We recently connected with Monica Becerra and have shared our conversation below.
Monica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Hello readers! Thank you for taking the time to learn my story. I hope this resonates or helps you in some way. Three years ago I felt that I was taking a risk when I decided to start my own small business. I’ll start with the backstory of how it all began. During my summers at College of Charleston I taught surf lessons with a company on Folly Beach. Surfing was already my favorite way to spend my free time so I was ecstatic when I scored this job of teaching others how to surf. After a couple summers of teaching surf I realized how passionate I was about the job. It was not just a summer gig to keep myself busy, I uncovered my love for helping others achieve new goals and seeing the smiles grow bigger throughout each session. Toward the end of my senior year, all the questions started to arise, “what are your plans next?” “what career path will you do with this degree?” Just like most seniors I started to feel overwhelmed with what I was ‘supposed’ to do after graduation. I had thoughts of going to dental school, becoming a flight attendant, applying for jobs with my communication degree. None of those routes felt like my heart was in it. All of those options were curated from the voices of others around me. I got into pre-dental school and after attending for a few weeks, I quickly dropped out. Not an ounce in my body wanted to be back in school, it just felt wrong. I then applied for endless jobs on Indeed and LinkedIn with no luck of finding anything remotely interesting. In the meantime there was a roaring voice inside me that just kept getting louder. My heart was begging me to follow my dreams and to start a career doing something I truly enjoyed. It became very apparent that I wasn’t going to be able to shut up that voice inside, I chose to follow and listen to it. In winter of 2022, I committed myself to creating a surf school on Isle of Palms, South Carolina named, Share the Stoke. As exciting as this sounds it was also terrifying. I had the angel on one shoulder telling me to follow my dreams, it will be fun, and satisfying. But I also had the devil even louder on the other shoulder questioning me, what if you fail, what if you make no money? He continued doubting my actions with, you’re going to waste the crucial years of ‘getting your foot in the door.” The hard truth is that both the devil and the angel are right, all of those things could happen. To put it plain and simple, if you don’t try you’ll never know and that right there is the risk I was willing to take. I continued letting the good and the bad thoughts flow through but never letting them stay too long. Those thoughts are what helped me create my Surf School, Share the Stoke. Here I sit two years later, getting ready for my third summer teaching anyone and everyone how to surf and renting surfboards to all who inquire. I’ll tell you what…. the risk was so worth taking.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
For those of you who have not heard of my business, Share the Stoke, I’ll go ahead and tell you all about what we offer. At Share the Stoke Surf School we provide surf lessons for anyone over the age of six and must be a competent swimmer. We have options, a private surf lesson with just yourself and the surf instructor, or group lessons where you can invite friends or family to join along. This year we are featuring three weeks of kids camps. The first week of summer camp will take place on June 24th and will be an all-girls camp. The second week is July 8th and will be an all-boys camp. Lastly, on July 22nd the co-ed summer camp will take place. For adults we love hosing large surf lessons for bachelor and bachelorette parties. These sessions are always a blast! If you already have the surf basics under your belt, Share the Stoke rents surfboards too. Surfboard rentals range from soft tops to traditional fiberglass boards and these can be delivered upon request or picked up at warehouse. If you are visiting be sure to ask for advice on where to surf/ the best time of day to surf. We genuinely want you to succeed and have the best time surfing!
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
To succeed in this field you must be positive, personable, and encouraging.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
The biggest factors that have helped build the business’ reputation is providing excellent service every time, gaining lots of google reviews, and constantly networking in public settings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sharethestokesurfboardrentals.com/
- Instagram: stssurfcompany
Image Credits
personal photo of me in black bathing suit by: Britany Lee Photography bachelor surf lesson by: Olivia Dilling photo of me surfing in barbados by: Antonio Holder