Why I Stopped Building Alone | The Start of CEO of Me

There comes a moment when you realize you’ve been building everything alone.

Your goals, your business, your life, your identity… all of it resting on your shoulders. And while independence can be powerful, it can also be isolating.

In this first episode of CEO of Me, I share the story behind why I created this podcast and the realization that changed the way I look at ambition, independence, and growth.

This space was created for women who are building something — a business, a career, confidence, or an entirely new chapter of their lives — and who want to feel less alone in the process.

In this episode, I talk about:
 • The moment I realized I was building everything alone
 • Why independence and community can exist together
 • The vision behind CEO of Me
 • What you can expect from this podcast moving forward

If you’ve ever felt like you’re figuring everything out on your own while trying to build the life you want… this conversation is for you.

Because at the end of the day, becoming the CEO of your life isn’t about doing everything alone. It’s about having the courage to take ownership of your path.

And remember — confidence looks good on you.

Entrepreneurship | Women in business | Personal growth | Confidence | Independence | Women’s podcast | Mindset | Career growth

Transcript

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I used to think being independent meant doing everything alone, building alone, healing alone, figuring it all out alone. And for a long time, that identity really worked for me. But the more I grow, the more I build, the more I step into bigger rooms, I've realized something. No real CEO builds alone. And that's why this show is evolving. Welcome back to the CEO of Me. This is episode 13. And if you've been here since the beginning, and if you have, I'm giving you an ear hug, okay? I'm giving you an ear hug and a sloppy cheek kiss because I love that. But you've known that this journey has been very solo. It's been my thoughts, my lessons, my mindset shift, my reflections. And I've loved it. It's been really amazing. But lately, I don't know if it was my birthday or the new year, I don't know what it is, but something has shifted. Not in a dramatic way, not in a burnout way, but in a really beautiful growth way. And today I want to talk about that shift and what's coming next. Let's talk about the hyper-independence trap that I feel a lot of women naturally slide into. Especially as women and especially as ambitious women, we're praised for being independent. Which, let me just say, we deserve all the praise because being independent is no joke. So I'm taking all the praise, okay? All of us should because this is this is um this is a different lifestyle, but I think it's beautiful being independent. But this trap that we always fall in, people think she doesn't need anyone, she handles everything on her own, she's self-made. And I wore that badge proudly, running my lash business, going back to get my MBA, traveling alone, having all these different contract clients, figuring out my finances, making decisions by myself. It felt powerful, and it definitely is. But here's the part that no one talks about independence is powerful, but isolation is extremely expensive. There is a difference. I started noticing that conversations stretching me the most weren't happening in my head anymore. They were happening in rooms, in real life, with real people, with friends, with other business owners, with people who see the world differently than I do. A lot of this started when I was getting my MBA. Some of the girls that had businesses there, we were having these open conversations. And I thought in my head, I was like, people need to hear this. And so I realized something a little bit uncomfortable. I had built this identity around being strong alone, but growth was happening in proximity. So that really changed me. And to be completely honest, my entire life, even as a business owner, I always knew and I felt that I wanted a partnership. That was something that I always would say to mentors back in the day. I would say, you know, I love working alone, but I love even more working with a partner and bouncing ideas off of each other. So in my heart, I always knew that at some point I was going to want to work with people and want to build with someone. So that's what's happening. When you look at real CEOs, the ones building empires, companies, movements, they are not operating in isolation. They build teams, they build partnerships, they build rooms, and they have these conversations constantly. They're always talking about growth and adding someone else to the team, finding someone else who fits on the team. They challenge each other and they sharpen each other. And I started asking myself, why am I keeping some of my best growth conversations offline? Some of the most powerful shifts I've had in the last year didn't come from journaling alone, although journaling definitely has helped. They came from sitting across from someone and hearing a perspective I hadn't considered. They came from watching how someone carries themselves, how they speak, how they decide, how they move. And I thought, if these conversations are changing me, why wouldn't I share them? Why wouldn't they change someone else? And they probably will. The CEO of me was never meant to be a diary, although I love it. It wasn't meant to be that. In my heart and in my spirit, I knew that it wasn't meant to be that. It was meant to be a movement. So let's talk about the realness. I recently recorded an episode about the voice of authority. And soon as I finished it, it did not resonate with me whatsoever. Not because the topic wasn't good, but because it felt incomplete. Authority isn't about your voice, it's about your presence. It's how you sit, it's how you listen, it's how you respond. How comfortable are you taking up space? You can hear confidence, but you can also see it. And I realized if I'm going to talk about CEO energy, I want you to see it. I want you to see me and I want you to see the guests. Not in a performative way whatsoever. If you really know me, you know I'm not an attention-grabbing person. It's in a real way. The eye contact, the pauses, the disagreements, the laughter, that's leadership too. So, yes, we're adding video. Not because audio isn't enough, but because growth deserves expansion. What's coming next? The next era of CEO of me is about building in public. And I have to say, I'm so, so excited, but I also have to be very real with you and talk about why I've been avoiding this. It's not because I don't want to share my voice, I don't want you guys to see me, or I don't want you to see my guests. None of that was the reason. It was simply because I was scared of the extra work that it takes that it requires to do a video podcast. Obviously, the audio is all audio. You don't see me, you don't see what I'm wearing, you don't see what my house looks like. I could have makeup on, I could not. To be honest with you, I have none on, my hair is not done. So that was the beauty of doing the audio podcast. It was protection, it was safety. So now it's time to switch it up. You're gonna hear conversations with friends who've grown with me, local business owners, people navigating ambition and dating, money conversations, identity shifts, the real behind the scenes of building something. It's not polished, it's not perfect, but it's gonna be extremely real because the truth is the strongest people I know are not the loudest. They are the most connected, and I want this to reflect the life I'm building now, not the one I was building two years ago. And I am so excited for you guys to really see not only how I'm connected, but how my friends are, and I really feel that all my friends and the people that I'm connected with have something beautiful to share. And I literally already have a list of guests, like a list, and I cannot wait. I'm super excited. So the CEO of me isn't necessarily changing, but we're expanding. It's becoming a lot bigger, it's gonna be more dynamic and more collaborative. And if you've been here since episode one, like I said, I appreciate you, I value you. It means so much to me. You're not just listening, but you've been building with me. This is the evolution, and we're not building alone anymore. Because when you only hear one voice, even if it's a strong one, your perspective stays limited. And I never want this show to become an echo chamber because growth happens when ideas collide and when multiple people are able to collaborate and talk and think. When someone challenges your thinking, when someone explains how they solved a problem differently, when you realize there isn't just one way to build a life, a brand, or a career, you are open to so many more possibilities. Guest conversations create contrast, they create nuances, they create expansion, and that's what I want my channel to be. I never wanted this to just be me. I wanted to share as much as I possibly can with so many people. And with that comes sharing with a variety of different people. You get to hear how someone else navigated fear, how someone else handled rejection, or how someone else structured their money, how someone else balanced ambition in relationships. And sometimes you'll hear something that doesn't fully align with how I think. And that's powerful too, because leadership isn't about being right, it's about being open enough to evolve. I also think that there's something really beautiful about watching people in motion. I love podcasts, podcasts. That sounds crazy. I love watching podcasts, and I think the video aspect makes it even more powerful. When you visually see two ambitious people having a real conversation, not curated, not scripted, you learn things that wouldn't come from a solo episode. You learn how they think, how they process, how they respond under pressure. That's CEO energy. And I want you to see more of that, not just me telling you what I've learned, as great as that is, but I want you witnessing growth happening in real time. And I want this next chapter to feel collaborative. So I actually want to hear from you. What conversations do you want us to have? Do you want more conversations about money, about dating while ambitious, friendships, growth, burnout, scaling a business, confidence in new rooms, faith, failure, pivoting, anything. Tell me, DM me, comment when the video episode drops, or send me voice notes, whatever you like. Because if we're not building alone anymore, that includes you too. You're not just listeners, you're part of this ecosystem. So the CEO of me started as a reminder that you are the CEO of your own life, but CEOs don't sit in empty boardrooms. They build tables, and this table is getting bigger. We're expanding, we're collaborating, we're expanding, we're collaborating, and we're evolving. And we're just getting started. So I'm so excited that you're gonna be here with me. The next episode will be a video episode, and I have a very, very special guest that has been with me for the past 16 years, and I really think you guys will have a lot to learn from him. So I'm signing out on my very final audio podcast episode. And once again, I'm happy that you're here with me. I hope that you're giving yourself some grace, and I hope that you're loving on yourself and you're being kind to yourself. And I will see you next time on the 14th episode of CO of Me. Bye.