Truth moment: Why I almost didn’t start The Brighter Side Society (and what changed my mind).
March 2020 changed everything. My event business—built over 30 years—was gone overnight. Charleston Wine + Food Festival, BevCon, everything I had poured my heart into creating was suddenly… impossible.
I was 50-something, starting over, and honestly? Terrified.
I threw myself into Like Minded CHS because I needed community as much as anyone. But as much as I loved those women, something was missing. It was networking, not mentoring. It was Charleston-focused when I knew there were women everywhere who needed what I had learned in three decades of building world-class experiences.
Here’s what kept me up at night: I had 30 years of hard-won knowledge about creating something from nothing, building communities that actually matter, turning scattered ideas into successful realities. And I was watching brilliant women struggle with the exact same challenges I had figured out how to solve.
But starting something that was truly mine? That felt massive.
What if I failed again?
What if no one wanted what I had to offer?
What if I was too old, too scattered, too much of a beginner all over again to help anyone?
Then I realized: Every single struggle I was having—the overwhelm, the pivot exhaustion, the imposter syndrome—these were exactly what the women I wanted to help were experiencing too.
My breakdown became my breakthrough. The Brighter Side Society exists because sometimes your biggest loss becomes your greatest gift to others.
I didn’t create this community in spite of my struggles—I created it because of them.
What expertise are you sitting on because you think your struggles disqualify you? Comment breakthrough if you know your mess could become your message.
https://sipindipity.com/brighter-side-society
