Lessons learned throughout my business
Sharing some of the many Lessons Learned throughout my business and life.
Things to remember when starting your own business – “No matter what you go through, you still need to make s*** happen”!
MY STORY
📖 I started my business in 2000 with a Dream & Vision, but I NEVER thought in my wildest dreams I had it in me to build a Top-Notch Corporate Business…
But I did it! (I built a 6-figure business in less than 3-months)😱 and guess what?…
▶️I didn’t have a plan
▶️But, I did have a Vision & Dream
▶️I didn’t have a degree, but I had tons of business experience!
▶️ More importantly, I never let ANYTHING STOP ME 🛑 or get in my way to succeeding!
But then something happened…
“The Rise, The Fall, The ComeBack, I am Faviola #TheCEOHustler”
Life happened…
And what I like to call “the rise the fall, the comeback”™️ —Book soon to launch, keep an eye out👀
- I suffered an auto accident while coming back from San Francisco, CA.
- All 3 of my kids were in the car when we got rear-ended. I almost lost my small child, but Thank God, he’s OK.
- Unfortunately, I ended up with severe neck/back/tissue/tendon injuries (still suffer from these same pains)!
And if things were NOT already bad – one day we were at the Lake (our favorite place to relax) where unfortunately our middle child suffered a severe fracture (Jetski injury) and was in a body cast (femur fracture) for months!!!
Then to my surprise, I got pregnant which it’s supposed to be the best time for a mother), right?
Unfortunately for me, it was such a horrible time and such a bad experience because I almost lost my Baby Girl due to a bad pregnancy (severe cholestasis).
I was in/out of the hospital 🏥 for 6-months until finally my husband couldn’t handle me anymore and had to get me hospitalized. He had me admitted to the hospital for care and treatment.
My daughter was finally born (a premature baby at only 32 weeks), but as you all see from my family pics she’s a beautiful miracle princess!
But, wait!… THAT’S NOT ALL!!!
More problems…
During this same time frame, my father was also diagnosed with Glioblastoma (As you can imagen we were devastated by everything going on)…
You see there was so much going on as I was still recovering from:
- Auto Accident
- My Son in Body Cast
- Then my pregnancy 🤰 (almost lost my daughter)
- To make it worse my poor father was slowly dying from Brain 🧠 Cancer. And then…
- Unbeknownst to me, the economy was collapsing…(S*** 💩was literally happening all at once!)
When they say “It rains, it pours”…It really does!!!
With everything happening in my life I lost sight of the business and…
⚠️Unbeknownst to us the business was also starting to go downhill
⚠️”Life Situations and Unforeseen Circumstances)!
⚠️And of course, things just got worse!
I started getting sued left & right, getting harassed, and threatened by interpreters to the point that they were literally coming to my home threatening me and my family!!! 😢) who FREAKING DOES THAT?!!!
It’s like…I was SHOCKED!
I could NEVER go to my client’s place of business – let alone their home and harass or threaten my client…
Because I know that when starting a business this is part of the RISK we take, but boy – I was SHOCKED!
The trickle-down effect – is something that many entrepreneurs are unaware of!
With the economy collapsing so many of my clients owed me money 💵 and I’m sure their clients owed them money to make matters worse the government shuts down!
So yeah, unbeknownst to me we were “robbing peter to pay paul”…All because I was so overwhelmed and wrapped up with all my personal problems that I DID NOT pay attention to the business. Not because I didn’t want to, but because my life was in shambles!
All of this affected my business sooo badly, but unlike many of the subcontractors, freelancers, and entrepreneurs I wasn’t at my client’s homes/doors/places of business harassing them or threatening them.
But then again we are ALL DIFFERENT, RIGHT?!
The final draw…
While trying to put out fires, trying to care for me, my unborn child, my son who’s in a body cast, my small children, the business, and the hubby trying his best to care for my father; therapy, treatments, cooking, cleaning, etc…
One day I go into the office to find out what the heck was going on and while trying to fix all the mishaps done by staff; short paying, underbilling, overpaying, understaffed, double booking, etc… then S*** 💩😢happened my father passed away📿while I’m at the office trying to fix all the problems!!!
But that’s NOT ALL!!!
The problems
There’s more s*** happening I was also on verge of:
- Losing my house and losing everything I worked so hard for.
- I was heart broken💔
- No money
- In pain
- Sick and devastated, but severely defeated,
It felt like a knife “ripping through my chest”💔!
Life was happening behind the scenes (but the “ruthless” interpreters/contractors, sorry to say this)...NOT SORRY!
Because I know It’s part of business…That at the end of the day, NO ONE is going to understand or care about you, or your problems – especially when it comes to people’s money!
These same “ruthless interpreters/contractors” were the same ones who for years “praised me, appreciated me, who I”:
- Trained & opened up my doors to help them out, and who I;
- Provided work too
- Who I always put first
- I took them out to:
- eat
- gave them awards
- provided them with stipends
- opened the doors to my house
- invited them to workshops (for free)
I did all this for FREE because I knew that in order to operate my agency I couldn’t do it without them and that my business would not have grown as big as it did had it not been with their help!
However, I did have the choice to close my business and not provide them with work but at the time that NEVER CROSSED my mind!
I acknowledge that they plaid a big part of my business.
But unfortunately, life happened, S***💩hit the fan and everything I did for them went out the window – they didn’t care about my situation and that’s OK!
Like they say “it’s business”…
When s*** got hard they forgot who I was, how I helped them, and what I did to help them get to where they’re at now…
They smeared my name like I was nothing, they got my husband and my kids involved (that broke me and brought me to my knees, I ended up with severe depression, anxiety, suicide)! and till this day these “professional interpreters” who call themselves “a network of professional interpreters” will bring you down regardless of your situation!
Lesson Learned – TRUST NO ONE! IT’S JUST BUSINESS!
After years of therapy and hitting “rock bottom” I learned to forgive them. I don’t hold grudges because God is good and God knows that I didn’t do any of this intentionally and that I too was a victim of the economy.
THE COMEBACK!…
Entrepreneurship Journey; Nightmares & Lessons Learned
Watch it for free. No registration needed.
