Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Burrow.
Hi Holly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The journey I have taken through entrepreneurship began with the belief that building something would fulfill my need for purpose and give me an outlet for my drive. As it turns out, building a business was only the first step towards achieving those goals.
Through entrepreneurship, investing, and supporting, I have found my stride. Serving the entrepreneur community by lending a hand to those on their own founder’s journey allows me to change the lives of founders in the exact ways that I wished for while starting my own business. Entrepreneurship is often theoretical for those that are in the position to help. Having gone through the process myself the perspective that I bring to each conversation with a founder is that of true understanding of the complex internal journey that happens as you grow your business.
By having the experience of both founding and of working in support roles for other start-ups, I have learned the value in agility. By offering organizational support and mission-driven confidence, I strive to help every entrepreneur I support to find confidence in their purpose and build a strong business structure to lean on as their goals change with growth.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey has been a winding road. Each segment has taught me new things about how to build a business, how to support those that share your journey and how to accept that failure is only temporary. The ability to use a failure to learn, grow and change has the power to mold painful experience into a tool for success. Learning to trust that ability has come one lesson at a time.
One of the hardest experiences I faced was in the first six months of owning a storefront business. The audience that I had placed all my bets on for success was removed due to a lease not being renewed by a neighboring business. All of the research I had done to set myself up for success hinged on the people flowing from this neighboring space. Within the first six months of operation, I had to completely change my business model and develop a marketing plan to make up for this change. I was financially tapped, emotionally depleted and facing losing everything I had worked for. Lo and behold: I did it. It wasn’t graceful or without error, but I survived. From that survival, my skill set grew.
I had failed. I had not anticipated an event that in hindsight, seemed an obvious weak spot. The tenacity that people speak of when they discuss business ownership; that tenacity is what kicked in when I needed it. I refused to see that misjudgment as an out. It was a challenge that I built a plan to overcome.
My journey supporting other businesses in startup mode had allowed me to understand that you don’t always have to know exactly what to do next, but you just have to have faith in your ability to be agile and adapt. Had I not had a front-row seat to seeing other entrepreneur’s embrace that confidence in their abilities, I may not have been able to tap into the tenacity it took to survive.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a dream facilitator. Whether in the role of founder or as a foundational support staff member, my goal is to help develop a plan to achieve a dream. When my CEO comes to me and says they want to expand operations and hit a specific growth plan: I dig in and design a plan to get us there. When an entrepreneur comes to me with an idea: I dig in and guide them to build a plan to achieve their unique goals. Everyone needs a trusted advisor that they can bounce ideas off of and to engage to help build solutions to problems. The solutions come in many forms and that discovery journey is where I do my best empowering.
In my current role at PeopleFund, I have the opportunity to help emerging business owners shape their own journey through resource connecting, business plan development and support. The path to building a sustainable business is winding and I have the distinct pleasure of meeting entrepreneurs at many different points along their journey. Guiding small business owners toward a measured and healthy plan for growth allows me to be a hand-up onto a path that they knew existed but were uncertain how to make a part of their own journey.
Being an entrepreneur at heart allows me to empathize with each step of that complex journey. Advising entrepreneurs at the early stages allows me to arm them with the knowledge that the learning never stops as a business owner. Embracing this allows us, me included, to know that building a network of resources to support that endless learning process is fundamental. Having the resources at hand for growth can change the experience of being a founder. The best part of what I do: Helping an entrepreneur chart a path that will be sustainable, supportive, and rewarding.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Networking was very difficult for me when I began; I was terrified that each person I met was judging what I didn’t know. I had to embrace the idea that every introduction is a way to learn more. I have learned to relentlessly work to fill my life with people that help me grow.
The most successful founders that I have met on my journey are humble. I was not humble enough when I began; I have learned that from the founders that I have met on my journey. They seek to learn something from everyone around them. It takes a certain amount of vulnerability to grow a supportive framework of mentors. You must be willing to open yourself up to their advice, knowledge and help. Ask questions, be brave and be willing to give back to the community.
Contact Info:
- Email: hburrow@peoplefund.org
- Website: www.peoplefund.org
- Instagram: @peoplefund
- Facebook: @peoplefund
- Twitter: @peoplefund
