I didn't even know I was ambitious

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I want to tell you something that took me almost 40 years to figure out: I'm ambitious. And for most of my life, I had no idea.

As an eldest daughter, my conditioning taught me that compromise and sacrifice were what made me likeable. As a woman, I learned that ambition and drive were unattractive—or worse, threatening.

So I spent my early career working my ass off while simultaneously getting in trouble for speaking up and "lacking tact." My bosses appreciated my intelligence and creativity. They hated my opinions and my willingness to challenge theirs.

In the years leading up to my 40th birthday, I became especially frustrated. I was doing excellent work. Taking on more and more responsibility. But the title, salary, and authority I expected to come with it? Never materialized.

Why did this bother me so much?

Because it turns out, I am ambitious. I know I'm capable of a lot. I want to work hard, accomplish important things, create a big impact, AND be recognized for it.

I just didn't know that about myself until I was already doing work worthy of recognition and still not getting it. That's when I finally saw who I was and what I wanted.

Here's the really crazy part: I've been an entrepreneur for over a decade now. My entire business is helping other people with marketing. And I have had a love/hate relationship with my own marketing this entire time.

The best marketing that's ever been done for my business? My ideas and content—formatted and published by someone else.

I can believe my ambition is acceptable. I can believe my offer is valuable. But somehow, I can still find a way to talk myself out of asking for your attention.

Sound familiar?

This is the pattern I've seen across hundreds of client engagements over the past decade. Brilliant entrepreneurs who have everything they need—the skills, the strategy, the knowledge—but something invisible keeps holding them back.

We're not broken. We're not lazy. We're not lacking discipline.

We're operating with someone else's programming. And until we address what's actually happening beneath the surface—the conditioning that taught us to play small, avoid attention, be satisfied with what we're given—no amount of business coaching or marketing strategy will stick.

That's why I'm building Buffalo Collective. I need this support, and I know lots of others do, too.

It's not another course you won't finish or coaching program that can't make you follow through. It's the team you don't have as a solopreneur: people who will hold you accountable, offer expertise, provide emotional support, and help you make better decisions while you do the deeper work that actually unlocks growth.

I'm starting two small groups in January--one in person in the Twin Cities, one virtual online. If you've been feeling stuck despite having all the "right" tools and knowledge, this might be for you.

Ready to explore whether Buffalo Collective is right for you? Let's schedule some time to talk about it.