The Daring Story

 

Looking back, The Daring was several years in the making. At the end of 2001, I found myself at a major crossroad. I had left a senior corporate position to move from Washington DC to Southern California to establish a business with the second largest financial institution in the country and number one lender to small business, along with some very prominent individuals from the political and business world.  

Under my leadership, we had successfully raised $3M in investment capital, our financial institution partner was bringing in 7 full time people as well as the necessary technology and tools.

Unfortunately, at the eleventh hour, our partnering financial institution had to pull out of the deal due to a major reorganization that caused thousands of employees to be laid off. It left me in a precarious position: no job and no business, during one of the most unsettling times in U.S. history, right after September 11. Not to mention I was in a place I could hardly call home since I did not know anyone in Southern California having landed here only a few months earlier.

A native of Quebec, I had spent the better part of my life and my career in the corporate world, working with companies in Canada, Western Europe and across the United States. Although I had successfully built my career (in executive sales and marketing) on the ability to adapt to new environments and diverse personalities, this was the first time I found myself with no clear direction and without the backing of a major corporation.

My story, however, is all too common. How many times has a dream of yours or a major business deal fallen through? What counts is what you do with it. Do you roll over and give up or do you move forward with even more determination?  Wouldn’t you agree that our defining moments are often the most challenging times in our lives?  When we dare to turn a setback into a comeback or an obstacle into an opportunity, we allow for those defining moments to act as leverage points in our lives.

So out of necessity I set out on a journey, a networking journey.  Since I had just recently joined the ranks of small business owners/self employment from Corporate America, it made sense to me, I thought, to join women’s organizations. But during the course of the next several years, and after attending countless networking events, each one looking like, sounding like and feeling like the next, I was disappointed by the lack of solid contacts and relationships and disenchanted by the lack of originality.   Most of all, I was very surprised by how few women entrepreneurs were really determined and committed to building profitable businesses. 

The Birth of The Daring

I kept thinking that there had to be a more fun, easier and faster way to meeting dynamic, genuine women with whom I would share information and experiences and who could help me achieve and succeed, all the while providing me with the opportunity to reciprocate with same.

I wondered, was my experience limited to just me. Had I somehow missed something in my efforts? At the same time, I kept asking myself - wouldn’t it be nice if I could belong to an organization of like-kind and like-minded women? A place where women could speak their minds, share their dreams, make friends, negotiate deals, strut their stuff, empower and inspire one another to take bold actions and risks to live a more fulfilling, abundant and prosperous life…, in short to embrace a more Daring lifestyle. 

I decided to test out my theories and get some answers to the questions that had been dancing in my head. I conducted several hours of research online and offline, organized a few focus groups, met with several women one-on-one, and discovered a growing number of women who not only shared my views but, they too, were searching for the same kind of organization as I was.

All the roads I had traveled in my life had finally merged. My dreams, my hopes, desires and passion were staring me right in the face. I seized the moment and decided to create an organization that would hopefully redefine how women connected with one another and grew themselves, and their businesses or careers. The idea for The Daring was born.

Nothing Worthwhile Comes Easy

The decision to follow this dream seemed easy. The steps to bring it to reality would prove to be anything but simple.

As women, we have made unbelievable strides in every critical area of society during the last decade. We’ve changed the very fabric of American business and altered the family dynamic in ways that have far surpassed the wildest dreams of pioneering women advocates of years past. Even with all of the success and growth of women professionals, especially in the entrepreneurial world, from observing, researching and studying the small business landscape for the past 5 years, I firmly believe that women have some ways to go.

Although women are starting businesses at a record rate and the success rate in business owned by women exceeds those owned by men, women are still trailing way behind when it comes to building sustainable, high revenue businesses. Four out of five businesses owned by women have no employees, and if married, they rely of their husband for the family finances.

Some of the major issues still facing women business owners include:

• Not being as comfortable as we should be with influence, power and money;
• Not being committed and determined enough to making serious amounts of money and often holding back or getting in the way of our own success once the business grows beyond a certain size;
• Developing a “true” CEO mindset;
• Having a lack of access to a powerful network, limited partner/strategic alliance potential;
• Although it is getting better, not having as much access to capital including both debt and equity;
• Feeling isolated and overwhelmed when working from home;
• Struggling with getting paid what we are worth and asking for what we deserve;
• Lack of confidence in ourselves and in our capabilities.

Some of these issues, I have personally faced in my quest to develop, build and ultimately launch The Daring. Over the better part of 2006 and well into 2007, in order to validate and gain acceptance for the concept of The Daring, I have stumbled and even fallen a couple of times. However, with each setback, I have come away more convinced and more resolved that The Daring is not only the right choice but it is much needed.

The Daring .., an organization whose time has come!

“It has been said that it is not what you know but who you know that determines your success in business and life. While this is still true, it’s no longer enough! Nowadays, it has a lot to do with who know You and what everyone knows about You!

Being visible and well connected to other likeminded, successful daring women we can learn from and be inspired by, are undoubtedly some key elements to our success and fulfillment in business and in life.

With many more of us now working from the comfort of our own home (whether as a business owner or as a corporate leader), it has become more challenging for potential clients to find us, develop and sustain meaningful relationships with others and build the kind of support system each of us need - a support team that will cheer us up all the way to the top! (in our personal and professional life). We are also much more likely to get stuck and overwhelm with the demands in our everyday life. And let’s face it, just having someone to brainstorm with, or having an accountability partner to share with would add tremendous momentum to your personal and business advancement while reducing your stress level.
We can share and learn so much from one another. Each of us has something to share and a lot to give.

It’s one thing to get how-to tips and networking opportunities. These are important, but there are so many more ingredients to success. Attitude is as important as aptitude. So is camaraderie and team spirit. And, nothing speaks to success like a successful entrepreneur or professional so The Daring has assembled a first-class lineup of Success Experts to guide you. Women who have excelled in their fields and achieved great success are involved with The Daring to help you soar. They’re sharing their powerful lessons, empowering knowledge and intimate secrets to success. They’ve blazed the trails and are now enjoying the rewards of their struggles and perseverance. You deserve to achieve this level of success, too. Let The Daring become the toolkit to your dreams.

The Daring is the only women-daring-women community dedicated to members’ mutual success. Within our supportive, nurturing community, you’ll find the inspiration and the strength to aim higher, create the life you crave and fulfill your personal and professional aspirations.

The other members are your advocates and your personal cheering squad. You can do anything, but you can’t necessarily do it alone. It takes a community. It takes a network of spunky, sassy, savvy and spirited Daring Women. Women who color outside the lines and envision the unthinkable.

Like many of you, I have personally experienced my share of setbacks: divorce, layoffs, glass ceiling, a recent surgery, but somehow, my fighting spirit and unwavering optimism have helped me turned my setbacks into comebacks and, whenever possible, turned my mess into my message.

And like so many of you, I know a thing or two about striving for more fun, balance and harmony in my life as I am juggling a full time career in sales and marketing while overseeing the launch and development of The Daring.

So this is what I have come to know for sure. Having a supportive community is not only vital to our success and well being; it is one of the top priorities expressed by enterprising women. In fact, The Nurses’ Health Study from Harvard Medical School found that women who are well connected with other women are more likely to live more productive, fulfilling and joyful lives and less likely to develop physical impairments associated with aging (when we do get older that is!)

Regrets

Don’t let that be You! What have you been putting off?  Life is not a dress rehearsal.

Science Research Institute completed a study - surveying over 10,000 people. Those in the last chapter of life, including terminally ill, were asked a single question: “Knowing that life is about to end, what would you do over again?

Three common responses from the 10,000 individuals studied:

• Take more leaps of faith
• Listen to my heart more, take more risks in matters of love
• Make a greater difference; do something that created more of a legacy.

The researchers concluded that the only regrets people truly have are the risks they didn’t take.
No matter how or where this journey ultimately takes me, I could not look back on my life with regret had I not seized the opportunity to create this organization. My sincere desire is that you will join me and my team in building the first women-daring-women community.

I built The Daring community “on the side,” while holding a full-time job. It has been the most exhilarating, heart-warming, all-consuming, agonizing, gut-wrenching and ultimately the most satisfying experience of my life.

I don’t regret it for a minute.

I held firm through the emotional rollercoaster because I didn’t want to regret the unfulfilled dream. Deep in my soul, I knew I had to create a place for women to thrive, a community like the one I yearned for in my darkest days. I couldn’t live with myself and the regret I would have felt.

The worst feeling anyone can have is regret — regret of unfulfilled dreams and unmet goals. To live without regret means you have to take risks and step outside your comfort zone. You have to conquer your fear of rejection and failure and dare to chase your dreams.

You have to take the first step down an unfamiliar path. The bottom line is, you simply have to take action. Decide at this moment that you want and deserve to be more and have more in all aspects of your life.

I do not know about you but I realized that my life is way more exciting and interesting if I work out my daring muscle each day not matter how difficult it might be at times. Eleanor Roosevelt pointed out: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do”. So here is to being Daring!

Let The Daring guide you to a life without regrets. The roadmap to your dreams is here, but you have to reach for it. 

I promise, you won’t regret it.

Daringly Yours,

Francine Allaire, Chief Daring Officer