How It Started vs How It's Going, Jaylana's Edition
This isn't your usual "here's all my education and work experience, blah, blah, blah" page because we don't do typical corporate BS around here.
(If you really want to read all of that, hop over to my LinkedIn page! I'm not going to stop you!)
However, I would rather tell you how and why it all started because, frankly, that's far more interesting ...
Monday, August 12, 2024:
PayPal invoice received: [Business Name redacted] $500
I might have had a mini heart attack the moment that email landed in my inbox. First of all, how did this dude even find me?! I had not given him any payment information during our ‘free’ 30-minute Zoom call. And I say ‘free’ because I was not anticipating an invoice I had never asked for. The guy in question ran a consulting firm to help small businesses with business resources, such as virtual assistants and web design – to the tune of $500 per month.
Not exactly what you want to wake up to on a Monday morning before your first cup of coffee, am I right? Especially when you’re struggling to get your business off the ground and barely pulling in $700 a month. (And anyone who says that a $500 surprise bill or invoice isn’t a big deal is lying!)
'Unbelievable', I thought to myself. 'I understand we all want to make money, but some of us need a break. I can’t justify that amount right now even though a service like that would be amazing to have. Despite knowing about my finances, he has the nerve to send me a f*cking invoice anyway!'
(In case you’re wondering, yes, I disputed it – and yes I won. Because I know I will always beat injustice one way or another! Also, yes, I curse when the situation calls for it.)
However, the man in question actually did me a huge favor. It was then that I had an epiphany.
What if I could provide women who, like myself, have struggled for months just to make a modicum of progress due to limited resources, a safe, reliable, empowering community of other female solopreneurs who all have something to bring to the table?
What if we could come together and exchange talent for testimonials – saving money and gaining more social proof as well as many more eyes on our businesses? It would be a win / win for those of us who are just starting out.
It was a crazy idea. I didn’t know how I was going to achieve it – at least not then.
Flash forward to spring, 2025 – economic uncertainty & chaos have entered the chat.
Great. As if things weren’t challenging enough before, now we find ourselves in a whole new world, especially in the United States. Buckle up, ladies, if you haven’t already, because this mess is getting real, far too fast. More people are losing their investments and / or steady income overnight and are scrambling to figure out what to do next.
I realized one morning, after feeling heartbroken over the constant bombardment of one bad news after another, I needed to just go for it – create my membership and make it happen for all of us.
'Just do the damn thing, Jaylana, and stop dilly dallying', I said to myself. 'If not now, then when? And if not me, then who? It sure as hell isn’t getting easier for any of us.'
One thing I know for sure — there are hundreds of women just like me who have so much to offer as well as huge aspirations, but are taking far longer than they should to get their dream businesses off the ground simply because they do not have the resources available.
Here are three cold, hard truths about starting out that no one wants to admit:
...because there is nothing sexy or Instagrammable about any of what I'm about to tell you...
1 - Limited money means having to pick and choose what you can do for your business.
→ You end up losing so much precious time waiting to have the means to make the moves and investments you need to make.
→ You have to do everything yourself because you aren't yet in a position to hire anyone to take some tasks off your shoulders.
Meanwhile, your competition is killing it out there because they have the money to throw at any problem or solution that comes their way without a second thought.
2 - Limited time means having to jigsaw tasks into any slot of time you have available.
→ You have to juggle life's inevitable demands and ultimately end up slacking in some area of your life because there are only so many hours in the day.
→ Weeks turn into months and months turn into years before anything significant can happen, like leaving your job or building a solid team.
Meanwhile, your competition is all over Instagram living their best life because they've achieved that level of time freedom you wish you had.
3 - You are the world's best kept secret — because no one really knows your business exists.
→ You feel like you're screaming into the void when trying to have your voice heard in an already overcrowded marketplace.
→ You need testimonials in order to show how worth it you really are — but those won't magically appear when your ideal clients don't have the opportunity to find you.
Meanwhile, your competition is slaying it because they are well-established and have the visibility that continues to bring them even more clients, more money, and more success.
Let's face it: in order to make significant progress in any business, you need all of the following – time, money, and connections.
Without those three elements in place, you are caught in a vicious cycle that feels impossible to escape from.
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How do I know this?
And let's be real — it sucks, right?
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So now I ask you...
Where would you be in your business right now if you had:
🔥 the proper resources available to you – or at least more money, more time, and more social proof to work with?
🔥 the space in your schedule to devote to the things you want to do, rather than having to do everything yourself because you can’t yet afford to hire?
🔥 a library of valuable media resources conveniently available to you, saving you hours sifting through written and video content?
You probably wouldn’t be feeling:
😤 FRUSTRATED by your lack of progress
🤕 DEMORALIZED by how little you feel noticed
😒 BURNT OUT from doing everything on your own
😢 LIGHT YEARS BEHIND your competition
I'm actually not afraid of taking a risk for my future — especially if it means helping so many women in the process.
When you've spent 15 years of your life living overseas on your own in amazing places such as southeast Asia, South America, and north Africa, not much scares you.
(We'll get to those adventures another time because there are some incredible ones!)
I have opened the waiting list for my Ashes to Ascension Collective membership because limits absolutely suck the joy out of life.
🔥 Limits mean being forced to wait – and losing valuable time while your competition is making bold moves.
🔥 Limits mean sleepless nights wondering how – and when – anything is ever going to come together.
🔥 Limits mean having to settle – and none of us is here to settle. We don't do that in my world.
I say let’s work together and set fire to our limits!
🔥 Let’s bring our beautiful talent to the table.
🔥 Let’s lift each other up, help each other grow, and live our gorgeous purpose in this world.
🔥 Let’s ascend higher than we ever thought possible — TOGETHER!
