The Pitch

"Where is my notebook?" I cried. "What notebook?" my husband asked as I frantically raced from room to room, toppling over children's books in my search. "My black notebook for work.” I gritted out, frustrated that he could be so clueless. Of course, it's that one, it's the only one I have that's black that I use everyday. It's like he doesn't even live here. "I dunno" he said noncommittally and walked back down the stairs to continue working at his den room computer.

"Where the fork is it?! Grrrr, mother trucker!" I yelled as I continue my search. I lifted stuffed animals off the couch, looking underneath- nope, not there. I raced back to my bedroom and tossed items from my nightstand and makeup area as I rooted around looking for the tell-tale alligator design of the matt black book. Finally, I found it! Under my fluffy bath robe, NOT where I last left it, but I was relived to finally have it in my hands. I had so much work to do. This small treasure contained all of my notes on the businesses I'm working with for my Startup idea. Every time I interviewed another business, I added the notes into this book for easy referencing. Not that deciphering my chicken scratch could be considered easy, but at least they were all in the same place.

I had so much work to do to get ready for my pitch next week. Through all my efforts of networking on LinkedIn, finally the right people knew about my idea and wanted to have a meeting. While that's really awesome, my anxiety was full blown and verging on a panic attack. I can't do this! Why did I ever think I could start a business like this?! This is way above my skill level! All of these thoughts raced through my head as I settled down on my yoga matt in front of my laptop. Trying to tamp down the hysteria, I looked at the inspirational quotes and messages that graced the walls of my room. Various sized papers held phrases like "Girl, always remember that no one can do what you do, like you do. Embrace your uniqueness", "Do it because your kids deserve a Mom they can brag about" and "If it's not a Fork Yeah, it's a Hell No". I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, and I began to leaf through the book. Notes from the many webinars I'd taken mixed with hastily written, barely legible notes I wrote in the past 6 months. Some words jumped out at me as I tried to catch some inspiration. Words and phrases like- No Regrets, Sisterhood, Strengthening Your Identity, Inclusion and Diversity mingle with industry words like Search Engine Optimization, Stretch Goals, and Competitor Reviews.

This is gonna be hard, but I can do it. I buckled down and put on some motivational background music and got to work. By the time I got up from the floor, I'd written a decent rough draft of my proposal. It wasn’t my best work, by far, but it was a good start. I would need to refine it again and again until it sounded both professional and authentic. I moved my makeshift desk out of the way, and stood up to work out the kinks in my back and legs. "I'm getting old" I said to no one in particular, not that it made it any less true if no one heard me. My body protested the position I was in, as if to say, you’re not as young as you used to be, and sitting on the floor to work is a not a good idea anymore. I wanted to refute this, but the cracking of my back told the truth of that statement. Regardless of my aching joints, I was proud of my work. Like every inspired writer, once I'm in the zone, it’s hard to think of anything else. But I knew my work for that day wasn’t quite finished. I sent my rough draft to my business coach, and a few trusted friends to see what they felt could be improved on and closed my computer. With a heaving sigh, I drudged to the kitchen to start the dinner that I knew my kids would be expecting when they got home from school.

After a few days of collaboration with my coach and friends, I had finally created a pitch I was proud of that spoke my truth. It was poignant, funny and peppered with little anecdotes that I hoped would resonate strongly with the potential investors. I was finally ready for the pitch; maybe.

"Can I do this?" I asked myself in the mirror, and for a second my anxiety took hold and my face crumbled "No I can't. What was I thinking? This is too hard, maybe I can get someone else to pitch it for me." But then I took a deep belly breath, looked myself squarely in the eyes and said "No, you can do this Mama. You've got this! You are going to knock their sock off and then sell them each a pair from the best shops". That made me smile to myself and my trepidation disappeared. I was gonna make it happen.

The day of my meeting donned bright and sunny, with the sound of birds chirping and the smell of lilacs wafting through the open windows. I was hella confident and I knew I would be both professional and yet unforgettable. I readied my laptop, making sure the video and microphone were working, and I had my special black notebook next to me ready and waiting. I didn't want to look like an unprepared noob.

I sat up nice and tall, watching myself on the screen, waiting for the call to start. Once I heard the "ding" and saw the screen light up, it was Go Time.

I did magnificently, if I do say so myself (and I do). I was a vision of professional grace and charm. Every word that fell from my lips was deliberate and designed to inspire compassion and laughter. I could see the respect and admiration on the faces of the executives on my screen. They politely thanked me for my time and promised to email me when they'd reached a decision. I thanked them, wished them a lovely day and closed my browser. I whooped for joy then and did a little happy dance in my mirror. "You lady, are AWESOME!!" I said to myself with a grin so wide it hurt my face and transformed my eyes into upturned slits. Nothing could bring my mood down, not even the whining of my tantruming children that evening as we put them to bed. I was on Top of the World!

Two days later I got an email that changed my life. The company loved my pitch and wanted to offer me $20,000 to begin work on my next phase. It was a full grant to help me make my dreams (and many others' dreams) come true. Like What?? Are You Kidding Me?! The email went on to state that they were greatly impressed with my presentation and the research I'd done to get to where I was, and even more impressed that I did it all myself with no team to delegate to. To them, it showed great leadership and they were confident that I would use the money wisely to improve the lives of our local businesses and make a significant change to help rebuild our economy. And just to add to my delight, at the bottom of the email the sender mentioned that they felt my unique approach and my ability to think outside the box was what tipped the scales. They felt I was real and they genuinely liked me and would do whatever they could to help my initiative succeed.

I was overjoyed! I felt validated, respected and seen. I had been weighed, measured, and NOT found wanting in any way. And so, I was welcomed into the new world of Business Ownership, with not exactly trumpets and banners, but with hugs and kisses and lots of cheers of "Yay Mama" and "Good Job Mama", which, honestly, is much better in my (little black) book.