Dr. Farah Laurent, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, CPXP, CEN

I attribute my success 100% to being rooted in faith, that's number one. In the beginning, I used to think, oh man, why did this happen to me? This is not fair. But I started looking at it from a different mindset, like a growth mindset, with the perspective of, hey, maybe this is happening for a reason. I think my faith led me to that, to be like, hey, maybe this is God pushing me in another direction and closing doors to protect me, to be like, hey, look over here, you can create a bigger impact by doing this other thing here. Number two is expanding my mindset, and then number three is being super adaptable. I think that comes from just my personality and how I grew up. I'm just a joyful person, so I always try to see the silver lining in everything, and I'm like, alright, cool, what's next? This didn't work, so let's have that problem-solving, adaptability-type mindset, especially being an ER nurse. Literally, things change from minute to minute, so I'm very open and accepting of change.

The best advice I've received came from a business coach who told me: listen, the price is the price, and that's it. You don't have to convince anybody. Either they see the value, or they don't, and you move on. That's it. You don't have to explain yourself to anyone. This was particularly important for me because I have issues setting boundaries, even to this day. I was always trying to give a discount or something, and we need to stop discounting ourselves.

As a woman and as a mom, I would say a lot of times we have self-limiting beliefs, stuff we make up in our heads. I used to think, oh, you know, I'm a mom, I have two kids, I don't know if I can do this conference, or I don't know if I can build this business the way I want to because I have kids. But then I started seeing it more as a superpower, like a driver, to be like, okay, I'm gonna be more motivated because I'm a mom. Stop limiting yourself, because a lot of times, it's just in our own heads. Stop having these self-limiting beliefs, and then just literally think anything is possible once you truly believe. I always say everything is figureoutable, and where there's a will, there's a way. You just figure it out. And then just do it. Most people will literally marinate in fear and inaction and just overthink. You just have to be a risk taker, follow your gut, and just take action. Really, failures are your biggest lessons, so just accept that, tweak it, and just keep it pushing and move it forward. Nobody will care about your business or your success more than you, so you have to make it happen. People don't give a shit, people are so obsessed in their own world. Focus on yourself and professional development and investing back into yourself and your business is what's gonna move you forward. Also, proximity to people that are where you want to be is important. You need to surround yourself with the right people. Community is important. I'm in a business mastermind with Rachel Rogers, and it's a lot of women, a lot of diverse women. I'm all about female empowerment.

I think the biggest challenge for nurses is that they're not understanding the different opportunities out there for them. This is why I create the content that I do, this is why I've created this conference, because I want them to understand that there's much more out there beyond just the traditional bedside roles. They have so much intellectual property, knowledge, and experience that they can bring to other industries, and they can also step into entrepreneurship. They need to realize that. The other major challenge is transitioning from the employee mindset to the entrepreneurial mindset. That's the biggest hurdle they face, because they always want to go back to comfort. And then there's just the lack of confidence. I was doing this webinar once, and they're like, have you ever had imposter syndrome? I'm like, no. People are always doubting themselves. These men that have no experience, they just go apply to all these jobs, but women don't. The other thing is that women also need to learn how to rest. That's a problem. We need to draw healthy boundaries as women and know when to take a break.

Number one, if it's not fun, I don't want to be a part of it. I try to include fun in a lot of the things that I do, and humor. I know sometimes as a parent, I could be a little strict, so I try to loosen up. So that's one value - being fun, spontaneous, and adventurous. The other thing I value, obviously, is integrity, transparency, and I don't associate with brands that I feel are not in alignment with what I believe in terms of social impact and political things. For example, there was this huge company that reached out to me twice to be part of their women's program, but I was doing research on them and I couldn't confirm if they were supporting something that I'm against. So I told them I no longer want to be a part of this. That, to me, is important. I will always stand up for what's right, even if it cost me my job - obviously, being laid off three times proves that.