in the process of our first funding round which is yet, another
scary, but exciting time. This go around with
Peppers and Pollywogs, I am
there fully.
How fortunate I am to have the opportunity come around to me
again? So glad it came when I was able to set fear aside and own it
completely.
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