Trust Your Gut

You can’t make this up…“I co-created a show several years ago and had to partner with a production company to sell it. At first, I thought the production company we partnered with was the perfect partner but they slowly pushed me out of my role as producer. I didn't say anything...and the show suffered because of it. I thought they were making the right choices because they were more experienced and had several shows under their belt but I knew deep down inside and I should have said something. The show we sold was strong because my partner and I got to have creative say and input. The experience taught me to follow my gut. Say something to your team and stand behind what you want, even when people try to convince you otherwise.” — Eden Grinshpan, Host of Top Chef Canada and Author of Eating Out Loud

When was the last time that little voice inside your head piped up telling you what to do? Our intuition has a pretty stellar track record. So, why do we let doubt creep in and silence it? I’ve been in Eden’s shoes more times than I’d like to remember. We’ve had designers spearhead inauthentic rebrands, executives steer us in the wrong direction and one who told me that no one wants to see my personal life on social media. Every time we’ve relied too heavily on outside voices we’ve needed to course correct. I’ve learned the hard way that you have to trust yourself, especially in your own company. This week, we’re hearing how Eden and Summersalt Founders Lori Coulter and Reshma Chamberlin follow their gut in business. 

We are all paving our own path and intuitively know what is right for our brand. Lori and Reshma launched Summersalt with glowing features in Elle and Glamour, despite being told they were too early. “Six weeks before launching Summersalt, we had no bank account and no funding,” they reflect. “As a brand launching with swimwear, we had to launch in the summer in order to be successful. Potential investors doubted our ability to launch in such a short amount of time, but we were determined to make it happen. We navigated this challenging time by focusing on our ability to execute quickly...We eventually got the funding we needed in order to launch and opened a bank account a mere five weeks before we launched Summersalt in May 2017.” 

As serial entrepreneurs, they were confident they could make it happen, and it’s that self-awareness that reveals our own sense of possibility. “Trust your ability to execute and never doubt your instincts,” Lori says. “We continue to apply this principle as we grow the business. Even as potential investors have doubted our ability to raise money as a female-founded midwestern company or launch new categories, we’ve continued to trust our abilities and power on with investors who believed in our vision and ability to actualize our plans.” 

We all benefit from perspectives that challenge us, still we shouldn’t let others dictate our decisions. My approach is to listen and understand where people are coming from. Then, weigh my own opinion by asking: Am I being rational or driven by emotion? Is there merit to what they’re saying or is it totally off? If it’s off, then why are they here in the first place? Those are my cues to do a gut check-in and ensure we’re surrounding ourselves with the right people. Reshma learned a similar lesson fundraising. “Looking back, I would have asked more questions to understand an investor’s agenda and refrained from taking things personally,” she says. “Now that we’ve raised $26 million and have been told no more times than we can even count, we move on quickly.” 

Doubt is always a part of decision-making. We’re constantly cutting through the noise and temptation to validate our choices by comparing them to others. We were early players shifting to see buy wear fashion shows, creating our store of the future, and cultivating a relationship with our customers. Everyone advised us against these moves, some going as far as to say they would destroy our brand. We would have missed some of our biggest opportunities if we listened. Their opinions weren’t wrong. They just weren’t right for us. My brother and I had an a-ha moment when a consultant said: ‘When you followed your own path you won. When you tried to follow others’ you didn’t.’ 

Conviction strengthens with time. Gut check-ins become a habit and help build your muscle to vocalize how you feel in the moment. Eden has since hosted and produced many successful shows and would approach the experience differently today: “I would have told them I am staying on the production side of things and as the host,” she says. “I would have fought for it.” Stepping into your voice and furthering your vision is an essential element of growing up as a leader - and a stride we can only take ourselves. I now know that I would rather speak my mind than be left wondering what could have happened. 

Following your gut is a practice. No one is born knowing how to make all the right decisions; There are times when that little voice becomes faint only to sound like an alarm when we realize we’ve made the wrong choice. It’s all part of the process and Eden inspires us to appreciate both moments equally. “I don't have any regrets and try not to look at things that don't last as failures,” she adds. “These are all learning experiences and if you push forward you can apply those lessons to your future projects. We aren't supposed to get it on the first try. You have to fail to succeed.” 

What is your best follow your gut story? Share it in the comments!