We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angel Even a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Angel, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Imagine yourself preparing to go white water rafting. As you are putting on your life vest, you are second guessing your decision every time you fasten a buckle. You keep going, because you’ve built up this energy around what you will be able to accomplish by just taking that step on that raft. Even though you can see all of the rapids clearly, you are still entering the waters blind. Every obstacle that you maneuver around is hidden at first, until you slam right into it. The unknown is terrifying! The experience is thrilling. When you get to the end of your expedition, you are ready to try it again! This is the everyday life of an entrepreneur.

You’ll have moments when you might question your life choices. That life vest, well, that was your stability you had in your 9-5 and guaranteed paycheck. That life vest becomes non-existent when you step into that raft. Every day we are taking risks as Business Owners and it’s not just a one time thing, but cyclical. My first was officially announcing my launch of Led by TRUTH, which was exciting. Landing my first contract to my first coaching session with a Founder was my second & third risks. Putting yourself out there and maneuvering around what’s returned back are those hidden obstacles. After slamming into one setback or evaluating if you’re not making progress faster can be frustrating, but at the end of the day, you are betting on yourself. For me, this is a bet I’m willing to wager.

Angel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Why did I start my business…..Is spite a good reason to start a business? Haha.. in all seriousness, I was frustrated, burnt out, and professionally unfulfilled in my work. Over the 12+ years in healthcare, I spent my last 7.5+ years as an executive coach & consultant/performance improvement advisor. I had always loved coaching people. From frontline staff to Executives, the growth you are able to see individuals have as they harness their passion to unleash their capabilities. Unfortunately, there was no upward projection for me, as a younger, black woman working for predominately white led organizations. That’s when my consultant hat went on and I started to work on solving my own “hidden obstacles”.

I leaned into my love of growing people through coaching, mentorship, and empathy. That’s when Led by TRUTH was formed. I wanted to mentor people that look like me and provide a space where there was no need to justify their worth, provide “evidence” of their experience, and wait for others to provide them with “advancement” opportunities.

I’m most proud of Led by TRUTH’s Mentorship Program. Our Mentorship Program provides free access to both resources & capital. With intentional focus on idea-stage to early-stage BIPOC entrepreneurs, our Mentorship Program assists Founders in understanding the importance of building a sustainable business model, developing 3-year financial projections, identifying multiple revenue streams, establishing effective community partnerships & collaboration, while building their confidence as a CEO.

Beyond the practical 1-on-1 coaching support, weekly workshops, and grant funding, we provide another added benefit that the naked eye cannot see… representation. Founders in our Mentorship Program are mentored by Business Owners of Color, access to expert Advisors of Color, and receive 12 months of coaching support to assist them in activating their abilities to launch or grow their business.

Representation Matters! We are committed to highlighting the “wins” in our community and surrounding the entrepreneurs we support with a network that represents them.

Cohort 2 applications will open in December 2022 with the program starting in March 2023. To learn more, check out: https://ledbytruth.org/mentorship-program

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Balance is an element that you’ll eventually seek and fight for in your entrepreneur journey. Finding this balance between pouring your whole self into your business while finding time to still be present for yourself & others. Over the last 6 months, my persistence has turned into resilience. I’ve juggled with the transition from bootstrapping to a more sustainable earned revenue model, which has resulted in making sacrifices for the greater purpose, our mission. I’ve deprioritized my own salary in favor of providing grant funding and free coaching support for founders by supplementing reimbursement of our services through contract opportunities. This meant that as I am building and expanding Led by TRUTH’s impact in the community, I am also working full time for another company to supplement my living expenses. The truth is, most entrepreneurs are working another job or two, while investing 100% of their time into their business. In the ideal world, we wouldn’t have to have job #2 to “survive” as business owners, we would be able to receive the resources (capital) we need to assist with building our capacity to drive our traction. It is easy to get discouraged and to begin to compare yourself to others you see on LinkedIn or Instagram highlighting their successes and work/life balance that they claim is so easy to achieve. As a Founder, you try to muster the will to push through day in and day out when your energy is depleted and your whole self at the breaking point of exhaustion. Some might think this is resilience. The ability to keep going even when you are working yourself to the bone, pushing out 70+ hour work weeks. For me, resilience needs to be rebranded. Having courage to own the fact that you need to embed more boundaries for yourself. Self awareness on needing to pour back into yourself, is the resilient efforts that Founders overlook. Your business can’t thrive, if you aren’t thriving first. One of my favorite quotes is from Mary Anne Radmacher, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” Volubility is resilience, the ability to put your persistence aside and allow yourself the space to “breathe”.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn my assumptions of the nonprofit industry. When I first launched Led by TRUTH, I had an idea in my head of how welcoming the ecosystem would be and the funding opportunities out there. The truth is, Black Founders, including myself, are still facing system barriers to access to funding. Black-led organizations are receiving 90% less unrestricted net assets than the white-led organizations doing the same work. What does that mean? This means when white led organizations apply for grants, they have a greater likelihood of receiving grant funding without barriers and a larger amount of grant funding. For example, when a white-led organization and a black-led organization applies for the same grant funding that is meant to impact communities of color, the likelihood of that white-led organization being awarded the funding is higher, in fact even the grant amount will be larger. Black-led organizations receive 90% less unrestricted funding than the white-led organizations doing the same work (ex. A white-led organization received $100,000 compared on average to a black-led organization receiving $10,000 for the same work with just as much, if not greater of an impact, expense & resource needs). It took less than 90 days for my rose colored glasses to become clear and lean back into the world I’ve always had to face. Uphill battle proving my worth, impact, and experience in an ecosystem that praises me for my “passion” but invalidates me as a business owner. Even though this is a continuous frustration, the perspective I try to live in is that as a Black Founder & CEO, I have the control in who I partner or do business with. I have the ability to dictate the path & direction of my organization and to lead with purpose before organization. Sometimes those unlearned lessons help you stay grounded and focused on your own “Why”.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ledbytruth.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/led.by.truth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ledbytruth.org
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/led-by-truth
• Other: https://www.givemn.org/organization/Led-By-Truth

Image Credits
Pic 1: Bethany Birnie, http://www.bethanybirnie.com Pic 2: Dante’s Craft, https://www.dantescraft.com