zoë hartsfield 🌊

Airtop

Brand Consultant

the little ghost

influencer marketing, brand consulting + ghostwriting services

Owner

Slate

Content Creation and Brand Strategy partner for Slate.

Brand Strategist

Warmly,

Maximize the ROI of marketing.

Automate conversion of high-intent target accounts that visit your website. Ensure that no lead falls through the cracks.

DM me for an intro to their team:)

Strategic Advisor

Apollo.io

My job title is weird this is the stuff I own:

- Apollo's Youtube channel (content strategy, creation, editing, project management + analytics reporting)
- Executive Evangelism (Executive Brands)
- Employee Evangelism (Employee Advocacy)
- Influencer Collabs (Youtube, LinkedIn + MasterClass talent sourcing)
- Content Host (Youtube, LinkedIn, Webinars)

Sr. Manager, Product Evangelism + Video Content Strategy (Youtube)

My job is to bring you the most actionable tactical sales tips over Linkedin, Youtube, Instagram & Webinars. 

If you can’t walk away knowing how to make more money, I’m not very good at that job

Sales Trainer in Residence

Pioneering a new B2B Influencer marketing program for GTM pros.

Sr. Manager, Influencer Marketing + Evangelism

Building a world class b2b influencer marketing program. 

Creating sales + marketing content to help our users get the MOST out of our product.

Influencer relationship management.

Content creation. 

Public speaking.

Copywriting.

Sr. Manager, Evangelism, Executive Presence + Community

Stealth Startup

up the content, community & demand gen functions.
Q1 & Q2 OKRs + Wins:
- 4x inbound traffic
- organized and generated Sales Collateral Library
- guested on 15 podcast + webinars to evangelize the brand
- onboarded tools: HockeyStack, Warmly, Demandwell
- Stood up content calendar
- Stood up product release marketing with CS
- Trained the GTM team on social selling
- Created Community Driven Pipeline Playbook
- Launched Events marketing program hosting in-person and virtual events
- Stood up partnerships program
- Stood up first-ever referral motion (generating 15% of pipeline after 2 months)
- leveraging my personal brand to generate new business opportunities
- Set up GA4 + marketing attribution model
- Generated 50% of pipeline from inbound, content + community
- Generated 39% closed-won revenue from inbound, content + community
- did all of this without ads^ 😏

Head of Marketing & Evangelism

Spekit 🐙

New biz is the name of the game.

Growth Marketing
Demand Generation
Community
Paid Ads
Pipeline Generation & Acceleration

Demand Generation (Growth Marketing) Manager

- generated first ever community influenced pipeline (30+ meetings in 60 days) to help the team hit pipeline goals in Q1
- grew social media (LinkedIn & IG) presence by 50% in first 90 days
- successfully executed series B social blitz and PR announcement first week on the job
- manage customer advocacy campaigns and initiatives
-grew social media following by 105% in 5 months
-increased G2 reviews by 30% in Q2 (took on 2 new leader badges as a result)
-Building our Marketing Advisory Council

More to come:)

Community Manager

Dooly

Sourced and onboarded 10 net new partners in first 90 days. 

Built out tracking/project management flow to store partner data and comms.

Ground up - built and scaled referral program for PLG product motion. Referrals convert at 7x the rate of those who find our site organically. Driving new users and revenue through the referral program.

Community/Partner Manager

BombBomb

-grew social media presence by 25% in first 3 months
-increased avg webinar registration (260%) and attendance (80%)
-guest on podcasts, webinars and LinkedIn Live to further brand awareness and train on video communication best practices
-explore new channels to bring education around video, BombBomb and Human-Centered Communication
-collaborate with content and design team to promote and create engagement around events, webinars and product launches 
-train and equip staff to engage on social platforms and enhance their personal brand
-write, host and Youtube/short-form podcast for the brand

Community Marketing Associate

-generated 3.1 mil in projected pipeline in 6 months
-87% hold rate
-set record for quickest outbound SAO after start date for the team
-writing sales copy & sequencing that incorporates personal video to start conversations and turn prospects into customers
-social media strategy, content creation, demand generation sequencing, data analytics

Business Development Representative- Mid Market

-Leveraged personal relationships to bring on new business
-Top Performer (4/6 months excluding ramp-up)
-Converted leads higher than expectations consistently throughout tenure
-onboarded and trained new reps
-highest hold rate on the team during tenure

***Clearly got bored of not working after one semester and found a new job 3 months later. continued to work full-time and attend college full-time.

BombBomb is helping teams rehumanize their communication by enabling people with easy to use video and tracking for email, text and social. Whether you need better touches with your clients, clearer communication between your remote teammates, or higher conversion rates, video is proven to help. Let us show you how!

Sales Development Representative

T. Rowe Price

Promoted to Specialist shortly after completing licensing. 
Trained and coached new reps. 
Worked 45 hrs + per week while doing school full time.
Had lowest errors on the team.
Was involved in leadership training and development.

***Left to focus on school full-time in the Spring Semester.

Financial Service Specialist

Asked to join team full time before completion of internship. 
Had highest interview score of incoming hire class.
Passed all licensing exams on the first try.

Financial Services Representative

Receiving, sorting and processing client requests regarding their 401k's. Completing high volumes of work with accuracy and attention to detail. Submitting client requests, allocating funds, updating client information and supporting leadership with various processing projects.

Participant Transactions Processing Intern

good @ building pipeline | bad at most other things | currently building pipeline + evangelism at Apollo

I've generated over 100MM impressions for brands on social media in the past 24 months. Most coming from LinkedIn. Building world class employee, executive and influencer advocacy programs for B2B software companies. 

I'm a marketer by trade, but sales has my heart. Also passionate about helping younger professional level up in their careers (mostly by charing lessons I learned the hard way).

-------------------------------------------------------------

If you're a brand and want to collab on content, shoot me an email at zoe@zoehart.co

If you're a young professional looking for tips, hacks, and learnings to help you level up, hit the bell & follow me on IG (@zoepatience) and TikTok (@zoeeharttt).

If there are other ways you hope to work together, shoot me a DM- let's chat.

Standing up the content, community & demand gen functions at Swantide. 
Q1 & Q2 OKRs + Wins:
- 4x inbound traffic
- organized and generated Sales Collateral Library
- guested on 15 podcast + webinars to evangelize the brand
- onboarded tools: HockeyStack, Warmly, Demandwell
- Stood up content calendar
- Stood up product release marketing with CS
- Trained the GTM team on social selling
- Created Community Driven Pipeline Playbook
- Launched Events marketing program hosting in-person and virtual events
- Stood up partnerships program
- Stood up first-ever referral motion (generating 15% of pipeline after 2 months)
- leveraging my personal brand to generate new business opportunities
- Set up GA4 + marketing attribution model
- Generated 50% of pipeline from inbound, content + community
- Generated 39% closed-won revenue from inbound, content + community
- did all of this without ads^ 😏


We are making implementing and configuring salesforce 10x faster, 10x simpler at 1/5 the cost. It's so easy, I can set up your Salesforce instance. DM me if you're about to or just bought SFDC and need help with configuration & system management. We've got you covered 😎

zoë hartsfield

Update on the starbucks gift cards for flight attendants. 

1. United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliners have 10 flight attendants, not 8. 

2. They will come up and individually thank you, and your seat mates might ask “why are these flight attendants coming by every 15 minutes?” 

3. It feels nice to do nice things and I feel selfish and weird for admitting it but it brought me a lot of joy to bring them joy. 

4. A fourth point… 


Anyway, was nice to spread a little holiday cheer. 

Also Janice kept the mimosas flowing for me on flight number 2 so that was a dubbbbb. 


happy turkey day:)

running influencer marketing @ fullenrich | personal brand, social selling + executive ghostwriting for B2B SaaS/AI | ask me about your LinkedIn strategy

No alternative text description for this image

6 reasons i will NEVER go back in office: 

- working from anywhere has allowed me to be more present with my family (especially my grandparents who are older than time itself. the extra moments with them are priceless

- the amount of money i have saved on commuting is astronomical. gas, lunch at or near the office, happy hour drinks with coworkers each friday… literally thousands a year saved 

- i get to hang out with my dog all day. which is way better than him hanging out with someone else all day… or alone. you want my dog to be alone all day you psychopath!? 

- i’m more creative. something about being home, going on walks, working from coffee shops or airplanes or hospital rooms (remember the line about my grandparents being older than time?) knocks me out of my routine and allows me to think more creatively

- i’m actually way more productive at home. i’m a yapper, so being in office is great a few days a month but i also get so much less done when im there. i’d rather blitz a productive few hours in the morning and spins. few meetings in the afternoon than lose my day catching up with chad about his boys fishing trip last weekend. 

- my house has a fireplace. does the office have a fireplace? no? cool. case & point. 




remote work offers flexibility, productivity& cost savings to many people. it may not be for everyone- but neither is being in office 5 days a week. 


employees crave flexibility. that’s worth its weight in gold. 



ps this is day eleventythousand/100. literally less than 30 days left in this challenge and im hype:)

running influencer marketing @ fullenrich | personal brand, social selling + productivity | ask me about ghostwriting + founder brands

I just closed the largest ghostwriting contract of my life this week and it almost got pushed to 2026. This one question moved the deal up a whole quarter:

Me: “When do you need to start seeing that value from this initiative?” 

Them: “Well, ideally in January.” 

Me: “Okay, based on your brand today, we needed to start last month to have a chance at hitting that target. No worries though, we still have a good amount of runway to get things up and moving- I’d expect you to hit those goals Feb/March if we start next week.” 

Them: “Okay, let’s do it, can you send a contract today?” 



^ Christine Rogers at M3 Learning walked us through the idea of “uncovering urgency.”

No more trying to manufacture urgency that isn’t there- just thoughtful questions that get the prospect to reveal the urgency that already exists. 


This was one of the many tools she taught me in the past few months. 




I took the Proactive Selling Cohort training over the last 10 weeks and feel like I got a madterclass in sales. 

I wish I took this back when I was a rep, but now as a part time solopreneur, it’s helping me close more business than i ever pictured I could.  

If you’re: 
- an experience seller in need of a repeatable process
- a new seller in need of some guidance
- a founder or entrepreneur who needs help selling your services/product

I cannot recommend it enough.


So grateful to Christine & the whole M3 team for the course. Was career changing. 


(I’ll drop deets to sign up for their Jan cohort in the comments. I don’t get paid or anything for it, I just genuinely would recommend this training to ANY seller looking to level up.)

the biggest lie corporate america ever told:

hard work gets your promoted...... no, it doesn't. you know what does?


good work + visibility. 


visibility beats ability

visibility beats effort

visibility beats title

visibility can EVEN beat results



i learned this the hard way when my VP promoted a teammate over me. 

on paper i was:

- in the office earlier
- stayed later
- booked more demos
- had a higher conversion rate
- was 5% better than her in every KPI


but you know what she had?

- a great relationship with the VP
- a great relationship with the AEs
- a CLEAR conversation with leadership that THIS was her next step


my VP pulled me aside the day he promoted her. he knew I was crushed. 

Him: "Go ahead Zoe, ask me."

ME: "Why her and not me?"

Him: "You left it too close to call. Never leave it up to the Umpire. You should make yourself the obvious choice."




promotions are not about who works harder... they are about who works louder

- throw those wins in the group slack
- share templates that work with the team to share success
- write about your learnings on Linkedin + highlight the team in the process


visibility >>> ability

I've posted 547 LinkedIn last 2 years. (yes i counted them all like a psychopath). anyway... here are my completely unfiltered thoughts on LinkedIn content: 

- stop asking "thoughts?" at the end of every post... it's implied.
- carousels are NOT actually better than text posts
- commenting "great post" has added approximately zero value to anyone, ever
- if you're reposting the same motivational quote everyone else is using... maybe skip it
- personal stories beat business advice 99% of the time in reach
- tactical business advice beats personal stories 99% of the time as lead gen
- using "we" when you reallllly mean "I" makes you sound like you're hiding + like a douche
- polls are annoying
- your morning routine is not revolutionary content (and i don't believe you really wake up at 5a and cold plunge everyday)
- stop humble bragging about your "failures" that were actually huge Ws
- if you wouldn't say it in real life don't type it on LinkedIn


after spending too much time here, these are my unfiltered thoughts.

but I want to hear your unhinged takes on Linkedin.

not the safe ones everyone obviously agrees with... the ones that might get you some angry comments.



what drives you absolutely insane about LinkedIn content?

75/100

Reason 617272817 i love remote work: 

this is my view right now as i clear my inbox 



does your office have that, chad? 

#remotework #workfromanywhere

turns out my selfies are the thing people remember most about my posts.

soooo glad i put all that effort into learning to spell the word “strategic”. 😂


seems like folks looked at my rushed, poorly lit, slightly confused face and thought, “f*ck her points about social selling- let’s remake THIS.”

fine. i’ll lean in:)
but if i’m going to become a meme, at least let me provide a proper reference image.



here you have it Matt Firestone 
 
the most aggressively posed, try-hard, i-promise-i’m-not-hurt selfie i could produce. 

it’s giving “main character,” 
but also…”please don’t zoom in too close.”



my therapist says exposure builds character… 

90/100

#selfie #linkedin #socialselling

I haven’t worked in sales since 2020, but I sell almost everyday (just closed a $15k deal last night which puts me over my annual goal 🥲. I also demo a surprising amount for someone who:

- Doesn’t actually carry a real quota at her company
- Doesn’t sell a product/tool for her side hustle

The beauty of creating content around the problems we solve is…..

Prospects often come to you:)

It doesn’t always make sense for me to hop on a call with someone who wants to buy FullEnrich.

It doesn’t always make sense for me to send them to a sales rep either. 

So my new hack is AI-powered product demos for that awkward in-between step. 

I use Consensus to create a sort of “test drive” so when these one-off leads come in I can send them somewhere to check out the product without any pressure. 

Our tool has a pretty solid free option so the next step is usually them signing up for a free trial or pinging me for a proper intro to sales. 

I used to spend 2-3 hrs a week on calls answering product questions. Now I just send  Consensus demos, free trial links or “book a sales call” emails and let the sales team collect the bag. 

They recently launched their Consensus for Marketers product for interactive tours + personalized demos. It’s mobile friendly which is perfect for someone like me who spends half my life in the back of an uber. 


Consensus = faster sales cycles, less of my time demoing a product that honestly, people just want to get their hands on. Win win. 



Here’s a video of me sending one to someone while I was on the road. (Another great use case for on demand demos). 


#ConsensusPartner

In high school, my Trig teacher told me:
"You'll NEVER make it in the professional world if you don't learn to show your work."

Well, Mrs. Gordon... 

I am proud to say I have never needed to use Pythagorean Identities OR been asked to provide a Proof since college. 

Clients just care about results. 



While showing your work helps you generate opportunities + establish credibility...

Outcomes get you paid. 



If she'd weighted homework as much as exams, maybe I would have done it sometimes. 🤷🏻‍♀️


Lazy people with efficiency kinks rule the world.

trying to channel my inner Lana Ivory 🦋 and snagged some starbucks gift cards for the flight crew. 

traveling this time of year is wild. you get a range of super cheerful folks and some of the grumpiest humans i’ve ever encountered. 

i feel grateful that airport & airline staff are working so i can go be with the people i love most over the holidays. 

loved Lana’s idea of going the flight crew a little gift as a “thanks for getting us there safely!” 

i’ll let ya know how it goes:) 


happy holidays yall!


wish i’d held these right side up 🫠

Me to my boss: "Did Finance look at my notes on the FY26 fiscal plan?
Him: "You didn't leave notes on the annual plan."
Me: "Exactly... so wtf is Brad from accounting doing in my copy doc?"


Why is this the most relatable image I've seen as a marketer ever?


AND why is it that eVeRyOnE thinks they're qualified to comment on (read: ruin) marketing?


I don't show up to your cubical and tell you how to do your spreadsheets, Karen! 



Marketing by committee is where good ideas go to die. 





Ps. This billboard from Clay was perfect. No notes. 



PPs. I shamelessly stole this graphic from the team at Draf because it literally made me want to cry. It's brilliant. Give your social media manager a raise.

I’m posting everyday for 100 days. After 71 of them, here are the 3 things that have made the MOST impact in the quality + performance of my content:

1. Consistency - which feels sort of meta.

Posting everyday for 100 days inherently bakes in a forced consistency but I have noticed a level of “anticipation” from my network. I will even get a “no post today?” from a connection if it’s late in the afternoon and my content hasn’t gone live.

Think of it like a TV series. People expect a new episode every Tuesday. They tune in at 7p on the dot.

Post at a similar time and similar frequency and your network will fall into that rhythm with you.


2. AI is GREAT for ideation 

100 days of posting is a recipe for “idk wtf to write about anymore.” So using AI to help you brainstorm hooks, and content ideas is a game changer. 

I personally use Stanley (Your Content Coach) which sends me a report every Sunday based on my top performing content from the week and breaks down “WHY” it worked or flopped which helps me think through my next batch of posts.


3. Speaking of batch of posts- I batch my content. 

I write most of it on Sundays after that Stanley email comes in.

I find that setting aside time to get into a creative flow is easier than waking up at 6a everyday and trying to be creative on demand.

I would HIGHLY recommend anyone getting into content creation or trying to double down on it in 2025 challenge themselves to posting 100 days in a row.

And if you need help staying consistent, understanding what your audience responds to and coming up with creative post ideas, I’d check out Stanley as your AI powered creative writing partner. 

Since I personally started using Stanley my average impressions are up 42% WoW. 

Try it here: https://lnkd.in/eHHzy8Gi)




Cheers to day 71/100. At the end of the challenge I’ll share my total growth stats. Stay tuned:)




PPS. I was supposed to post this on Friday but life... ya know. So the voice-over is all kinds of messed up BUT at least my vocal fry still makes everyone angry. 

#stanleypartner #contentassistant

I used to use flights to crush through emails and clear my inbox, but now idk what to do with myself… 

I literally hate email. Like I hate it. Like I avoid my inbox at all costs and handle it in big batches because reading and replying to emails is the bain of my existence. 

I’ve tried literally EVERY email assistant under the sun… but none of them could draft email replies in my tone or could capture the context of the previous emails in the thread. 

I’d spend more time editing AI generated drafts than I would have just writing the d:)mn email myself…

Until now.

Fyxer AI  just dropped Drafts 2.0 and it’s actually fire. 

It fixed the problem of context and tone in a way that I didn’t think these AI email assistants would be able to do for months. 

I can set my own "tone" guidelines and it uses my previous emails to write in a voice that sounds like me... ANNNND in the context of the conversation so it's tailored to the recipient as well. 


Now I ship out replies with minimal edits and clear out my inbox in literally half the time.

There’s one hour and 52 minutes left on this flight still.




Anyone got any podcast recs?

#FyxerPartner

After posting 77 days in a row I gotta say I wouldn’t recommend it. 

Excellent experiment. Learning a ton. But for 99% of people it doesn’t make any sense.

Linkedin has new(ish) analytics features! I’m going to teach you line by line what metrics are available to you and exactly what they MEAN for you, your brand and your business:

First the obvious ones:

Impressions 
This is every time someone scrolls past your post for half a second. It showed up in their feed. This signals “distribution” of your content.

Engagements (Likes etc)
This is people who went a step further to show some kind of support of your content.

Comments
This is where it gets interesting. Someone found what you said insightful (or infuriating) enough to let you know what they think.


Now we have the more nuanced metrics:

Members reached
This is actual individuals you reached.  

Profile Viewers
I'm always yapping about optimizing your profile as a landing page- this is why. When someone reads your content for the first time and it sparks curiosity they click your little headshot and go to your profile to check you out. Make sure they have something to look at. 

Followers Gained From This Post:
This is people who saw your content and decided to follow you SPECIFICALLY from the follow button on the post itself. *This doesn't count people who go to your profile and follow you from there. 

Reposts
Someone found your content valuable enough to share with THEIR audience. (Also signals to the algorithm, hey, this is super valuable!)

Saves
This is where we get into the true "dark social" of Linkedin. Hard to see or quantify but another signal that the post was valuable enough for someone to want to come back to it. 

Sends
Andddd another dark social signal. A share we cannot see! Someone in your audience wanted someone specific in their audience to see this. 

Button clicks (premium only)
If you have a custom button on your profile/under your headline + someone clicks it- CONGRATS! They saw enough value in whatever you wrote to explore whatever it is you take them to next. For me, it’s my newsletter. For you, it could be your website or demo form or a video of you making sourdough bread on Youtube… idk your life. 



I made a really detailed Tango because I was trying to walk someone thru this over Slack on a plane + found this walk thru to be way easier. And I saved it– so now you can have it. (peep it in the 📌 comment)


If you ever are in a bind or find yourself explaining/re-explaining complex topics or ideas that really do better with a visual aid, you should try tango (dot) ai.

Teach it once. Never explain it again:)

#TangoPartner

I’m trying to reconcile Linkedin’s own advice about posting timely, relevant and value add content with an emphasis on industry news and current events… 


and the fact that 80% of my feed today is posts from 2-3 weeks ago. 

those current events aren’t so current anymore

i receive more pressure from linkedin to wake up and 5a and start a franchise than i ever did to drink in high school…

Can't wait to find out about the Cloudflare outage in 2 weeks.

30 days left in the year. 

are you packing it in early and hoping for a better one next year or squeezing every ounce of life you can get out of 2025 still?

My answer in the comments:)

86/100

Helping high achieving women solve the health puzzle for good.

I’m here to help people wake the hell up—not through pressure or hustle, but through truth, joy, and radical self-remembrance.

I coach high-performing leaders, founders, and dream builders who want to live, lead, and build in alignment with their full power.

That means facing the shadows, honoring the body, reconnecting to spirit, and reclaiming PLAY as a sacred technology.

Through Becoming the Bridge, the community I co-founded, we offer retreats, masterminds, and spaces for people to drop the performance and actually feel again.

Because when you’re safe to be real, the breakthroughs come faster than you ever imagined.

My background spans fitness, somatics, energy work, coaching, entrepreneurship, and 10 years in sales.

I don’t teach from the mind—I teach from my lived experience.

And here's what I’ve found:

The deeper you go within, the greater your capacity to lead, love, and make a meaningful impact in the world.

Your business expands as your nervous system expands.

Your influence deepens as your integrity deepens.

You don’t need to be more productive.

You need to be more alive.

Let’s build the new way—where impact starts from the inside out.

As our client Bruce told us, "I've spent over 100K on coaching and this is the program that's had the biggest impact on me."

Pretty freaking cool, right?

Join us here --> becomingthebridge.co/community

Big love,
Chels

Chelsea Linge

4+ years ago, in a single instant, I decided to give up alcohol.

Drew a line in the sand.
Stepped over it.
Never looked back.

That same year, I completely 180-ed my life.

⚡moved home
⚡quit corporate
⚡launched my own biz
⚡got in a healthy relationship
⚡healed the disordered eating I was experiencing

My own experiences are the reason I became a transformational leader and coach.

I changed, so I knew others could too.

4 years in, I have a mountain of evidence that people can decide to do any fking thing that they put their mind to. 

And here’s the real kicker:

Change doesn’t have to take years.

It happens the moment you decide you’re completely done with the old story and ready to step into the new one.

You don’t need permission.
You don’t need perfect timing.
You don’t need a 400 step plan.

You just need a single decision.

One powerful, non-negotiable decision.

Draw the line. Step over it. Never look back. 💜



Tell me, do you believe it can be this simple? I’d love to know ⬇️

co-founder @ joinBTB.com ⚡ online community & retreats for conscious entrepreneurs

I recently started reading the Bible for the first time in my adult life

Growing up in a religion that did not serve me, I could never have imagined finding myself back to these teachings as an adult

But questioning my own assumptions— putting thoughts, ideas, and ways of being onto my personal altar over and over again to question whether they are True– is a core part of my practice 

Having been on a journey of spiritual exploration for years now, I’ve sat at the feet of many great teachers to learn 

And after witnessing several people in my inner circle’s lives be transformed by the teachings of Jesus, I became aware of how I was closed off due to a story I carried from the past

So I’ve been on an exploration to sit at the feet of this great teacher and learn directly from His words

Already I can feel myself being transformed by the depth of love and grace being transmitted through the teachings

----------

Why do I share this?

As someone who had the religious “ick” for years, it’s most certainly not to alienate anyone 

I also don’t share this because I’m religious (I’m not)

Nor will I be pushing this in any of the work I do in the world

I share this because I’m noticing that being able to open my heart to things that I was previously completely closed off to shows me that I am becoming more and more free internally

It’s not about doctrine for me, it’s about liberation

This is the gift of a spiritual path– it’s less about what I believe, and more about who I become when I allow myself to soften, listen, and be return to something I once ran from and meet it with curiosity instead of fear

Kind of a big one for a Friday

May you receive this with the same love I wrote it with 

Curious how any of this resonates (or not) with you? 

Big love, as always 💜

I remember the first time I made President’s Club at 24. Our CSO raised a toast and asked me- the only woman on the team- how many new designer bags I would be buying. 

Everyone laughed, and I laughed along with them.

But the real answer was zero. 

I was paying to put myself through college on the side and sending money home to my family, as we had lost both our family home and business in the 2008 crash.

------------------

I remember I closed a 7 figure deal- the largest services deal our division had ever seen.

When it was announced, a male team member asked who I had slept with to get the PO.

I just shook my head and brushed it off. 

The truth? I had spent years building relationships at that company. I had a badge. I was invited to their kid’s birthday parties.

------------------

I could share countless stories like these.

Because in my 10+ year sales career, I was consistently a top performer…

And I spent just as much time trying to find safety inside my own organization as I did serving customers.

To be clear, I hold no bitterness or resentment.

These experiences shaped me into who I am today. 

They taught me resilience, for sure– but also the cost of spending time in environments that don’t feel safe or supportive. 

And this is where Becoming the Bridge comes in.

Because founders and early leaders set the emotional architecture of a company long before the org chart exists.

Your people will model what you model.

And the culture you build– intentionally or not– will either unlock their brilliance or slowly drain it.

Founders: you have the rare chance to build something different.

Something human.

Something that makes people brighter, not smaller.

The kind of company where no one has to armor up just to belong.

Better workplaces start with better leaders.

And that starts with you 💜

Sometimes you just have to act as if THIS business/opportunity you’re growing, is the only one.

What a blessing it can be, to have your back against the wall:

To know that there is NO alternative if you don’t make whatever you’re working on, work.

I wonder some days whether I would do things differently if I was just starting out in my career, instead of building from a place of relative financial comfort.

How can I take the best parts from when I really WAS cornered and had no way to go but out and up… without the worst parts?

To both feel the urgency of growing the mission. But not also act from desperation, like many of us do (and I used to do) when there was truly no alternative but to make whatever was in front of me, work.

Many of you are later-career: you’ve accomplished a lot already. You’re not just figuring things out for the first time.

But maybe you’ve gone on your own and started a business or changed careers, and now things are new and different.

Or you’re taking clients on the side because your primary job takes 20h/wk, and you have a burning desire to create a company that allows you to quit your job.

My answer:

👉  You have to change fuel.

Feeding on unholy desperation is the entrepreneurial equivalent of drinking unicorn blood: it’ll keep you going, but at great cost.

If you started your career drinking quad shot espressos and unicorn blood, and now you’re more comfortable: you can’t go back to the way you started.

You’ll need to find a real PURPOSE that sustains you.

And, “I want to make money” doesn’t count.

Everyone’s purpose is unique. But it almost always comes down to Some Way You Want To See The World Be Different From How It Is.

Find that, focus on that, and come back to it when you get lost (emotionally, financially, mentally…).

Because you WILL get lost.

I get lost, too. We all do.

But I always find my way back through my purpose:

To help leaders who are doing the inner work to maximize their mission. To bring world-changing people together to heal and grow in community.

To convince you all that self-love comes first, and hustle second.

And to lead by example. 💜

My first online launch in 2022, 2 people signed up. One of those people was my mom 😂

(Love you mom since I know you’re reading this!)

I ran the program anyway and knocked the one real client’s socks off.

That same client went on to join 2 more offerings and is looking to join a 4th next year.

Fast forward to now, where I’m heading into hosting a retreat next week– an offering that sold out months in advance. 

The amount of less than glamorous moments it’s taken to get here:
- launches like the one I named above
- pivoting appx 1,317 times
- publicly shutting down a business

Entrepreneurship is a fantastic vehicle for learning to set down your pride.

The path to sold out launches is paved with as many “failed” or highly mid launches as it takes.

The question is: can you stay in the game long enough with enough enthusiasm to get there?

The ones who make it have three things in common:

⚡they remain connected to their vision
⚡they stay curious and use the data as feedback, rather than a judgment of their worth
⚡they surround themselves with people who are dedicated to going the distance 

I didn’t have that third piece when I started and it was tough.

So Jack and I built it. 

If you’re a founder who is looking for support from other founders who have been around the block, the Becoming the Bridge community might be a fit for you.

Deets here, or shoot me a DM→ https://lnkd.in/gac4fRQA

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