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

Hi Summer, thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

In June 2010, I published my first book. It was my memoir detailing my journey which included becoming a mom at 15 by someone I didn’t know. A forced sexual encounter that changed my entire life. However, it also included my unexpected extreme success.

As a teen mom, I graduated number 8 in my class of 302 students and was selected Most Likely to Succeed. I earned a full leadership scholarship to college, graduated magna cum laude, and was named Miss University. My son by my side through it all. I started my career with the Memphis Grizzlies (NBA team) in marketing and earned an MBA. Working 60-80 hours a week at basketball games and events as a single mom with litte support was a challenge – even more challenging than all the years of balancing going to school, working, and being a mom. I transitioned to a marketing management position with ServiceMaster where I made more money and worked a little less, but I had to travel. Because I had little support, traveling multiple days for work was challenging too.

After a little over a year in that position, I moved to FedEx. Although I loved what I did in my previous positions, the job at FedEx was a great salary, work I enjoyed, and normal work hours with occasional travel when I chose. It was perfect. I had been at FedEx six years and had gotten promoted, received raises, and special honors and awards when I published my memoir.

And found my purpose.

My book made its way into the hands of the media landing me local, national, and even international media interviews. Educators were reading my book and began inviting me to speak to their students. That’s when I discovered that I could have a career speaking and using my story, my voice, my experiences, and my life to impact the lives of others. I started a business naming it S.O. What! with a focus on resilience and teaching people how to say, “So what!” to their challenges, and, “So NOW what?” to create a plan to overcome those challenges.

Three years later, FedEx decided to offer buyouts for some employees and gave us the impression that if we met the criteria we would be selected for the buyout. My business was still a baby, but I saw its potential and new that probably with the next decade I would be leaving FedEx. However, when the buyout offer was made, I threw my name in the pool for consideration. Like many others who did the same, I was confident I would get the buyout and have a little money to live off of while I focused on giving my new business all of my effort.

To my suprise, I was not offered the buyout. But during the time I waited to find out when I was going to get the buyout and how much money I would get, I had already checked out and was ready to focus on my business fulltime.

So I quit.

No buyout money. Very little savings. Very little preparation. No safety net.

I gave up a career at an amazing company that most people retire from and where I was earning more money than I ever had. I gave up insurance and otther great benefits..

To try to be an entrepreneur – something I really had no clue how to do.

Nearly ten years later, that risk has had huge rewards. I’ve spoken at over 100 events and my keynotes, workshops, online courses, curriculum, and workbooks have impacted thousands. My business is thriving, and I have the testimonials and other data to confirm I’m meeting my goals in changing lives.

I’m glad I took the risk.

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

Essentially, my entire story is a journey of resilience.

My journey to becoming an entrepreneur which I described earlier and then my journey as an entrepreneur have been packed with highs and lows and lots of learning, wanting to give up, and pushing through. In over a decade of being a full-time entrepreneur, I have demonstrated resilience in several ways and learned a lot which has kept my business growing in spite of numerous challenges.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like for nearly everyone in the world, COVID-19 was devastating in many ways. It affected every part of our lives both personally and professionally.

At the end of 2019, my business was set to break revenue records for 2020. I had a major contract with a school district for the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum and workbooks. My calendar already had booked dates for speaking engagements through November 2020.

When COVID-19 hit, students didn’t return to school, and I was unable to fulfill the district contract although I tried to make it work virtually. The schools faced other challenges and had greater priorities, like safety. And nearly all the booked speaking dates on my calendar were canceled or postponed.

I was able to pivot by re-evaluating my business and making some adjustments that have remained. We all learned at that time that we have to be able to learn and teach in a virtual world. Although I was using Zoom long before every student and parent and employee had to, I invested in an upgrade as well as training. I also invested in new equipment to turn my office into a studio so that I could deliver high-quality virtual presentations.

I was able to pivot by offering my programs virtually. I also focused more on promoting the online courses I had already created.

Since then, I, like many other entrepreneurs, have had to pivot to hybrid events and meetings. Luckily for me, my training in my corporate positions helped me to embrace change as a constant and an opportunity to learn and grow and create new experiences and opportunities for myself and others.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SummerOwens.com
• Instagram: @summero_sowhat
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SummerO.SOwhat
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/summer-owens-10846625/
• Twitter: @summer0_sowhat
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SummerOwensSOwhat
• Other: The S.O. What! Foundation https://www.thesowhatfoundation.org/