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If you love a good rags to riches story then you’re in for a treat! Today we’re talking about how to rebuild your life after loss, and my guest is THE person to show us how.

Alli Worthington is a business coach and best selling author of Standing Strong, Breaking Busy, Fierce Faith and The Year of Living Happy.

Alli lost everything when her husband's job came to a sudden and drastic end 10 years ago.

Since then, she co-founded Blissdom, the single largest international women’s small business conference in the world, served as COO for Propel Women, helped thousands of men and women start successful businesses online, authored several bestselling books and advised Fortune 500 companies, tech companies and household brands.

Finding Community on the Internet

Alli shares with us that she never intended on being an entrepreneur. Her goal in life was to have a large family and be a stay at home mom, which she did accomplish. As you can imagine, staying home and raising five children didn’t leave much room for social gatherings, so Alli found her community online.

She fell in love with the internet and the idea that she could connect with brilliant women online and still be the mom she needed to be. Alli started blogging and using different platforms to grow her online friend base!

After her husband lost his job and they found themselves filing bankruptcy, Alli started researching ways to make money online. She tried different things, some that worked and some that did not. Alli was ready to hit the ground running and make an impact!

Life Was Really Traumatic in My Early Years

Right before Alli turned 3, her dad died in a car accident. Alli also died in that same car accident. When she came back to life, the doctors told her mom that they did not know if she would ever be functional. Her mom was 23 when the car accident happened. Alli’s dad was a carpenter and did not have a lot of savings in the bank to help take care of the finances when he passed. Life was traumatic then and is something she still finds herself unpacking today.

“To be an entrepreneur you have to be hungry,” Alli says as she acknowledges the trauma she went through helped her to be hungry and aided in her success as an entrepreneur.

 

And THAT was the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey. 

Jobs Aren’t 100% Stable

When Alli’s husband lost his job, Alli found herself numb. She never allowed herself to feel fear, she just needed to figure out how to build. It was in this season that Alli realised, “jobs aren’t 100% stable, your boss can fire you tomorrow. I never wanted us to be vulnerable again.”

Sometimes Things Just Have to Take Time

Alli talks to us about not giving up on building. She reminds us that it sometimes takes a year, two years, three years etc., to get the needle moving but if you feel in your heart that you are meant to build this business, keep building. Women are sometimes too quick to give up on their business simply because it doesn’t happen overnight. “Adjusting expectations is really important,” she says.

She also added “You can’t skip the ground work”.

 

The Little Hobby

Alli jokes with us about how her husband used to refer to her blog when she first started as “her little hobby”. In reality, Alli wanted to remind us that “we can't expect people in our lives to get our vision for what we want to do because they weren’t given the vision.”

Alli knew she would help people on the internet. She remembers telling a friend 22-years ago this vision and her friend looking at her like she was crazy. This is why it’s important that you surround yourself with people who get it, even if it’s virtually.

The Shy Host

Alli walks us through the making of Blissdom, the single largest international women’s small business conference in the world. She shares with us how this seamlessly came together through the cancellation of a conference where she was asked to host the cocktail party and how she had to break it to the person when asked about “opening remarks” that she was indeed, shy!

She did the thing and ended up loving speaking and figuring out how to partner with companies as she continued to grow the conference.

My Inspiration to Becoming a Business Coach

“The best thing I ever did was get a business coach,” Alli shares with us how hiring a coach who would advocate and help her on her journey is actually what inspired her to become a business coach. She saw how much having a business coach helped her and she wanted to help other women in a meaningful way. Her goal is to be on women’s journey for the long term.

For Moms That Feel Guilty

I asked Alli how she navigated motherhood and work, and she gave us some encouraging words and tips. She points out that moms should put down their phones if it is not work related. Also, setting the expectation for your child on how long you’ll be working and keeping that time helps out too. She also adds that she never felt the mom guilt because she looked at what she was building as security for her family.

Alli makes mention that investing in our future is not harmful to our children. 

I asked Alli how she navigated motherhood and work, and she gave us some encouraging words and tips. She points out that moms should put down their phones if it is not work related. Also, setting the expectation for your child on how long you’ll be working and keeping that time helps out too. She also adds that she never felt the mom guilt because she looked at what she was building as security for her family.

Handle With Care

I asked Alli how she navigated motherhood and work, and she gave us some encouraging words and tips. She points out that moms should put down their phones if it is not work related. Also, setting the expectation for your child on how long you’ll be working and keeping that time helps out too. She also adds that she never felt the mom guilt because she looked at what she was building as security for her family.

“We’re going to look back in 5 or 10 years and see the damage that social media has done,” Alli encourages us to handle social media with care.

She realised after a couple of sponsored blog reviews that she was using her children for financial gain, and that didn’t feel right to her. She would rather women build a sustainable business with a product or service. She states that building a platform for the purpose of being an influencer is not a smart business move.

However, she does think building a personal platform for a future business is smart. She does encourage you to grow your platforms but not for the purpose of influencer branding.

The conversation with Alli was both truthful and encouraging. Her honesty and willingness to share so many intimate details of her rough beginnings was inspirational. I hope you enjoyed this honest conversation as much as I did.

More From Alli

This conversation with Alli was so insightful and honest. I hope you will watch the full episode to hear so much more of Alli’s journey to successful business and life. Make sure you connect with Alli by visiting her website to learn more about her podcast, Coach School, & Called Creatives.

Some of the links provided are affiliate links which means I make a commission when you purchase any products or services.

For more on motherhood and business, check out the interview with Lauren Golden here.

How to connect with Alli:

• Learn more about Alli: https://alliworthington.com/
• Listen to the Alli Worthington Show: https://alliworthington.com/topics/podcast/
• Sign up for the Coach School: https://thecoachschool.com/
• Join Called Creatives: https://www.calledcreatives.com/a/42629/DU6S8wxY