The Secret, the Significant, the Successful: Profiles of Women-led Businesses, Birthday Edition

I'm up at 3 am wondering how I made it through another revolution around the sun. My life, just like each of yours, will always stand out for the year 2020. So today, my 41st birthday, I thought that I should wrap the Secret, Significant, and Success into one narrative.

On June 4th, I had nine tumors removed from my body and was told not to do anything stressful for the six weeks that it would take me to recover. The first week was the most difficult. As someone who typically multitasks with the best of them, it was hard to allow myself to both be vulnerable and allow myself to fully trust others to handle everything that I found valuable. My mind loops with thoughts from running my company EnrichHER to making sure all the logistics to run my life were in order. 

During a moment of frustration, I had a meltdown on Facebook, where I expressed my grief and my need to feel connected to others in the real world. I asked for people to. pick up the phone and call me, I know radical,. Little did I know that that act would change my heart, spirit, and perspective on people forever.

Immediately after I sent the post, people I hadn't spoken to in years started calling me. I reconnected with people from 100 Black Women, sorors from Delta Sigma Theta, people in the startup ecosystem, and even some virtual friends whom I've never spoken with in real life previously. What I found out is that each person has so many interesting things about them that I didn't know. I was able to start learning so much about others and what made them tick.

It was fun for me to listen to their new life and how they were coping. Some were upset that ESPN was solely playing Korean baseball, others were having difficulties with their children not understanding why they couldn't play with their friends, and others decided it was time to find their significant other at any means necessary, lol. Deeply listening without having to rush to a meeting enabled me to form deeper connections with my existing acres of diamonds.

All of a sudden had way more friends than I ever imagined.

Also, my healing process was the first time I stepped away from my startup since I started it. It became amazing to me randomly see slack messages fly across my phone and quickly be answered by another team member. It was fulfilling for me that someone took over all my 1 to 1s, and completed all the logistics that typically fill up my day. For the first two weeks, I solely listened to an hour check-in and felt complete.

Also, I feel like LinkedIn missed me. After weeks of no posts, I wrote this emotional caption about the profile of me in Business Insider. Somehow at 31,000 views, it's the most viewed content on my profile in at least a year. To all the people who asked me to help them personally, this article was my attempt to do so. It's my blueprint.

This made me smile in between my frequent naps ??

As I've been enjoying being calm over the last five weeks. I've asked myself what matters most to me?

What do I want?

The truth is that I want the same thing that I've wanted for years, equity in economic power for women in business. 

I'm asking you, my subscribers, to tell me directly if you are willing and able to put your capital behind this cause so that we can impact change together. I will officially launch a pledge campaign once I'm back in the office, but since it's my birthday and all, I'd thought I'd ask early.

Are you ready now to put your capital behind the economic power of women-led businesses?

I know you're ready. Next step ->, email me directly at [email protected] with the words "one comma," "two commas," or "three commas."

Thank you for being a part of my community and reading my birthday newsletter. ??

Roshawnna Novellus

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Dr. Roshawnna Novellus is the founder and CEO of EnrichHER, a financial platform that connects female entrepreneurs with lenders who want to earn a return on their investment while fueling the growth of women-led businesses. Dr. Novellus is a gender equality advocate who believes in economic empowerment and inclusive economic growth. Dr. Novellus holds a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, with a Minor in Finance, a Masters of Science in Information Technology emphasizing Information System Engineering, a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management Economics, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering – achieving Summa Cum Laude in each. Roshawnna served on the Commission on Women for the City of Atlanta and was honored as one of the Women Who Means Business by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, one of the 40 Under 40 by Georgia Trend, one of the Top 25 Disruptors and Innovators in Tech, one of the 27 Black Founders and Investors to watch by PItchBook, and LinkedIn Top Voice #5 in Technology.