By Lenka Holman
Imagine over two decades as a certified financial educator how many entrepreneurs I’ve gotten to know. This is the story of three of those successful women.
By the time I met these amazing ladies much of their story had been written. I’ve learned so much about their path and how we can apply their lessons to the stories that are yet to be told. Rachel, Holly and Stacy (not their real names) were inseparable growing up, and like so many they drifted apart during college but whenever they got together for a girl’s lunch it was like no time had passed. They had “real” conversations. No sugar coating from this “ride or die” team. These high school friends have very different paths but all of them agreed that they would never be dependent on a spouse for their security. Their decades-long story is a fascinating way to see ways that entrepreneurs can stumble on their way to success.
The early years
Rachel was always the ringleader of these three musketeers. She is the kind of person who naturally attracts a crowd at the party. Right out of college Rachel became a top performing realtor. Her motto was “you have to spend money to make money”. Early on Rachel lived in an apartment with roommates. She soon experienced enough success that she purchased a condo and then a home… but kept the roommates. This absolute focus on her business allowed her to always sell another house. She fell in love with another realtor and together they are a dream team.
Stacy was the numbers genius who wanted to be “on top of things”. She worked for various companies while her kids were young. Once her kids were teens, she opened her own accounting business and slowly set aside profits off the top no matter how small. Holly took the traditional wife role but her lunch dates with old friends kept her reminded of the schoolgirl pact that “a man is not a plan”. Holly and her husband have a fantastic marriage. While she never planned for a divorce, Holly knew that life and death happen so she prepared for standing on her own no matter what. Part of the plan was to set aside spousal IRA money every year and there was always ample life insurance on her husband. With that in place she decided to really follow her passion which was making jewelry.
The path to success
Stacy always reminded her friends to take small steps towards security but unfortunately Rachel didn’t always listen. Holly started her business with a passion and excitement and creativity that made her a social media hit way before tic tock. Her business was bringing in so much money that she thought it was profitable until she allowed Stacy to do a real evaluation. The brain trust came up with ways that Holly could outsource production until she finally shifted towards selling designs. Fast forward to today. Unlike much of the population they are all still married!
Rachel again received a national award in Real estate sales. Her acceptance speech referenced her friends and how she wished that she had listened to Stacy and started saving long ago. Instead, she will need to work very hard for the next 5-10 years to make up for lost time. Stacy could sell her business at any time but since it runs itself, she is in no hurry. Holly loves the creativity of her business but has the stability created by her early planning.
These three entrepreneurs couldn’t be more different and yet that is exactly why they stayed together. Without Rachel’s powers of thinking big the other two may have never come to a place of standing in their own greatness. Stacy was the slow and steady friend who put together spreadsheets that highlighted potential problems… even if they weren’t always taken to heart. Holly kept her friends thinking creatively when it came to advertising. In the end this micro community thrived exactly because they were very different.
My question to you is have you created your own community of “ride or die”? www.lenkaholman.com
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