Does Your Business Practice Gratitude?

A couple of years ago, this heartfelt invitation landed in my inbox:

Racheal,

I am writing this invitation to you because you are a person who has inspired me. I may know you as a close friend, an acquaintance, or not at all, but something you have done has made me feel optimistic when I was very low. You made me know that strong people do amazing things when I doubted something hard could be done. You have something in you that made me realize that I have it in me, too. For that, I would like the opportunity to thank you.

I am hosting a “Thank You Party” to spend some time with women that I have admired from up close and afar. I hope you can attend.

For those who don’t know my story, I will give it to you quickly. I am Shannon Siriano Greenwood and back in January of ’14, I was a young woman with all the answers. I knew no limits and had no doubts. I had a husband, a full time job, a growing fitness business on the side, and a couple of consulting clients. I also found out was pregnant.

“Awesome!” I thought. “I can do it all, all the time, and do it better than most. I will just pop out this kid and go on with business as usual. I have endless energy and ability. This is going to be great.”

Unfortunately, that was not the case. After my beautiful and healthy baby boy was born last October, I became very depressed. I stopped functioning like my normal self. I doubted every decision and felt like I was in the middle of the ocean drowning.

So I started throwing things out of my boat. I lost my big consulting client, quit my job, lost my share of my business after a stressful legal exchange, and was about ready to jump overboard myself, but I somehow kept afloat. I kept reaching out to friends. I kept going through my brain catalog of people I know, looking for them on social media and in real life. I was looking for people being real about life and its challenges. I found inspiration from those who had been through something hard and made tough decisions to keep going strong. I found those people. I found you. I am changing. I am getting stronger. I am not where I want to be, but no longer afraid of where I am going.

What I discovered this year is that every strong woman that I know (and probably all the ones that I don’t) are not strong, confident, and capable all day every day of their lives. We all go through times of struggle. Thank you for being an inspiration to me, when I truly needed one (or thirty).

*** Here are the party details ***

What: A Thank You Party with hors d’oeuvres and bubbly compliments of The Tobacco Company and me, respectively.

Where: The Tobacco Company Restaurant, 1201 East Cary Street, Richmond, VA

When: Wednesday, November 11, 5:30-7:30pm

Dress: I am dressing up, because I wear spandex all day, but you can honestly wear what ever you want.

Who: I have invited 30 women whom I would like to thank, and I encourage you to invite someone, too. You are welcome to forward an invitation to 1-5 women who have inspired you with a message telling them why. They can be your Mom, your bestie, or a total stranger. Please, ask them to also RSVP. We have space for plenty, but want to make sure we have food and drinks for them, too.

RSVP: Email with your name and who invited you (if it wasn’t me).

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Shannon

Amazing, right? In all these years of entrepreneurship, it was the first time I’d ever received an email like that!

So of course, I had to bring on Shannon to talk about the impact of hosting this Thank You Party for two years in a row. Enjoy!

In This Throwback Episode of Uncomplicate Your Business:

• Why Shannon decided to throw a Thank You Party
• The impact of the Thank You party over the last couple of years
• Our favorite ways to express your gratitude to your community and clients

About Shannon Siriano Greenwood

Shannon Siriano Greenwood worked as a marketing professional for 8 years before taking the leap in her first entrepreneurial venture, Richmond Virginia’s first locally owned boutique cycling studio. In its first year of operations, the business was voted in Richmond Magazine’s Best New Start Up, Best Indoor Cycling Class, and noted in Best Fitness Class Instructors and Best Small Gym categories.

But all this hustle left her completely burned out. Shannon sold her shares of that business and went back to the drawing board. She decided to build a business around the thing she loves, inspiring, coaching, and mentoring other entrepreneurs to grow their local businesses on their terms. Learn more about Shannon Siriano and her latest projects here.

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Shannon Siriano Greenwood