At a difficult time like this, when one might stumble and give up, there are those who use their resilience, resourcefulness, and grit to rise above and find new opportunities for themselves.
Brooke Sheehy, founder of her namesake company, and the No Free Lunch podcast is one such person. Currently, a freshman college student studying International Business and Entrepreneurial Management at Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, Brooke began her venture after she was forced to leave the campus, and was let go from her job because of the pandemic.
Determined to be independent at a young age, Brooke started her first official job at 15 and made her first investment of $10,000 at 18. After major brain surgery, radiation, countless MRI’s, labs, doctor’s appointments, a drug trial, countless medications, and struggles with all aspects of her health, she brings wisdom and passion into her podcast and her business.
Her mission as an entrepreneur is to show her fellow college students that they don’t need to wait for the perfect time, a lot of money, or graduation to become their own boss and make a living online.
Read on to learn more about Brooke’s inspiring story.
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
I found a passion for entrepreneurship in my freshman year of high school in economics class, where I won first place for my start-up business plan. Fast forward four years to my freshman year of college, after a week-long mission trip to Orlando, Florida during spring break, I was forced to leave campus mid-semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon my return from the south, I was immediately furloughed from my job at LifeTime Fitness. In a scenario where one’s confidence and mental health might start falling apart, I was inspired as an entrepreneurial management student to create a brand intended to empower college students.
What is your biggest advice for college students who are feeling overwhelmed?
My biggest advice for college students who are feeling overwhelmed is to use this time to practice personal development and really take a hard look in the mirror to see if the path they are on is the right one. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is a venture into the unknown and take a leap of faith. When you take that leap of faith into the unknown and leave behind your life of safety and security, you’ll learn more about yourself for the better.
For me, that huge leap of faith in myself was creating my business. But, for someone else, it could be transferring colleges, extinguishing toxic relationships by leaving behind a tight-knit group of friends that have known each other since elementary school, or deciding that college isn’t the right fit for them and having to start all over again from square one. The only reason the unknown is so scary is because you haven’t placed faith in your own worth and in God’s plan for your life. I’m telling you once you do, you’ll feel most at peace as an independent, unique, and expert CEO of your own world ready to take on whatever challenges life has to throw at you.
What keeps you motivated?
Wow. This is a really difficult question to answer because I feel like you’ll expect some super simple black and white answer. Usually, people’s motivator is something tangible like making an insane income, providing for their family, or paying for school. But honestly, those are all simply the benefits of what I do; not the ultimate motivator for me. My motivation comes from within. My logo is the honey bee not only because “B” happens to be my middle initial, but because it is the perfect symbol for where my motivation comes from. Female honey bees are the ones that spend their whole lives creating this incredible product that has countless wellness benefits. They were born to make honey and help humanity through their product.
That is exactly who I am and what keeps me going. I am a female entrepreneur that has found a passion for holistic wellness in mind, body, soul, and life. It’s not the money or the glory of owning my own business that keeps me motivated. It’s the humbling satisfaction I get helping clients find balance in their life. It’s the gratitude I receive when helping someone with the “broke college student” mentality turn their life around and become that independent, unique, and expert CEO of their own world that I know everyone can be. It’s that feeling of making an impact in someone else’s life when I open the DM’s to read that my content improved their mentality and made their day. I am motivated by the impact I have on other people’s lives whether they work with me directly or not.
Can you tell us about your upcoming business and website launch?
Yes! So for the past couple of months, I have been working on creating my brand Brooke B Sheehy and the No Free Lunch Podcast to really narrow in on my target market of college students. I have been working on brand design, web design, podcast production, and blog that will all launch on Monday, August 31st. I’ve already started hinting to my audience on Instagram and Facebook my new branding and talking about the behind the scenes to all of the different projects I have been working on.
My company’s mission is to ultimately show college students that they don’t need to wait for the perfect time, a lot of money, or graduation to become their own boss and make a living online. Now, more than ever, college students need the confidence to show up everyday as their authentic selves so that they may find success in their everyday lives, passions and pursuits. I help them make that happen by empowering them with the tools they need to stop seeing themselves as “broke college students” dependent upon mom and dad and as the senior pilot of their own planes, staying on course to reach their desired destination.
My website will feature the No Free Lunch podcast and blog, have direct links to my social media platforms on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. There will be an entire page dedicated to how you can connect and work with me. The work with me page will have an option to schedule a complimentary 15-minute discovery zoom call to learn more about what I do and how we can best work together.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned since becoming an entrepreneur?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned since becoming an entrepreneur is that in order to be successful, you have to be willing to invest your hard-earned money. It’s really scary to be pouring a lot more money into your business than you are currently making, but it’s really the only way to build success. Not only are you investing in your business, but you’re investing in yourself, which can be terrifying because you have to have confidence in yourself and your abilities and that’s super challenging. I’ve had impostor syndrome stare me right in the face every single time I’ve had to make an important investment decision. And let me tell you, I am so glad that I didn’t listen to it. Instead, I put my faith in God, in myself, and in the opportunity that presented itself. Instead of thinking “what if I fail?,” I think “what if I fly?” I’d rather regret a decision I’ve made that set me back and use it as a learning experience, than regret never knowing what could’ve happened had I said yes. Being an entrepreneur means taking risks, and I’ve learned that the greater the risk the greater the reward.
Where can people learn more?
People can learn more on my website https://www.brookebsheehy.com that launches Monday, August 31st, 2020. The website will provide access to all of my social media accounts as well as access to my blog, podcast, and more info on how we can work together. You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest with the handle @brookebsheehy for all three and subscribe to the No Free Lunch podcast on Apple Podcasts via iTunes and on Spotify.
