Vulnerability in Leadership: My Journey of Learning 🌱

I’ve faced many challenges throughout my 14 years as an entrepreneur, but one experience stands out for how deeply it impacted me, both personally and professionally.

From 2018 to 2021, I owned a nationwide children's party entertainment company with three locations, three location managers, and 125 independent contractors. Managing this scale of operations brought many lessons, but the hardest came when I discovered in 2019 that one of my location managers, someone I considered a friend, was using my client list to build her own business. When confronted, she admitted to it and, for the next five months, tried to undermine my company by poaching contractors and clients.

The stress of navigating this betrayal, both personally and professionally, led me to develop facial shingles—a painful reminder of how much pressure I had internalized. Instead of allowing the anger and anxiety to control me, I made the difficult decision to reflect on my own leadership. It would have been easy to blame her, but I realized that my responsibilities as her leader had slipped. I had stopped managing effectively, and that gap created the space for this to happen.

In 2021, I sold my company, not out of defeat but out of growth. This experience taught me how important it is to stay connected and engaged as a leader, especially when things seem to be running smoothly. It also inspired me to build a community for business owners who, like me, felt isolated in their challenges.

As painful as it was, I’m grateful for the experience because it helped shape the leader I am today. Sometimes our greatest challenges reveal the clearest paths forward. Now, through my work in business therapy, I help entrepreneurs find balance, fulfilment, and growth in their own journeys. 

Let’s remember that growth doesn’t come without discomfort, but the rewards are worth it.