Renee Bauer and I talk about her entrepreneurship journey as well as how she has navigated self-doubt and tapped into the courage to start not only one business but multiple. As someone who wears multiple hats, she's an inspiration of how to manage it all and focus on building the business that will help you feel like a winner. But it's her Stop, Drop & Roll framework that will have you taking action today. No matter what decision you're facing, her framework will help you make a decision and move forward.
**This was also a podcast episode (episode #207. Use the player below if you'd prefer to listen to this message.
Imperfect Action Lead To More Courage In Entrepreneurship
Renee was nervous about sharing her divorce stories at first but after opening up about this process she realized that by doing that she was able to help others navigate the tough road too. By tapping into her courage in this way, it unlocked her courage in entrepreneurship too.
But it wasn't just divorce that led Renee into being a courageous and driven entrepreneur, it was her tenacity to continue to push through fear and rejection. While Renee has self published several books, she wanted to go the traditional publishing route and set out to find a literary agent but it wasn't easy.
"I was rejected by 113 literary agents before I got the yes" - Renee Bauer
Imagine hearing "no" 113 times yet still continuing to ask others if they are interested. We run into this often as accidental entrepreneurs when we are trying new things and especially when we are trying to sell something. We will ask once or twice but after that, we tend to give up.
I encourage you to tap into Renee's story for inspiration and continue to push through and keep asking when it means a lot to you because eventually you will hear a yes from someone.
"The first 50 I took personally but after that I realized it was just not a good fit...rejection doesn't scare me anymore" - Renee Bauer
Imposter Syndrome & Self Doubt As An Accidental Entrepreneur
If you look at Renee's presence online or hear her on a podcast like this one, you might think she never deals with self doubt but that couldn't be farther from the truth. We talked about how this shows up for her and how she has navigated it through the years of entrepreneurship.
"I recognized what it was and that the self-doubt was just my head talking but the purpose was bigger than that." - Renee Bauer
Renee also shared that even after she's paid to speak or hired for something, she can often show up to the event and feel like a fake and wonders if others can tell. It's easy to think that we will move past these feelings as we gain more success but the reality is that the more success we gain, the bigger "stage" we are on so we will always have some element of that fear. But Renee shared that while the fear will likely be there, it doesn't have to be as difficult to move through forever.
"Sometimes you show up and feel like a total fake...but the more you flex the muscle of being uncomfortable, the easier it gets" - Renee Bauer
Trust Yourself & Stop Asking Others For Their Thoughts
As we continued to talk about entrepreneurship success and how her career has progressed, she shared that she has learned that it's not always the best to ask too many people for their opinions. This is tough, especially at the beginning of entrepreneurship, because we often need others "permission" or advice but Renee encourages us to trust ourselves.
"Sometimes when you ask too many people it can muddy the waters and you just need to trust your own internal voice." - Renee Bauer
This came into play for myself as I was publishing my book, Why Not You? An Accidental Entrepreneur's Guide To Success too. I found myself asking beta readers, editors, students and family members for their thoughts and while I'm grateful for it all, there was a moment in the process when I needed to trust myself.
What this looked like for me was going to an AirBnB for a few days, armed with all the notes from others but then deciding what I wanted to take and what I wanted to leave. I worked on edits for the book for several days and in the end I'm so proud that I made decisions based on data from others but also my own intuition as well.
Stop, Drop, & Roll To Make Entrepreneurship Decisions
In entrepreneurship, we are faced with many decisions on a daily basis and sometimes we aren't sure what to do. We are almost paralyzed with fear so we do nothing because we're worried about doing the wrong thing.
Renee has seen this in her life and career but also in her clients lives as well. Because of this, she came up with a framework to help herself and others make decisions quickly and with confidence.
Renee shares the framework she created when she was writing her book (She Who Wins) and how it came to her from a phrase that we've all heard many times about fires: Stop, Drop and Roll. But instead of fighting fires, her take on it is that this model will light up your life.
Stop - "pausing and assessing to make sure you're being guided by your intuition and your heart and not by your head. You have to first identify what you truly want."
Drop - "next you have to drop your excuses because this is where everyone gets hung up. We have to acknowledge what they are and kick them to the curb."
Roll - "next you roll into action. You don't have to take massive steps, you just need to take small actions to gain the momentum."
By using this framework you'll no longer be stuck with indecision, you can continue to take steps towards what you'd like to accomplish in your business and your life.
Know What Success Is For You
Throughout our conversation Renee shared about how she followed her heart and what she truly wanted throughout her life and entrepreneurship career. While she dealt with people not liking it or thinking it was silly, she persevered and truly feels successful.
She shares a specific story about how she almost got caught up in what others say success is when it came to publishing her book, She Who Wins. In the book publishing world many people talk about hitting a best-seller list and admittedly I fell into this trap too for a bit. It's hard to not get caught up in thinking about this because making "the list" will not only have you selling more books but it gives you credibility to others.
When Renee recognized this, she caught it and focused back in on her originally goal with writing and publishing her book, which was to "put it in the hands of women who I know it could impact their lives." - Renee Bauer
"Who cares if it didn't get the 6,000 copies sold on week 1 to hit the list. What if it landed in the hands of 500 women and changed their life." - Renee Bauer
"This happened over time, it wasn't a switch that flipped, it took some work to get there." - Renee Bauer
**If you aren't sure what success feels like for you, be sure to download the free PDF Guide so you can define success on your terms in the next 20 minutes.
Take Away Message / Action
Renee was such an inspiration and her book is fantastic if you're looking for more of what she was putting down today! You can find it on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes and Noble and other places books are sold so go grab your copy.
But even more, I hope that you're inspired to win at whatever you're pursuing at the moment or are thinking of pursuing. I'll leave you with Renee's words today so you can go after whatever it is you desire.
"Even when something is really hard, if you want it, go for it. Know that it could get hard before it gets easier but at least you tried." - Renee Bauer
Until next time give yourself permission to go after the things you want and grace along the way. I'll talk to you soon!
About Renee:
Renee Bauer is an international speaker, author of 3 other books – Divorce in Connecticut, The Ultimate Guide to Solo and Small Firm Success, and the children’s book Percy’s Imperfectly Perfect Family. She hosts the annual She Who Wins Summit, a live event created to inspire, motivate and challenge women to move forward bravely in their personal and business lives. Her impact has been recognized by Success Magazine where she was nominated as a Woman of Influence and with awards such as Litigator of the Year, Women-Owned Business of the Year, and New Leaders in the Law. She has been featured in multiple media outlets such as the International Business Times, Comment Central, AP News, NBC, FOX, and iHeart Radio.
Renee's Resources:
Renee's Book Website: https://shewhowinsbook.com/
Renee's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msreneebauer/
Renee's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msreneecbauer
Other Resources Mentioned:
Define Success Free Resource: https://www.amandamckinney.com/success
All podcast episodes: https://pod.link/1473751874
Amanda's Coaching Options: https://www.amandamckinney.com/coaching
Amanda's Book: https://www.amandamckinney.com/book
"Even when something is really hard, if you want it, go for it. Know that it could get hard before it gets easier but at least you tried."
- Renee Bauer
Add Another Book To Your To-Read List!
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