The First Year

A letter to my St Pete Girl Boss Community at the conclusion of our first year

Dearest Bosses,

WOW. What a time we’ve had, right?

Last January, I was feeling a little lost and confused as I pivoted my business. I was coming off the heels of a transaction that burned me badly, where my intellectual property was used and I hadn’t properly protected myself. I was not confident about marketing myself, lost about bookkeeping, and just generally feeling lonely on the whole “working for myself” thing.

Enter y’all. 

I had tossed around this idea of our Girl Boss community for so long. I truly didn’t consider the diverse skill set that starting this amazing journey would require– it’s been validating, fun, and exhilarating to call into play all of the education, coaching, support, business and creative skills that I can muster to grow our place in the world. Building community offline was easy for me, and I am proud to say that the online space has followed suit. You are here!

(As an aside: did you know I picked the name ironically? Yeah. And now it’s an identity. I am proud of it, even if it’s cheesy and has other connotations– we have made it mean something so badass, haven’t we?)

It has been an absolute pleasure. 

I want to take this time to say THANK YOU. I know there are growing pains, as you watch all of this in action, and we always appreciate your feedback, support, and honesty. 

I know for many of you that have been here from the start, it’s been kinda crazy watching pivot after pivot. I did not start this thing to become a business, but through growth and responsiveness, Jenn and I saw that it needed to become more than simply a free Facebook group. Talking with you, creating content for you, facilitating connections for you…this became a passion, and a full-time one at that, and I cannot believe the ease and flow with which it all came together. 

We are so deeply grateful to those who have joined the group or paid membership (we celebrate EVERY attendee when they come through!), who have attended a coffee or workshop, who have contributed their time, love, and energy to our community. We certainly try to meet your needs and expectations the very, very best we can, and hope to keep improving on that process. You will see more changes as we grow. Jenn and I, along with the Squad, Taylor and Kimberly, have some very cool stuff in the pipeline!

You know, once upon a time, I told myself that I had a hard time nurturing connections with women, because I have had experiences that colored that pattern. But that wasn’t actually the truth. The truth is, I hadn’t known myself well enough to know who my people actually were. I needed to heal much of my feminine energy. I needed to understand my own magic. 

And now, I find myself surrounded by wonderful women like you! I feel loved and supported like never before. I am blessed and proud to call so many of you real friends, and every single one of you are truly worthy of everything you have set out to do. 

As for my ambitions, I still have a passion for gifted people, twice-exceptional people, neurodivergent and brilliant people, just as I did when I started an enrichment center in July of 2021, but what I realized is that this *is US.* You are all brilliant people. You are creative. You are often (like me) neurodivergent. And you need support, too. Just like I do. 

While I move forward and serve more women through classes and coaching (so many of you, and I am excited for all that are to come!), I am seeing the magnificent overlap of many parts of my professional life, and it is all beginning to make sense. After 45 years. Better late than never, right?

So, here is a little Top Ten List, in keeping with David Letterman. I have so much more I could say, but my main point is thank you for your patience, your support, and most of all, for showing up.

Here we go:

Ten things I have learned as the first-year founder of St Pete Girl Boss

1. Working for yourself is hard. Working for someone else is also hard, but it’s much harder to make it easier/happier/aligned when it is not yours. Entrepreneurship is bravery at work.
2. Women need community. We thrive when we are given a non-judgemental space, support, care, and a room to mentor others or be mentored. We don’t thrive on ‘drama’. We thrive on synergy. 
3. Listening and validating is the key tool for every situation. 
4. Everyone needs to know all about marketing. Ideas can’t go anywhere without this. Or if they do, it’s a fluke.
5. New members and new sales will never get boring, and new ideas will never stop coming if you give yourself space to create.
6. Negative emotions are great information, and leaning in is the best gift you can give yourself. You may think you’re healed and all, but if you aren’t getting to a goal, there is a block you need to address. We are like never-ending onions: peel, peel, peel. Meditate, peel. Cry, peel. 
7. Use a calendar for everything. Do not deviate from this. Systems are not the enemy of creativity, they are the backbone.
8. People that do not think like you are not your enemies, they are your teachers and your teammates.
9. Apologize, but not overly. Own things that you do or no not do. Don’t be the bottleneck or the weak link. And if you are, find ways to fix it. Help is fine. Delegation is fine. 
10. You will row the boat in circles without a dock to aim for. So while it’s cool to have multiple goals, it’s not cool to do ten things a day for each, thus rowing in circles. Decide on the goal, and move the boat every day. You can integrate other things as hobbies, complements, or when you get to the dock. 

Bonus #11: 

Drink water. Coffee is not water. 

I would love for you to share something you’ve learned, too. And guess what? We have a whole new year coming to learn more stuff. I, for one, am going to try this exercise thing I hear is so great. 

In sincere love and gratitude,

Sandy