Lesson One from 10 Years of Entrepreneurship: You Have to Be Willing to Grow
Oct 06, 2025
Ten years.
That’s how long it’s been since I walked away from my corporate job in marketing at BMW Canada and went all in on entrepreneurship. I still remember the look on my boss’s face when I handed in my resignation. Her first question was, “But can she pay you?” (I had decided to help a friend build her nutrition coaching business.) My answer was yes—at that point, I was already earning more in that role than I was in corporate.
And then she looked at me and said something I’ll never forget: “I am so jealous.”
That moment stuck with me. She’s since gone on to build her own business, which I love, but in that instant, I realized just how rare it is for someone to leap into the unknown with both feet.
Fast forward to today—October 2025—and I’m celebrating ten years of doing exactly that. Ten years of paying my mortgage, raising my family, and building businesses from scratch. It hasn’t always been pretty (in fact, sometimes it’s been brutal), but the fact that I’m still here feels like proof that I “have it.”
Over the next 10 weeks, I’m sharing 10 lessons from my 10 years of entrepreneurship. These are lessons I’ve learned the hard way, lessons that have shaped who I am, and lessons I know will resonate with other women navigating the intersection of motherhood and business.
And lesson one is this: you have to be willing to grow.
Growth Is Uncomfortable—But It’s Necessary
When I look back on the version of myself in October 2015, I hardly recognize her.
I wasn’t married yet. I didn’t have kids. I had never really failed at anything in a big way. I hadn’t been sued, hadn’t closed a business, hadn’t faced the heartbreak and resilience tests that come with miscarriages, pandemics, or the weight of leadership.
But here’s what I’ve learned: if you’re not willing to grow, you won’t survive entrepreneurship.
Growth is uncomfortable. It pushes you into situations that make your stomach turn, that test your patience, and that strip away the ego. Staying comfortable might feel safe, but comfort doesn’t create momentum.
My Own Growth Journey
In the past ten years, my path has been anything but straight:
- Leaving corporate and jumping into a friend’s business.
- Walking away from that same business—despite its success—because it wasn’t right for me.
- Surviving multiple miscarriages.
- Getting sued.
- Buying and later closing a gym.
- Getting married and becoming a mom of two.
- Navigating a global pandemic.
- Launching, scaling, and then closing a social media agency.
- Creating This Mother Means Business—a business, a podcast, and a movement I never could have imagined ten years ago.
None of this would have been possible if I’d stayed the same person I was in 2015.
Personal Growth and Professional Growth Go Hand in Hand
It’s not just about business skills. The truth is, entrepreneurship is one of the greatest personal development journeys you’ll ever go on.
For me, growth has looked like therapy, masterminds, breathwork, EMDR, psilocybin, cold plunges, saunas, meditation, and an endless stream of inner work. Some of these were uncomfortable—okay, most of them were uncomfortable—but they’ve been the tools that cracked me open and helped me build resilience.
I always say motherhood is the greatest personal development program you’ll ever experience. Entrepreneurship is a close second. If you’re not willing to look in the mirror and grow through the messy, painful, human parts of yourself, you won’t make it very far.
Surround Yourself With Expanders
One of the best ways to grow is to put yourself in rooms with people who challenge you. For me, joining masterminds and communities has always been the catalyst. Those spaces acted like mirrors—showing me where I needed to step up and where I was holding myself back.
If you want growth, you need expanders in your life. People who remind you that you are good the way you are—but also that you’re capable of so much more.
Lesson One: You Have to Be Willing to Grow
Entrepreneurship will test you, stretch you, and break you open. It’s not supposed to be comfortable. But if you’re willing to grow—personally and professionally—you will surprise yourself with what’s possible.
This is lesson one from my 10 years in business, and I’m so excited to keep sharing the rest with you.
If you’ve been part of my journey—even just by listening to this podcast—I’m so grateful. As I celebrate 10 years, it would mean the world to me if you shared this series with another mom entrepreneur in your life.
Here’s to growth—and here’s to the next 10 years.
