Real Business Beginnings 08: She Didn't Want to Run a Business. She Started One Anyway.

For twenty years, Beryl worked inside a human potential organization in Chicago. She built a full client roster. She rose to senior coach. She specialized in emotional and social intelligence, relationships, leadership, and the way childhood experiences shape adult patterns.

At the end of 2023, the company closed. She had a choice. Start her own business or find another organization. She chose to start. What followed was not a straight line.

The Interview

Karissa | NMBS: Before you started your own business, what did life look like?

Beryl: I worked for a human potential organization in Chicago for twenty years. Ninety-five percent of my time was spent doing my business rather than running a business. I loved that work. What I didn't have to do was run a business. I didn't have to market myself. I didn't have to sell. I didn't have to think about social media or funnels or scaling.

Karissa | NMBS: Did you ever want to start your own business?

Beryl: No. I used to be an introvert. I hated networking. I didn't enjoy selling myself. But over the years people kept telling me I should do it. Those voices stayed with me.

Karissa | NMBS: What finally changed?

Beryl: The company closed at the end of 2023. I was in my late fifties. I asked myself if I had the energy. If I had the skills. If I even wanted this. But I also thought this might be the only chance I have to try. And I teach about having a growth mindset. Just because I have never done something before is not a good reason not to do it. So I started in January 2024. All my clients came with me. That part felt easy.

Karissa | NMBS: And then reality set in.

Beryl: Running a business is not the same thing as coaching. There were systems. Tracking. Spreadsheets. Bookkeeping. And then there was marketing. Something about selling myself leaves a bad taste in my mouth. At the same time my life was shifting in major ways. I became ill. I ended a thirty-eight year marriage. I moved to Arizona after living in Chicago my entire life. I wasn't just starting a business. Everything converged at once.

Karissa | NMBS: What makes that question complicated?

Beryl: I love coaching. I love helping people emerge into who they are. I don't love everything about running a business. I'm sixty-two. I'm dating again. I'm building community in a new city. I want a well-rounded life. So I'm living in the tension between abundance and lifestyle. Independence and partnership. Freedom and stability.

Karissa | NMBS: If you could go back, what would you tell yourself?

Beryl: If I had known I was going to start my own business years earlier, I would have learned sales and marketing. I avoided it because I didn't enjoy it. But if you want to succeed, learn it. Don't avoid what scares you or what you think you're not good at. Avoiding it only delays the inevitable.

Karissa | NMBS: When you don't have clarity yet, what question are you living inside?

Beryl: I use one question. At the end of my life, will I regret doing this or not doing this? I don't want to get to the end of my life and feel like I gave up on myself.

This is a story about loving your craft more than you love business. About learning to live without guarantees. About not abandoning yourself. She started her business. She is still deciding what it becomes. That is honest. That is human. That is No More Bullsh*t.