Shannon Hughey Cornicelli | Pixie Dust Inc. president, and Dream Big Gymnastics and Ninja owner
It’s great to have big dreams, but many businesses fail because they do not have the financial backing to support those big dreams. But here’s a secret: The important part of turning a dream into reality is not the financing.
I started my business in 2007 with a $600 investment in mats and a 1998 Ford pickup truck, with an infant on my hip. But I had passion!
I built my own website (because I didn’t have the money to pay anyone else for it). I designed and printed my own flyers. I ran a small ad in the local paper.
I lugged mats and gymnastics equipment up the stairs at a recreation center every day for classes, taught every class myself and took every phone call and payment.
I put my dreams out there into the universe. And soon enough, my daily dreaming and drive gave me opportunities. But if I hadn’t been awake enough to see these opportunities, if I didn’t have the courage to take a chance, or if I didn’t believe in my dream, they never would have happened.
To make it happen, just keep these thoughts in mind:
• Don’t listen to the negatives.
• Only surround yourself with positive thinkers.
• Never take a dollar from anyone.
• Never go into a partnership with anyone.
If you can’t make it work on your own, then it’s not going to work out anyway. So be strong, be decisive, be resilient, be brave.
