Erin Gallagher’s Post

Intrigued by Ciara's insights? Dive deeper into the Vision to Venture Workshop and download the PDF for a complete outline of the workshop and additional resources. https://lnkd.in/e-xecnh9

Are you in your first year or two of business? You still aren't quite sure what you’re doing but feel you should know. Things are not quite what you thought they would be, or wanted them to be, and you feel like you’ve been giving it socks but it’s falling short? That’s ok, we were there too. That feeling of knowing what you know and thinking it ‘should’ be enough, but the results not being apparent in the real world. We get that feeling. We have had that feeling. Usually, there is a step or a couple of steps that have been missed or forgotten, OR … someone just never taught you they were necessary! Sometimes it's because the message you want to put out, and the message you’re putting out are two different things, just because you haven’t asked for some feedback from a person you can genuinely trust. Sometimes it’s because you haven’t fully owned what you want to do and are one foot in, one foot out, and hopeful something happens. That’s just a confidence thing, and we’ve got you for that too. There are so many reasons why things don’t happen in reality when we think they should, and the only way to understand what your reasons are, is to get some eyes on from people who genuinely care about your success. Who want to see you put all your ducks in a row and hear them all quack in harmony. Because that feels like fun. That feels like easy breathing and no stress. And we love those feelings. So … let us help you get to those places, and see what it feels like to hear your ducks quacking. On April 13th in Mullingar Park Hotel, we will be taking you on a journey from VISION TO VENTURE, where you will clarify your idea, put your dream into action, and launch, or relaunch, your business with enthusiasm, passion, and excitement AND a support system that you've never had before. We are the 'Brain-Storm Troopers', and with our powers combined, you will have done in a day what most couldn't imagine doing in months. Drop us a message to get yourself booked into VISION TO VENTURE. See you there! Vicki McGowan #visiontoventure #womeninireland #entrepreneursunited #letsgo

It's 3:31am, still working on the workshop we are going to hold today at 11am. 2-3 more hours and it's done. "I will give up on my 9-5 to build my business because I will have more freedom" - people say. hahahahhaha. More freedom to create - yes. More freedom to reinvent yourself every day - yes. More freedom to be yourself - yes. More freedom to go the extra mile and make presentations unforgettable (it can also be embarrassing 🙂 sometimes) - yes. More free time - definitely not. Could we have spent 30 min on preparing this workshop? Yes. Would it be remarkable? Maybe not. Worth the time? 100%. Especially as many potential partners will be in the room. But we love it! Slowly but surely going the extra mile becomes part of our culture at Outdid and it's just incredible to witness that. Thank you, Zvezdin, for not giving up on (way too many) early flights and late brainstorming sessions even though you don't drink coffee or energy drinks 🙃. For everyone who read these thoughts, have a great start of the week, have fun and don't forget to put love in everything you do.⚡ #startuplife #extramile #founderstories

🌼 My update on Week 125 of full time entrepreneurship is late. Why? So much things to say. 🌼 Ain’t nothing like an amazing professional coach to help you bring order to chaos. Even if you are a coach - GET a coach. She doesn’t “clean my house” for me - I do that. She uncovers the dust I didn’t see. 🌼 Some business partnerships last a lifetime. Others are seasonal. Others need to be shortlived. I come from longevity in my upbringing so this a-ha moment is logical, but not natural for me. 🌼Every business owner, especially Black women deserve a place in their lives that is soft. Loved one, friend, family member, or activity. This does not speak from a place of manipulation or selfishness — it screams from a place of exhaustion. 🌼Be leery of comiseration. When every response is “Yes, me too” every solution or solitude will be found elsewhere. 🌼 I used to post what I called “Ugly Instagram” photos to demystify all the polished entrepreneurship that’s usually on display. Most of the time, our best work is when we are alone, tore up from the floor up, listening to a banging playlist, and lighting up the world. 🌼 One of the best thoughts I heard this week in DEI? “Metrics are important, but always measure the people’s experiences that were improved due to your work.” 🌼Remember God is never untimely or unintentional. 🌼 Big thanks to my triathlon club Fast Chix sisters who brought home my engraved Angel's Envy — finally cracked it open and enjoy my sips. Their tagline — “Heaven Can Wait - Drink Responsibly.” #diversity #equity #inclusion #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurmindset #makebusinesssense

From Business Calls to Bedtime Stories. 🙋♂️ In the last 3.5 years, I've navigated the demands of scaling a startup and the joys of fatherhood. Having lost my own father at age 7, I deeply understand the irreplaceable value of these foundational years with my son. Both roles, the entrepreneur and the father, teach me every day: Presence is invaluable. Whether it's sealing a business deal or reading a bedtime story, being truly present makes all the difference. 💕 --------------- To my fellow entrepreneurial parents: How do you strike a balance between business and parenthood? Share your insights and experiences below. 👇 #Dadpreneur #WorkLifeBalance

It takes relentless effort, discipline, and will to survive the entrepreneurial journey. The hustle is real. However, we have to stop celebrating the non stop grind, never take a break, and charge through anything mentality. I know first hand the damage it can cause. I can also tell you that the most magical breakthroughs have always happened when I put in the work, did all I could do, and then took a break. That could be as simple as a walk or as big as a full on detached week long vacation. Celebrites have organically posted about our products giving huge awareness boosts, game changing new accounts have been confirmed, and company saving funding has come through, all in the times that I have disconnected. Sean Kelly and I were discussing the fact that we both often admired, and even tried to emulate, the person that would grind on vacation. Telling the others, “I’ll meet you in a bit after I wrap up this email or call.” That was misguided. We should be celebrating the entrepreneur that has built a support team, learned to delegate, and has installed systems that allow him or her to actually unwind, recharge, and let the magic happen. So this year, put in the work, while working and set yourself up to be able to take time to recharge and enjoy life. #newyearnewyou #entrepreneurjourney #changeyourperspective

Today marks the end of a significant chapter as we wind down AllTakes. AllTakes was created slightly over 2 years ago to create a space to foster deeper and more authentic connection online. Even in a world where debates around “Return to Office” continue, the way we connect with each other has changed forever. I may be biased, but I think we built something incredible. Here are some quotes from our customers as we sunsetted our product: “𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔. 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎!” “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒍; 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 "𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔" 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑨𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.” However, we failed to reach escape velocity. Looking at the data, the path forward did not make sense and we decided to return money to our investors. Making this decision was incredibly difficult: for anyone who has poured their heart and soul into building something, you know what it feels like to take a step back and realize that there is no path forward that results in the impact you hoped to have when you got started. One thing is for sure: this journey has been transformational and I’m filled with gratitude for everyone who’s been part of it: • Our phenomenal team: Your passion, creativity, and resilience were the heart of AllTakes. • Our investors: Your belief in us and our mission; your wise counsel and direct feedback were all incredibly helpful.  • Our loyal customers: You embraced our vision and made it a reality. Many of you have heard me speak about operating from a place of "knowing" - and this was the right decision for us. One thing I've learned is that there is no journey outside of parenthood that teaches you more about yourself than entrepreneurship. I take many of these lessons with me into my next season. cc: Maricia Scott

Founders - especially my fellow *solo* founders, do you ever take a moment to celebrate how far you've come? To look back and go "Wow, I did that?!", "Wow, I got through that?!", "Wow, I created that?!" You're doing better than you think. Trust your gut. Give yourself more credit. Don't forget to celebrate the small wins... because I know you sure as hell don't spend enough time celebrating the big ones anyways ;) Oh, and if you're feeling extra exhausted, tired, burnt out despite it only being January - chances are you aren't operating your day-to-day aligned to your core values. I've got you covered: https://lnkd.in/dujUgYtz #founderlife #startupfounder #womeninbusiness #womenownedbusiness #femalefounders #entreprenuership #selfcare #journaling #selfawareness #selfdiscovery #employeewellbeing #founderstories #founderjourney #startupjourney #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #personalgrowthjourney #growthmindset #selfimprovement

With Spark's one-year anniversary approaching, I wanted to reflect on the things I've learned in business over the past year. Here are the first three of twelve lessons: 1) Whatever your business is you better love it. When I tell you I have a whole relationship with my business. It’s like a friendship that needs to be cared for and nourished. It requires sacrifice. 🧡 2) People move and flow. Some people I thought would support me have not, and other people I didn’t expect have been huge supporters. I’ve learned to be grateful for both. For those who have not, they have given me the gift of recalibration. For those who have, they have given the gift of surprise. 3) Inspiration is not on a Monday to Friday, 9-5. It hits when it hits and you need to be ready to write it down! 📝 Stay tuned for the next nine lessons as we approach Juneteenth and our one-year anniversary! 🥂 #businessanniversary #entrepreneurlife #businesslessons #lovewhatyoudo #startupjourney #sparkoneyearstrong

Happy Monday, everyone! ☀️ As we kick off a new week, here’s a thought to propel us forward: “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” - Zig Ziglar Whether it’s taking the first step towards a new business venture, reaching out to a potential client, or just organizing your week ahead, the journey to greatness begins with that single step. Let’s embrace the start of something new this week and remember that each step, no matter how small, is a step towards greatness. What’s your first step going to be? #MondayMotivation #StartToBeGreat #RealEstate #PacificHomeGroup #NewBeginnings