Episode 33 : SISTEM: Are You Aligning Your “Why” And Your Career

Her Career Ladder

Hello, everybody, it is International Women's Day. This is Michele Heyward here from positive hire, we're so excited to be with you, not only on International Women's Day, but also Women's History Month, in partnership with system, I'm gonna explain who that is in just a minute. I'm really excited. For the next four Wednesdays, we will be going live with a fantastic group of women who are in probably an industry many people may not be familiar with. But you absolutely should be familiar with. And this is why we are absolutely it is an absolutely essential part of our world. So system is founded by Nicole Brown systems, a casual network of women of color in the water and green industry. See that you didn't know that was an industry, you're learning something new today, Women's History Month, system is a play off of the word system. So system that I'm saying is s i s t e m, which is a definition of a regularly interacting or entity, interdependent group of items forming a unified whole. But this system with an eye focuses on women of color in the STEM field, Nicole was motivated to create this group after hearing a common theme for women of color working in water within her network. And these were three things she was hearing. I enjoy what I do. But I feel like I'm the only woman of color and I'm not sure that I belong. The second thing she would hear, I would love a mentor that understood the unique challenges we have as women of color in this field. And the third and final, I don't feel like I can be my authentic self at work. Have you felt that way?
This is why Nicole created system sounds really familiar. So why I created positive hire, which is why we've partnered together during women's history month. What you're really going to be in for is a treat tonight, as we talk about this month, women doing well and really persevering in the water and green industry, but also making connections here, whether you're following us on LinkedIn, YouTube or Facebook, we're so so happy to have you here tonight. Tonight, we're talking about a very, very important topic. And I love when we when this topic came up because I think often forget, and it's about our you're aligning your why and your career. And we have a fantastic speaker tonight that I am going to introduce to all of you, and we're going to have this great dialogue and conversation. And so I'm really excited to have her join us. Kay Beeler is 20 has 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, and digital water working alongside major municipal clients across the US. She has worked in finance, parks and recreation, general city city administration and utilities. Her expertise includes identifying funding sources, grant writing, and financial planning. As a versatile and visionary executive. She has managed dozens of projects drawing upon her expertise in all facets of executive leadership, strategy, and complex financial management. I'm excited. Are y'all excited? Are you excited? Hey, I am I am. This is thank you for having me. It's great to have you here. What did I leave out? What should people know about you that that's not in the bio? Like,
like if if they want to get on your good side? Is there a treat? Or is it like don't call me before 7am? Or don't call me after 9pm? Like, like you'd at night at a morning person? I am definitely not a morning person. So don't schedule anything for me before eight and then we're okay. I love it. See, I'm before 10 We you want us to be friends? Don't don't not before 10. Not before. So as we talk about this subject, aligning your why your career I think is really important. Because as we progress in our careers, our goals change our lives definitely change. When you think about aligning your Y. What's the first thing that you would tell that comes to mind for you? We'll start there.
I think the first thing is you know what gets you up in the morning.
And what's your reason for being? What excites you? So my why is I come back to it all the time is, why am I doing this? What is it? And what drives me? I love it. I love it. Um, is that waking up? Because like, do I want to get out of bed or not get out?
So what would you tell women in your industry, when it comes to their their y?
I'd say you know, first, once you identify it, or once you think you identify it, realize that it's always going to be evolving, that is not static, and give yourself permission to change and pivot. And I think that's been the largest thing that I've had to learn, or the biggest issue that I've struggled with is just realizing that things change.
Yes, they absolutely do. Now, as we look at your career, early on, what was your why, for for, you know, in your career Early on, for being in the industry.
You know, the industry kind of found me, I was recruited out of college, so I didn't know much about the industry. And initially, it was really just proving ground. You know, it was I knew that there were not a lot of women, and not a lot of women of color, and not a lot of young women. And so when I layered those things on it was just, hey, I can do it, I'm going to prove to everybody that I can. And that was part of what drove me early on. Okay. I like that, like, you know, being the only one. Um,
it's really can be daunting sometimes. But I love how you say, You know what, I'm up for the challenge. I like that. When you look at your evolution and growth in your career has, how often has your why has your why change? And how often do you think it's changed?
Oh, well, I think initially, after you prove yourself, you know, that gets a little daunting to keep proving yourself. And so you get to a shift of where you know, you belong. And you recognize that and you feel like others should. So that was probably the first shift that where I really had to get comfortable with who I was. And what I brought to the table. I think the the change, the second change was being a mother. Because then everything comes into focus that maybe wasn't before, at least for me. And so it was not only did I have myself to think about but I now had my son. And so I thought about not only caring for him and being able to provide but what kind of example and what kind of legacy I had. So that was a big driver for me. And as I progressed, it was really It got to not only my son, but also my legacy other women, other people of color, how could I impact them? So those now are all intertwine. So it's not just one way, it's several different ones. And, and I love talking about the mother aspect. So now you're a mom, your Y has has changed. And I love I love this, I'm gonna get into it, not a mommy so.
So you're telling us a bit about your personal life? How has that driven your decision about where you live? Maybe even
the hours you may put in, like How's it changed those, you know, you're living as well as your work life? Well, it changed in that I had to really make some tough decisions at times, because once you become a mother, or once I became a mother, I needed different support. So whereas I started and when my career really took off, I was in the Midwest and Northeast, and his life changes happen. And I'm a mom and you go through splits and divorces and all of those things. I moved back to Dallas where I'm originally from. And so part of it was, you know, not only did my son need support, but I needed support. And so that really was a shift in my career. It really was a shift in my ownership. I was an entrepreneur at the time. But also my priorities changed. So sometimes I'd have to work late sometimes I'd have to work early, but I just have to get the job done. So I think that really impacted a lot of personal decisions for me.
Absolutely, absolutely understandable. When we look at
look at those times in your life because they've shifted who are some of your role models as you're going through early career, becoming a mom mid career and being an entrepreneur as well who were some of those role models for you? Well, it started with my parents. My dad was probably one of my closest confidants he was like a coach, or throughout most of my life and career early on from that
High school being a drill team running track to go into college and picking classes. He really was that grounding for us. He was a man of faith and or is a man of faith and an engineer. So always gave me that practical kind of foundation. My mom, she's an executive, she ran the VA Medical Center for several years. So I really grew up hearing about executive leadership and organizational behavior at the dinner table. So now I realized that a lot of those things were deposited in me.
Professionally, I think the game changer for me was going to work in Pittsburgh, and having alpha San, the utility in Allegheny County as my client. I worked alongside our letter Williams, who's, who's been so much to so many. But she really kind of elevated and helped me elevate my life as a consultant and as a professional just because she demanded excellence. And I remember started and I had, I just had all of this energy and just rough edges. And you know, people gave me grace. But she told me, I'll never forget, she said, Kay, why bark when you can grow? And why growl when you can just show up on the porch, you're enough. And so that kind of really started me on this journey of not having really curtailing my energy and realizing what my assets were.
I love it. I love it. Parents, young, you get molded young for many years. So this is really good. And that's what we always say Big Brothers, Big Sisters and mentoring programs play a huge role in our lives, especially as an adult. So I'm so happy that you like many of us, were able to have role models, early in life, but early in career, because they absolutely do help us.
You shared
some things that you are entrepreneur. So I'm a founder, Ramon tech startup, so I love talking about. So let's delve into the entrepreneurship. And then we're gonna come back to water industry. And just, and we'll come back to that. So tell us a bit about how did you end up as an entrepreneur, and being a mom, and an entrepreneur that you you mentioned a few moments ago?
Well, I started, I worked for a couple of firms early on. And as they changed as the environment changed, there was really an opportunity for me to kind of go out on my own, sometimes, you know, I had management, and then the scope change and a couple of projects. And as I got more disconnected from my clients, working for the corporations, I thought, wow, you know, I could do this. And at the time, I'm young, I didn't have enough sense to know, you know, crazy, you don't have any money saved. But I went out on my own, started getting clients doing analysis, getting involved in programs. And it just kept snowballing. I got so much work that I couldn't do it alone. And then that was the start of my firm. So I had to hire people, I got more projects. And I really had a knack and a love for people that I was able to combine with my skill set and able to connect. And so that is how I started. I had my firm probably about five years before I hit my son. So I had enough to be stable. And you know, starting that success kind of trajectory was starting. And it was a point of no return. I had contracts. So there wasn't, you know, as my dad said, you can't pack your tent and go home. So that's really it just got bigger than I could manage alone. And so my firm just started and I was successful. So I moved to Chicago first and then to Pittsburgh, and kind of follow up that Ohio for the water and sewer. So entrepreneurship. It wasn't my intent at first, but it definitely was part of my journey.
I love it. I love that, that that progression.
You also mentioned following Following the war, because I'm thinking Mississippi when he's
wrong, don't get me wrong here, but I'm not that bad of an engineer.
Understand the issue around water affordability. And how that became the opportunity that changed your career. Can you tell us a bit about that? Sure. And Texas, you know, you didn't have as many especially we're talking 1520 years ago, you didn't have the wet wet weather issues that you have now. And I saw an opportunity in the Midwest and Northeast they had most of the communities were under a consent decree. You had aging infrastructure you had transitioning
population, you had cost issues. And then you had really, you know, typography difference in typography. So they had the EPA was coming in, they were sewing most of the utilities and they were trying to figure out, Okay, we have all of these technical solutions, how do we pay for them. And up until that point, there really wasn't a concise nexus of where finance and engineering meet. So I had that background of both. But I really was able to use my financial ability and the ability to connect with clients and stakeholders. So we had to one figure out what the ratepayers could pay to what could the utilities afford to finance. And so because of those multi year programs, for small business, it was great because it was no longer $25,000 $50,000 RFP, you are a long term, multi year program. So that was the beginning of what I was saying was my career and the stability.
Yeah, so you want to climate change, but you didn't say I'm saying climate change. So we'll say that case said it say that Michelle said it. Okay.
That's it.
It and for those of you that I worked on capital projects, and utilities, I built transmission lines and fossil fuel. I worked in Pittsburgh to boughs out and fossil retrofit for fossil fuel plants. For those who don't know, coal is cold.
So I'm sitting here like, Oh, my God, that is so true. All of this is so resonating with me. So for those of you if anything that Kay is saying resonates with you, please drop it in the chat, I would love to see what your thoughts are. So she can see what you're saying as well. And I'll share some things on the screen. But I'm sitting here going through thinking of the opportunities that you found as an entrepreneur with these long term contracts. Because I agree with you to 25 and $50,000 are great, but 25,000, or $50,000 per month, over four years is even better. So what what advice would you give to someone who is in their career, they're considering entrepreneurship, and they're considering trying to figure out what steps they would take in the water industry consulting, to have more consistent revenue?
I like number one, identify the commodity what you're selling, you know, what can you add a value not only to the utility, but to other firms. Because partnering is going to be huge. Being a sub consultant is generally how most of us start. I think, also making sure that you're ready, you know, having money saved is underestimated. But having, you know, at least six months was saving because we deal in a pay when paid industry. And cash flow is a real impediment to growth into just the ability and staying in business. So you could have 10 million in backlog. But if you don't have your cash flow, right, you could go out of business. So I'd say cash flow. And then number three, be prepared to network, be prepared to always be in the position to partner and meet someone. Peter Drucker, the Harvard professor wrote about identifying your client. And I think as a sub consultant, as an entrepreneur as a small business, initially, I thought the client was the municipality, but I had to really once I did the exercise, my client oftentimes was other engineering firms. So I had to shift and not only market to municipalities, but also make key relationships with other engineering firms and people that I needed to be a complement to their services, because that's how the finance works so well, because most of them did not keep, you know, analysts and have a big robust financial capability for evaluating water and sewer projects. It was very nice. I think there are more neurosurgeons than people that do infrastructure finance.
That was a whole lot. So I want you all to come back. And I need you to replay that for those, especially for those of you that are going to go into entrepreneurship, whether you stick a toe in or hole leg. Kay said a lot about money, clients business development, that everybody on social media doesn't know you actually have to go out and meet people it
they're always surprised. They're always surprised. Um, we are going to continue to conversation because I'm having a good time. I don't know about anything. Anybody else.
So you mentioned having your own business. How did Can you tell us more about the business and a business growth that you had to now you found long term contracts or better your understanding, you know, business development, grant writing, what does that looking like for you? Now that your five year
Chris into your five plus years into your business, five plus years into my business it got where we really had to expand. And I really had to open up. It wasn't just analysis because there was one thing to build a financial model and tele utility, you know, 20 years out, this is what your revenue requirements will look like 20 years out, this is what your demographics will look like. But it was another thing to really educate and say, what does it mean? And say, Well, if we can't finance, what are our options, and so I think being able to evolve and be able to really identify issues that were not financial, that could have been disadvantaged communities that could have been historically underutilized businesses, legal issues, regulatory, so really to be able to take the finances as a base and expand. So that's what I would say that your five to 10 probably looked like is, is really getting in there and being able to understand the other issues other than just finance.
Thank you, thank you so much for that. So the business has grown.
What what happens next?
Well, I'll tell you, the business started growing, and it started for me, maybe not everybody else, but it started getting less fun for me. Because as your business grows, you know, you have employees, you have legal, you have HR, you have all of these things that you have to do, in addition to whatever skill that you had to run the business. And as you grow, no one tells you about what scaling really means. And scaling really consumes a lot of energy, it consumes a lot of thought and it becomes, you know, really less about you it's a really lonely place. And there are times where you have to really reconcile your why, why am I doing this? What makes this work for me. And so I think as I grew, it became more daunting, and the issues became more, although I loved what I did, I didn't necessarily love all the issues, because in our industry, as you know, it's very geographically driven. So as you want to grow, you'd have to get another office and you'd have to get certified in this place. And then you'd have to deal with a lot of that. So for me, that was when I didn't know it at that time was where I started to get a little burnout, because I started so early, you know, in my 20s. And as being a single mom and running the business that was really starting to kind of wear me down a little bit.
Gotcha. So tell us, what did you decide to do with the business at that point?
At that point, I was, I was right sizing it. So I had moved to Dallas and I decided, let me try to right size it because you know, you get to a point where it was large, and you're keeping all of these people busy. And you're spending more time going out and getting the business and the challenges you kind of start as a practice, which you know, is yourself, and then you want to grow it. But when people still recognize you as the business, you have to touch everything. So looking back on it, I could have created something more scalable, but because I didn't although you know, at this point, I'm doing 1.5 to two and a half million a year, it's still me having to leverage myself everywhere. Then COVID hit. So once COVID hit, it was like, Okay, why am I doing this? You are at that time really trying to scale trying to meet technology demands? Because we were trying to figure out how do you touch clients, and during COVID, you know, the larger companies, they could still figure it out and had enough cash to wait. So at that point, I was just like, I think I want to transition out of this, I think I wanted to, you know, sell the contracts that I have and just take a year or two to figure it out. At that time. I didn't know COVID was going to last two years. But that was when I started doing some soul searching deciding what I really wanted to do next.
So you sold the business.
You take some time off,
where's K now?
K was at an inflection point of okay, what next? And I talked about it, you know, with my mom and my family, my close friends. And I said, you know, I had a couple of mentors at the time. There was a couple and talk to Reggie and Lisa Perry about like, Okay, what do I want to do next? You know, they were huge mentors in my life. And they were like, Well, do you feel like you max out? And I said, yeah, they said, Well, maybe you know, it's time to go back to corporate in retool. And I was like, I never thought about that as an option. Because once you have gone that, you know, entrepreneurial route, it just wasn't top of mind for me. So I started kind of
have, you know secretly looking for a job and I had a, you know, sending my resume a couple of places. And I realized, you know, I was kind of it was dragging on, I wasn't getting the traction. And I realized, because I was searching, really an anonymity, you know, because I hadn't reconciled that, hey, this is what I'm doing, I still kind of had feelings of failure, that that was really used as leverage. And so one day, I just decided, you know, what, I'm going to rip the band aid off, I took a picture posted on LinkedIn and said, Hey, I'm ready to pivot. I'm looking for a job, let's go. And from that, it just kind of it snowballs again, and I had about 37 interviews over nine companies, and I ended up with seven job offers, wow, one post one post, but it was really just accepting, like, I didn't care what anybody thought, you know, let's go. I love it. I think when we were, the humility can hold us back. And, and the opportunities there, because you built a great career, you had so many connections and network, it was absolutely fantastic. So I love that. I love that. So what we're going to do, we're going to transition into the next part of the conversation. But I'm gonna turn it over to melody, right? Who is a member of system she's going to come on, she's going to really dive into some other parts of your career. So melody, how are you? I'm good. Thank you so much for Michelle and Kay, and thanks to everyone who has joined us this evening. So I'm Kay, I would love to talk a little bit about your why. Okay,
can you tell us a little bit about what you do in terms of being able to be a voice for others in your career space, and how you were able to sort of find a way to connect that ability to be a voice in your personal and professional life?
Well, I think part of it was taking my experience that I had as a small business owner, now that is,
I really have empathy and an understanding for other small businesses, and I feel like working for a large corporation, I am able to advocate and also educate as to what that experience looks like, you know, oftentimes, we hear there, you know, we can't find any MBAs or DBS or you know, we can't find anyone qualified. And I'm like, Yes, has have we looked. And so that became part of it. And also, other young women of color, you know, we, you know, voice and showing that it's not always pretty right in, there are experiences that you really need help on. And I think, for me being authentic, and being vocal about it doesn't always look good. But you can just, you know, be vulnerable, and ask questions and get the help that you need. Because I think being isolated really, really
kind of just impacted me, and then I kind of figured out like, hey, there are people that will help you. Thanks. That's awesome. And you know, you bring up the topic of vulnerability. And I feel like when we got to talk earlier in the week, you shared with me that shortly after selling your business, finding yourself in this new space, you also really got very much intentional and mindful about being vulnerable in that space. And I remember sharing with you that the, the renowned black feminist author, Bill hooks has a quote that says, The fearless woman is not afraid to be vulnerable, because she knows that it will destroy her.
Can you talk a little bit about how you apply that principle at work?
Well, I just live out loud. Now, you know, I'm a single mom, that is not always a straight task, or being a mom, you know, or being a parent. You know, you have school you have activities. And I think saying when you know you're overwhelmed, or when I can't make it or when you know, you have a sick kiddo, that sometimes your responsibilities at home don't necessarily align with who you need to be at work and being honest about that. That being said, when I can I give 110% But being vulnerable and not caring that shame of whatever your life circumstances, I think opens you up to a world of productivity and success. So that for me is where being vulnerable has lifted a huge weight. It has taken this time and it said, This is my life. This is what I do. But hey, we're ready to go. Right. Thank you so much. You know, it brings me to another question.
Another side of that vulnerability concept, right? One of the things that was talked about earlier in the conversation this evening was this idea of many of us, like you find ourselves as the only woman and or the only woman of color in these male dominated spaces.
And that can also create vulnerability is sometimes a challenging way. So I wondered if you could talk a little bit about that, you know, what we're talking about a little bit of the bad and the ugly. Right. Right. In terms of those experiences at work, right? Well, I think, you know, our industry has definitely changed. I've definitely seen growth and more women, but I do think that there has, there still needs to be some education, because there are some times when, you know, some people said things or did things, and that I felt crossed the boundary or legally crossed the boundary. And I just didn't know what to do. There wasn't a blueprint, there wasn't a role model. Did I always handle it? Right? No, did I always have the tools? Right? No. And so I think part of it is starting that dialogue, you know, me, too, is relatively new. And so you know, as a as an entrepreneur, you often feel that your back is against the wall, because at the end of the day, you're trying to make sure other people work, and they eat, and you don't know what to do. And so I think that part of the dialogue needs to be what are those protections? What are those kind of bumpers, if you think about bowling, where are they and I think for other women, part of it is kind of deciding early on what your boundaries are, and making sure that you have some safeguards in place if things don't work out, so you don't feel that you have to tolerate certain things. It's great, thank you. Um, you know, another part of our earlier conversation that stuck with me, are some of the pieces of advice that you shared, that you would give to younger professionals who are on par, to be able to go to your same career ladder.
One of the a couple of the things you said to stand out are, don't be afraid to pivot. Don't be limited by your job title.
And make sure you recognize the importance of having a network. And I would love to hear you talk about one of those maybe in particular, the one about not being limited by your job title.
Well, I think, you know, job titles are important as classifications, but I don't think they necessarily always convey what you do or convey what your limits are. I started you know, as as a technical person, but because of my personality, I was able to make connections, and I didn't wait for anybody to say, Okay, how are you going to talk to this client? This is the information, I was just myself. And I think sometimes we think that we have this title, or maybe the title limits us. And we allow that to limit our job. And I think that there are people watching, there are people that you interact with, that are saying, you know, this person, the way they move, actually, they're prepared for the next level. So I think it's important to not be limited and not allow your job title, I behave for the position that I want. That's the produce and not the position that I have. Fantastic. So you get the chance to go back in time, and you run into your 20 year ago. So in an elevator, so in just that amount of time that you would have, what is the piece of advice that you would give to that cave of the past?
Wow, I'd probably start by telling her I don't know an answer. You don't have to know everything today.
And then let's say you belong, that just because you don't show up and look like everybody there, you have just as much right to be there and you own it and you go forth and you walk in it.
Awesome.
So what would you say that you would leave our audience this evening with if there was just one key takeaway that you want to make sure six
I think it's important to really tried to put yourself in other shoes. I think in the workplace. Now we are so busy moving, moving. We're so worried about profits and clients and all of these things, that we often don't extend enough grace to our colleagues. And I look back early in my career when I didn't have the life experience that I have now to know that people have life. People, things happen. And people bring things with them that sometimes just a little grace could speak to so I think in this environment in this climate, that's really what I see is a lack of grace for maybe it's other firms. Maybe it's colleagues. Maybe it's for your co worker down the hall is extended race at times and really tried to work towards the
common goal because we just have so much more in common than we do different. Fantastic. Okay, I know that on behalf of myself and system and everyone watching this, we're so happy to have had this conversation with you today. It's been insightful. It's been inspiring, and it's been fun
doing it. Absolutely. Do we have time for questions?
I'm not sure
you're on mute.
I'm glad one of us knows.
So let me see what we have in the chat. I hadn't seen any yet. We did have some.
First off, Happy International Women's Day, everybody. So we're here.
Another comment, what an amazing conversation.
So yeah, I know the coals here in spirit. Oh, we saw that you get some shout outs to
my supporters were at least watching so yes, yes. But when yet they're excited. Like I'm here they like they've been waiting like they're in.
So I was like, you watch her fan base with you. And we have some engineers and training some professional engineers and engineers in the chat, that are definitely enjoying the conversation. So I don't see any questions. So if you have questions, go ahead and
say that it's great to see and meet system and everything that's going on. And that that kid I just missed each other. I think she left Oregon 2016. I got to Pittsburgh in 2016. And so we literally probably missed each other by a few months. We do have, we do have a question. And so I'll pop that up. And I'll turn these over to you
to
to the transition more from owning your own business to return into corporate.
You want me to take that melody, the question? I'm absolutely okay. Um, the you know, the transition, I think at first was more mental. It was more of just accepting that this is what I want to do and making my mind up because I didn't want to kind of vacillate
the transition. The biggest part was, of course, I think having a team and working with people. And so you know, the, the benefits was that I opened up my toolbox, it was no longer just me or selling, you know, key staff. It was now I work for a large corporation, Tetra Tech, and I have so many people, so many resources that I can bring to bear. I'm also having a boss and performance appraisals. You know, that was a little bit scary at first, because it had been 17 years since I had a performance appraisal. And so I had to really figure out what does success look like as an employee. And from that, it was really, you know, I went to work for a company that valued entrepreneurial spirit. So I think the schedule that was also a little different, but I'm able to work hybrid. So I think the biggest shift was mindset. But once I made up my mind that I had closed that chapter in my life, I was ready to do whatever I needed to do. So mindset number one decided that I wanted to be a great employee, having a team. And so you know, this kind of like a family you have to learn to, to work together, the good and the bad. And then number three, just the schedule, you know, it's every day, I can't just decide to necessarily take off when we have things to do. But it's definitely been fun. And I love it. I can't imagine. Now going back to be an entrepreneur, I am just ecstatic get excited every day.
So okay, I'll ask a quick question for the group as well, because some of the things that we talk about when we meet monthly can be topics around entrepreneurship, especially those of us who are members of the group, who are either considering or in the midst of entrepreneurship. So I wonder if you might compare what you just shared about leaving working on your own and going into corporate as compared to what it was like to take the leap in the other direction when you left corporate at first and started your entrepreneurial role.
I think when I first left, I didn't realize how much time it took to really start your entrepreneurial journey and the level of commitment and detail and everything you didn't know what you didn't know. And so people say, Oh, I don't want to be on a schedule. You know, being an entrepreneur. It really is you're working subconsciously. You know, I remember I just started not sleeping with my phone under my pillow after years of doing it.
because you never know what, although we weren't on call, you know, you were always waiting for an email or the other shoe to drop. And so I think, for me, it felt like I was always in that three point stance. And I think that's one thing that you have to consider when you're you're balancing life. And you know, you're making the decision of do I want to be an entrepreneur, you have to think about your family, you have to think about your bandwidth, because it's really something that the entire family has to be bought into. And I talk about money, not from the simple fact that it rules you but cash flow is a big deal. And as you expand and have a payroll, people are relying on you to feed their families. And so you can't take that responsibility lightly. And so I think really thinking about if you have a professional services firm, you know, your lack of collateral, you know, you're going to have to be credit worthy to get, you know,
to be able to get a loan or to be able to get a line of credit. And so all of those things that you don't think about that can be stressors are stresses. And also, are you comfortable asking for money? Because you will have to call and say, what's the status of my invoice? And that is very uncomfortable at times for people because you feel like you're begging. But it is actually what's duty you. And I remember a couple of times where I had to tell the client, hey, you get paid every two weeks, I've been waiting 68 days or 98 days. So it's really getting to a point where you are comfortable advocating for yourself advocating for your business and advocating for your employees. Awesome. So I think what you've pointed out here, k is really this.
This common thread that goes through all of the components of your career, and the same for many of us in our career paths is the idea that vulnerability is almost an imperative, isn't it? Right? You have to be vulnerable in conversations asking for money, you have to be vulnerable to step out there and do it on your own. You have to be vulnerable to change paths or pivot and go back perhaps a few steps or go forward or over to the side a little bit. Because I think that the other thing we touched on as well is that the path that almost never is and doesn't have to be linear, right? Right. It's never linear. It's not a straight line. And I think get comfortable with being uncomfortable. And I'd say if you want to be successful, you have to wake up every day and decide it's not a motivation thing. It's a discipline thing. And so you really have to take out, you're not always going to feel like it everybody's not always going to be nice. It's not always going to be fair. But you make up your mind of what you want. And I think that's important.
Do we have any other questions?
No, we don't have any other questions. This has been fun. I've enjoyed this conversation. I can't wait to the next one. And I won't be in the hot seat. But
thank you so much. So Michelle, for food and producing and putting an event together this evening. And thank you, Kay, for sharing your experience and your insights with us. This has been an awesome pleasure. It's been fun, it's been relieving to be able to share my testimony and experience. So thank you. Thank you. And thanks for everyone who tuned in. Thank you. So this is the first of four great conversations like this. So if you are not connected with Nicole Brown, you're not connected with me be sure you go through and do that. But more importantly, you need to be connected with Kay and melody while they are here. So be sure you're you're tapping into them. You're following them here on LinkedIn. And you're connected with them, because obviously they're fantastic women to know, in the water and green industry. Now for next week. We're still have some great conversations to come out. We're going to be talking about creating your work life balancing act. You don't want to miss that. We still have a fantastic speaker, and we will have a new moderator. But guess what, I will be sharing that link with you in the chat. So you can come over and join and register for that win now before you leave. Any other final thoughts before we close out for the night tonight, ladies.
Thank you.
You're very welcome. I will see you next or we will see you next week. hailed by I'll be an audience.
And we will take that we're happy to have you join us. Everybody. Have a great week. Again, Happy International Women's Day and talk to y'all 6pm eastern standard time next week. Bye everybody.