Introduction Grab a Drink Let me set the stage. The scene is happy hour at a cocktail lounge and there is a group of women sitting around in plush couches and dim lighting, taking full advantage of half-price drinks. You and I have never met but we have a shared friend who invited us both to join this weekly ritual of socializing with adult beverages. Apparently, this group of women gets together regularly to muse about their side hustles, bosses, co-workers, and otherwise share their frustrations with sympathetic and understanding ears before most of them peel off, and head home so that they can assume the other roles of mother, wife, or whatever else is always waiting for them at the end of every day. At some point during the conversation, the topic turns to starting a business or, in the case of one woman in our group-restarting a business after having to shut hers down due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Suddenly your ears perk up because you have been thinking about doing this for quite some time now. You have been making handmade jewelry for years and have often wondered if you could turn it into a full-fledged business instead of just a hobby. So, sensing a pause in the conversation, you take the opportunity to then speak up and ask the group, "I want to start my own business and don't know where to begin. What do you guys recommend?" Our mutual friend pops up in her seat and says, "Oh wait-you have to hear this. This is why I asked her to come tonight." She turns to me and says, "Ameé, tell everyone your story." Our friend then, rather dramatically if you ask me, nestles back into her seat, clutching her glass of wine, preparing herself for the long haul with a shit-eating grin because she knows what's coming and can't wait for everyone else to hear. Feeling uncomfortable because I normally prefer to remain a fly on the wall and ease myself into a group of people I don't really know, here I am being singled out. I lift myself up from my hiding position I had taken on the couch, reach out to grab my margarita off the table in front of me and take a long sip on the straw. I look around into the faces of everyone in our circle, all looking back at me and then I turn to you and ask, "Well, do you want to know the easy way or the right way?" You look right back at me and without hesitation say, "Definitely the right way." And just like that-you didn't know it-but you and I instantly became friends. Now, I don't know you but that doesn't matter. I now care about you because you want to do something fucking heroic and brave and scary - you want to be in business for yourself and so that makes us comrades and accomplices. And as your accomplice, I don't want you to make any of the mistakes or fall into the traps and pitfalls I did, and other women routinely do. So I want to make sure that as I answer your question, I get right to the point as directly as possible because I don't know if I'll ever see you again, but I want to make damn sure that I make an impression on you that will leave you thinking about our conversation for a while. Because I have codes I live by and one of them is that there is no bullshit to be found in my world. You will know where I stand and the only motivation behind what I say-no matter how pointed or salty it seems- is that I really do want to see you win. Excerpted from The Fearless Woman's Guide to Starting a Business: What Every Woman Needs to Know to Be a Courageous, Authentic and Unstoppable Entrepreneur (a Woman Owned Business Startup Step-By-Step Guidebook) by Ameé Quiriconi All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
