Do you sometimes wish you could quit your job and break out on your own? But then you stop yourself because you don’t have the experience or the funds to launch your own business. Meet Mandy Gilbert, who shares how she left an unfulfilling job, secured a personal credit line of $8,000 and started her company, Creative Niche, the very next day. Mandy is an entrepreneur who has built two multi-million dollar enterprises from the ground up. She is also a philanthropist, keynote speaker, investor, and bestselling author of Just Go With It: How to Navigate the Ups and Downs of Entrepreneurship. In this episode, Mandy discusses how to invest in yourself as a leader, protect your confidence, and make your company a place where great people want to work. Mandy also reveals the lessons she has learned along the way, including the feedback that catalyzed her growth and helped her become a better leader.  Mandy shows that entrepreneurship is an adventure worth taking and that the freedom and fulfillment we seek is still possible, even if the path is rarely a straight line to the perfect life. Visit https://www.iambeyondbarriers.com where you will find show notes and links to all the resources in this episode, including the best way to get in touch with Mandy.   Highlights: [02:07] Mandy’s story [03:03] Discovering your path [05:56] Making the decision to start a business [09:48] Where to start – the first 6 weeks of Creative Niche [14:20] The next chapter of Creative Niche [17:06] Why tenacity is important in getting long-term results [21:08] Motivation for writing “Just Go With It” [22:16] The hardest but best lesson learned [29:19] The leader Mandy is today [34:34] Advice on accelerating success [40:47] How to get in touch with Mandy   Quotes: “Entrepreneurs should embrace the journey because it's not a destination, you've got to keep going constantly, no matter how long you've been at it, you're always working on something.” – Mandy Gilbert  “What you see in the media isn't always true. Something meaningful and long lasting doesn't happen overnight. Nobody’s success is happening overnight.” – Mandy Gilbert  “One of the hardest, but best lessons I’ve learned was understanding my shortcomings and why they were showing up the way they were.” – Mandy Gilbert  “If you want to become a leader, there are a lot of great things that you can do right now, you don't have to wait until you have a specific title.” – Mandy Gilbert    About Mandy Gilbert: Mandy Gilbert is a speaker, investor, author, founder, and chief executive of Creative Niche, a company that provides creative staffing and workforce management solutions to multinational corporations as well as major advertising, digital and public relations agencies. Mandy has been recognized as the United Nations Global Accelerator and completed the Entrepreneurial Masters Program at MIT. She is also a Director for The Remix Project, an organization that works on leveling the playing field for young people from disadvantaged communities in Toronto and Chicago and sits on the board of her Young Presidents Organization (YPO) chapter in Toronto. She spends her time between Toronto and New York, and is the proud mom of two busy boys, Isaac and Sam.   Links: Website: https://mandy-gilbert.com/ Mandy’s book: https://mandy-gilbert.com/book/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandygilbert/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/verynichey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verynichey/