Christyn Breckenridge

I attribute my success to my ability to pivot and be adaptable on the fly - that's like a muscle, and you get more practice than you want, but you're able to flex it nonetheless. Continued education has been huge for me. I immerse myself in expos, trade shows, SBA workshops, whatever is free and available or will give me an upper hand knowledge-wise. I'm all in on newsletters and Eventbrite links - if they had a business babe networking event, I was there, soaking up knowledge, shaking hands, kissing babies, because I have a yearning for things like that. I know it keeps me ahead of the curve. I also learned to trust my inner voice. I prayed one night when I was facing a crisis with my Memphis building, and I woke up the next morning and the name came to me, the vision came to me. When you take that one step from within, it's like an extra push that says you can do this, you're on the right path. And honestly, my mindset determines what I consider a challenge or an opportunity. I don't give myself much time to cry over spilled milk - I give myself a very short window to moan and whine and cry, and then I say, okay, how am I going to fix this? What's the solution here?

I would definitely encourage them to seek within. I know it sounds so cliche when people say just do it, just take the leap of faith, and everybody's not there - you don't meet people where everybody's at a different stage in their life. But if it's in your heart, if there is something that's keeping you up at night and you feel like there's something there, even if you don't know what direction to go in, tap into that. Do some soul searching and block out the noise, because whatever is for you is not gonna miss you. When people take that one step from within, it kind of encourages you - it's like an extra push that says hey, you can do this, you're on the right path. Trust that inner voice. I also believe in continued education - immerse yourself in whatever is free and available, or will give you an upper hand knowledge-wise, and take advantage of it. Stay ahead of the curve. And remember, women need women. We're already in a patriarchal world, having to combat against that, plus capital, plus everything else. You have to have support systems, multiple support systems, in order to have something to lean on. I don't care if it's for advice, if it's for a letter of recommendation, whatever it is - women need women across the board.

I feel like your mindset is going to determine what you consider a challenge or an opportunity, because everything is going to come to you and you don't know how it'll hit. It might be a lesson that you have to learn, it might be an opportunity for somebody else to benefit, but as long as you have the mindset of that silver lining - that this is supposed to teach me something that I don't know - you have to stay positive in your mind and challenge your mind to not give in to the woulda, coulda, shoulda, or the negative. It's a mental game. I look at things now as if something's slowing me down - I couldn't get my order out, I ran out of gas, the paperwork didn't get finished, the order didn't come in when it was supposed to - I take that as an opportunity to say, alright, it's slowing me down and there's a reason behind it. Let's stay positive and keep it moving instead of wallowing. I don't give myself much time to cry over spilled milk. You gotta give yourself a window, a very short window, to moan and whine and cry, and then you say, okay, how am I gonna fix this? What's the solution here?

Being a leader and taking responsibility for someone else's success is really important to me. I'm responsible for teaching people certain things that they can carry throughout their life, because the skill sets I learned from working for somebody else 10 years ago, I was able to apply to my business because I had mastered them. If I can do that for somebody else, that's a part of success to me. I also value taking care of myself so I can show up properly for others. I designate spa days and me time - I really call it recalibration, because if I'm depleted, I can't pour into anybody else. I'm not one of those people who are like, oh, you gotta be a no-sleep gang, let's just keep it pushing. No. If my body gets to the point where I'm depleted or exhausted, I don't want that energy rubbing off on anybody else. I want to show up with a good spirit, with a good mindset, with proper energy. My misery does not like company - I'll isolate, I'll recalibrate, and I'll come back 100% when my battery's recharged. You have to make time for yourself, whether that's a massage, meditation, eating properly, getting your vitamins back on track, doing a sauna - whatever it is, because that's fuel. You gotta have fuel.