Happy 1 Year to Cape-Able Consulting!
I can’t believe it’s been one year since Cape-Able Consulting officially launched. It has certainly been a wild ride, and I am so grateful for all of those who have supported this journey from the beginning. For those of you who are new to joining this adventure, I am so excited that you found us.
I was 16 years old when I came up with the concept of Cape-Able Consulting. I was feeling incredibly frustrated that there were people in this world who saw words like dyslexia and ADHD and low standardized test scores and felt like they knew everything about me, what I was cape-able of, and my value to society. In their eyes, I wasn’t going to amount to anything. I couldn’t wait to prove them wrong.
People with learning disabilities and/or ADHD are among the brightest, most resourceful, adaptable, and creative people. I wanted to help those with learning disabilities not only see these qualities within themselves but also help myself by proving to the world that this is a group you should never underestimate. Together we are changing the stigma surrounding learning disabilities/ADHD by reminding ourselves what we are cape-able of.
So fast forward to a full 16 years later, when I finally got the chance to launch Cape-Able Consulting, I was overcome with tremendous tears, not only for myself and for making this lifelong dream come to life, but tears of joy and relief for all the people I couldn’t wait to help.
Launch day tears after gettings hundreds of texts, e-mails, calls, and messages
Here are 5 things that I’ve learned in the first year of my business:
I am my own boss. Meaning I get to set the stage of my expectations, boundaries, make decisions on who I do and don’t want to work with, and make my own schedule and my goals. This may sound very obvious, but this was one of the most exciting and challenging aspects of them all. At every step, I had to check in with myself and ask, “Does that work for me, my values, and the values of the company? Is this worth my time and are these people and companies I want to be associated with?” These questions were very empowering but at times are very overwhelming (hello, analysis paralysis). I had to leave room for both feelings.
I am the face of the company. Putting myself out there was incredibly difficult. From the beginning, I wanted the business to be front and center and my story to be in the background. I felt like why would anyone care what I had to say? I completely underestimated that when I did get in front of the camera, people connected with me. Even if my story wasn’t their story, I was giving a voice to someone who felt like they couldn’t. The more I put myself out there the more my business started to thrive and the more people messaged me to say, “Thank you for not making me feel alone or sharing your wisdom having been diagnosed for so long.”
You might have an overall goal, but how you get there is likely going to change. Leave room for new experiences, new people, and new ideas. I never thought I would do podcasts, and then a friend of a friend made an introduction that opened up a whole new world of opportunities. I’ve been a guest on 35 different shows in 1 year (most of them have gone live and you can check them out here). Podcasts have been one of the biggest avenues to connect with potential clients. And as it turns out, I discovered I am really good at it, and I really enjoy it.
You do not need to do everything yourself. This was huge. From the very beginning, I have been working with a business coach to help me plan out my own ideas and execute them. I also hired a social media company to help keep up my engagement. It costs money to have the help you need, but it also pays for itself when you can hire professionals who understand tasks better than you do so you can focus on the tasks you enjoy and thrive in.
I am the unicorn. When I started this business, I thought I would be talking to a lot more people who had been diagnosed with ADHD and/or learning disabilities at a young age and received resources through college. #mywhiteprivilege. Although I knew there were plenty of people who may have had a diagnosis and not received resources, I didn’t realize that I was truly in the minority. Most of the people I have worked/currently work with are people who have been diagnosed in their 20s/30s/40s. The reason being is that women and BIPOC are often underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed in much larger quantities then I had initially realized. But it also helped me focus on using my privilege to shed light on this issue and how much support I could really provide given that most people are new to this world that I’ve spent a lifetime and a career learning to navigate and advocate.
So as I move forward and start building for year two, I hope I will continue to learn new lessons and support lots of new people on their journeys.
There will certainly be more opportunities to work with me 1:1, companies and organizations to partner with, new podcasts to speak on, and so much more, but you will just have to stay tuned :)
