Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Beverly Browning. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Beverly, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

The first risk: In 1988, I left my salaried position and entered full-time entrepreneurism as a freelance grant writer, newsletter author, and higher education trainer. It was scary. I could not afford fringe benefits or upscale office furnishings. My husband, John, was already self-employed and struggling. We had a young daughter, and I feared that we would lose our modest home when we had nowhere else to go. The heavy worry was on my shoulders to keep our small family secure and stable. This was the beginning of my faith journey.

The second risk: In 2008, the economy dived into a deep, depressing rabbit hole. Our savings and investments were tied to the stock market. The value of our life’s hopes quickly plummeted. Once again, we were broke, and I was desperate to stay self-employed. Clients were scarce. I hobbled along for two years with barely any client projects. It simply wasn’t enough. In 2010, my silver platter showed up as an offer from a West Coast corporation, inviting me to write a monthly blog. Shortly after I started under contract with them, I was asked to come on as a vice president of a new division that I was to create, grow, and produce revenue for the corporation. I had a non-compete contract that resulted in having to give up my consulting practice. I worked endless hours for this corporation and wore my mind and health down. I terminated my contract with no consulting clients in my business revenue queue. I turned to grant professional colleagues for subcontract work to, once again, keep a roof over our heads. This was my introduction to humility and humbleness. I couldn’t have survived without their help. I gratefully accepted whatever they paid me. Eventually, I rebuilt my consulting business and increased revenues to liveable income.

The third risk: In 2020, the pandemic resulted in a 100% loss of all consulting income from grant writing and board training. I also became very ill with what I now believe were Covid symptoms. My fever was prolonged during that time, and I felt depression sitting in. I was ready to give up. Then, I heard a voice within me. It said, “Do for yourself what you do for others.” At first, I did not know what that meant. I asked again, over and over. Finally, the light in my feverish brain began to brighten. This was the beginning of a new revenue stream, live Zoom-based training with a thoughtfully developed curriculum to train new and struggling grant writers and freelance grant writing consultants.

Every risk turned into a reward. My faith is everpresent.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a woman of faith. A troubled childhood showed me that I wanted a very different life. I was driven to be creative, color outside the lines, and think outside the box. My business and foundation are my brand. I got into the grant industry by trial and no error. In the beginning, for decades, everything I researched and wrote was funded. Yes, I’ve had a few rejections along the way, but I learned how to turn lemons into lemonade. I have always been creative but didn’t recognize this special gift until I attended the Disney Institute in Anaheim. Multiple sessions over the years taught me to let my inner child out. Now, I pray, work, and play hard when time permits.

I am proud to be the author of 47 grant-related publications, including seven editions of Grant Writing for Dummies. With my students (live and asynchronously, I push hard for them to develop creative thinking, thought leadership, and revenue-producing entrepreneurial skills. While it might seem that I would be most proud of myself, I am not. My journey is still a walk-in-creativity. I am most proud of our daughter, a licensed social worker, family therapist, higher education online facilitator, and mother, a very special teenage daughter. This year, she became a widow at age 45, and I was blessed to see her through a period of unexpected, complicated grief.

I love the gift of sharing knowledge with others and getting paid for my intellectual gifts. I focus on being mindful and not fretting over what tomorrow may bring. God will!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

This is what I noticed about my resilience in this 75-year journey.

We are not born into failure. We are born into a world where we must fight for every chance, break, and opportunity.

Helping my husband start multiple small businesses when he had no business management skills, education, or finances. Although every one of his businesses resulted in massive debt for us as a family, I never discouraged him from trying.

Failing is not failure, as everyone else may view it. Failing is learning from your mistakes and starting a new venture differently, avoiding the causes of past failures.

Honor your gut feelings about every decision. If you lose sleep over making a decision, it means don’t proceed. If you feel stressed about doing what others want to do with your brand to build their empire, run fast!

There is no price to determine the value of our education, experience, intellectual gifts, and creativity. Please do not give it away for free or for pennies and dimes.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building a social media presence requires setting aside daily time to post on a business-to-business platform. You must choose your connections wisely and take the time to introduce yourself and your brand to them in a way that makes them want to learn more and not disconnect or block you on the social media platform.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bevbrowning.com/
• Instagram: bev.browning.48
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bevbrowning/
• Other: https://www.integro.bank/About-Integro/Our-Culture/Leadership