Becoming an Accidental Pren-her™ can be a big shock to your system, in
oh-so-many-ways. One of those ways is isolation. The Washington Post
reported in an article their findings, Social Isolation Growing in U.S.
If it hadn't been for the Ah-Ha Sisterhood, I may not have stuck it
out, returning, instead, to the comfort of academia. This is my
story--my tribute to them and the place they hold in my heart. Though,
too, I know that this is a story all of us share.
THE AH-HA SISTERHOOD
The Ah-Ha Sisterhood was the brainchild of my dear friend, Jina Daigle.
Jina is, by nature, one of those people who just have a knack for
connecting people. Jina had become a sole preneur two years before I
did. From my perspective, she was an experienced sole preneur. She had
her act together, knew what she was doing, and was a tremendous wealth
of support and experience. The trouble was, she lived 1,000 miles away.
As the way of all things great, Jina was also friends with two other
people who were also in various stages of Accidental Pren-hership.
Linda Franklin of Franklin Resource Solutions, had quit her job a year
after Jina did and was just deciding what she wanted to do with her
life. Karen Rawson knew she
would be leaving her corporate job in about six month’s time and was
preparing for that transition, and there was me who had just recently
resigned from academia. All three of us were bombarding Jina with
questions, advice, and support.
One day, Jina had the brilliant idea of getting us all together at
her house in Dallas to attend a Small Business start-up workshop being
put on by Coach U. So we
all three drove and flew in to stay with her and attend the workshop
together. It was so much fun, let me tell you! We sat together at the
workshop, passing ideas back and forth among each other, brainstorming
possibilities, and laughed, laughed, laughed. We ate together, slept
together, and talked late into the night. At the end of our time
together, we had formed the Ah-Ha Sisterhood.
Partly inspired by the movie, Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood
and partly enthused by the "ah-ha" moments that each of us were having
in our start-up process, the name stuck. Though were lived in different
states, we knew we had something special going on and vowed to find
some way to continue our group. Enter the beauty of teleconferencing.
Armed with an access number and bridge line, each month, then
bi-weekly, then every week, the Ah-Ha Sisterhood met to talk. Together
we inspired, supported, brainstormed, and problem-solved for each
other. Sometimes we met individually. Though most of the time, we
preferred to meet together--to share the social interaction that occurs
when like-minded women come together.
Although the Ah-Ha Sisterhood no longer meets, the special bond of
friendship that developed because of our collective need for community
still stands. Neither time nor space could ever erode the fire we all
went through together. Moreover, we continue to be there for each
other, whenever the need arises.
Without Jina, Linda, and Karen, it is likely I would have made a
very common mistake among new small business owners; I would have
bailed too soon--before I had really given this sole preneur thing a
fair shot. The Ah-Ha Sisterhood saved me from myself.
Thank you, ladies of Ah-Ha!
Do you have a story to tell of sisterhood and support? Let us hear from you.
Susan L. Reid
Accidental Pren-hers
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