"Long-term entrepreneurship demands commitment that is often driven by passion and purpose and not everyone is prepared for that"
Bree Stedman Tweet
Bree Stedman is the spokesperson and trainer at the Institute of Women International. With facilitators in 19 countries, the Institute of Women International train & support Practitioners, Coaches & Therapists in Female-Formulated tools so they can build successful businesses Empowering Women. This approach gives women a step-by-step approach to guaranteed, long-term client results, something that no one else in this field would dare to offer.
Personally, Bree has been in business since 2005:-
9 Years as a Leader and Trainer of businesswomen across Australia and New Zealand.
3 Years as a Mentor for Hundreds of International Wellness Business Owners.
International Best Selling Author of Own Your BS – featured on the CW Network in the USA, ABC Newcastle, the Newcastle Herald, Ticker TV, and multiple international podcasts and radio stations.
8+ Years as a CREATRIX® Transformologist® – confidently offering women an outcome guarantee for emotional healing and empowerment.
This success led Bree to join the Institute of Women International team as Spokesperson and Trainer in 2019 because through her years of experience she could see that traditional approaches towards business mentorship and coaching were built around the masculine perspective, and women NEED an approach designed specifically for our Sex-Specific Gender
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us today. Please introduce yourself to our readers. They want to know you, some of the background story to bring some context to your interview.
Bree Stedman: My name is Bree Stedman, I’m an advocate for female-focused personal development and business success.
I’ve been in business for myself since 2005 – like many new to business, I built my immediate success through a lot of hustle and force. And while this approach initially helped me achieve great success – it wasn’t long before I fell into the trap of Imposter Syndrome – I was the queen of ‘faking it’ – to the outside world, I looked successful, positive, and confident but inside I felt insecure and inadequate, constantly comparing myself to my peers, haunted by a barrage of negative head talk.
While I managed to ‘push through’ for a period of time, it got to a point when my internal struggles exploded into my physical world, and that is when I recognized that all of my past ‘success strategies’ were not actually working in my favor.
In 2012, I worked with Maz Schirmer and literally overnight my entire view of myself AND the way I did business changed, and I’ve not looked back!
In the 10 years since that time, I’ve gone on to build multiple 6 figure businesses, write (and co-write) several International Best Selling books and train hundreds of women around the world to run successful, burnout-proof Empowerment Businesses centered around Healing Women.
You are a successful entrepreneur, so we’d like your viewpoint, do you believe entrepreneurs are born or made? Explain.
Bree Stedman: Great question!
I believe it’s a little bit of both.
The foundation of being an entrepreneur long-term, I believe, is the recognition that entrepreneurship is a lifestyle that requires determination, dedication, and a self-motivated work ethic.
Long-term entrepreneurship demands commitment that is often driven by passion and purpose and not everyone is prepared for that.
What I have found though, is that when the desire is there, if the entrepreneur is open to being supported in their own immediate and ongoing emotional growth, and if they are open to adapting and pivoting as life happens, then anyone can build success as an entrepreneur.
If you were asked to describe yourself as an entrepreneur in a few words, what would you say?
Bree Stedman: Passionate, Driven, Adaptable, Action-Taker, Influential, Honest
Tell us about what your company does and how did it change over the years?
Bree Stedman: The Institute of Women International is a ground-breaking, innovative approach to personal development (and business) specifically for women.
Founded in 2013 by Maz Schirmer, the Institute came about after Maz’s own traumatic life journey and personal experience with personal development. Previously trained in many mainstream approaches such as NLP, TimeLine, and Hypnotherapy, Maz started to realize that these approaches just weren’t providing women with the trauma-free, long-term results they deserved. She noticed that within 12-18months of working with them, they would come back with the same issue – and that felt like an injustice to Maz, since women make up 76% of Personal Development programs and courses.
This realization led Maz to study the differences between male and female minds and epigenetics (the study of intergenerational inheritance). After 13,000+ hours of study, she discovered that women operate from a PinkPrint – a framework of very specific differences that cause us to experience the world differently from men, and therefore hypothesized that women heal differently. From this, CREATRIX® Transformology® was developed.
Since our opening in 2013, we have grown to have more than 200 licensed facilitators operating successful empowerment businesses in 19 countries around the world – each and every one of them with the qualifications to predict and guarantee client outcomes without the client having to relive ANY trauma, and each of them with long-lasting results – something that very few practitioners in the field of personal development offer.
Thank you for all that. Now for the main focus of this interview. With close to 11.000 new businesses registered daily in the US, what must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business?
Bree Stedman: As my expertise is women in business, I’d like to offer advice for women…. this however can still be applicable to some men, as research shows that 1 in 9 men do resonate with such advice.
Firstly, I think it’s important for female entrepreneurs to remember that what works for men in business does not always work for women.
For example, the advice to not take things personally because ‘it’s just business’ and keep work at work and home at home are not that simple for us ladies. Neurologically, women have more emotional connections than men, which means we put emotional meaning to almost everything.
We can’t compartmentalize as naturally as men do (everything is connected to everything!) and so the connection between business and home is very different and needs to be considered.
Secondly, work with your Hormone Cycle! Consistency for women runs a different timeline for us (regardless of menstruation) – there are times of the month when women will take things more personally, there are times of the month when they are stronger in negotiation and personal representation and there are times when the creative juices flow more freely. This is very different for men, who (hormonally speaking) operate in a much more consistent fashion. There are strengths within every stage of our cycle – learn what those strengths look like and when they fall within your hormone cycle and operate your business accordingly, and you’ll find that you’ll be in a lot more flow, more often.
Goal Setting is different for women. 4 out of 5 women are NOT driven by financial success long-term. Generally speaking, women thrive when their work has meaning and purpose, and so tying goals to this will likely lead to more inspired action and long-term motivation.
Finally, and most importantly – your emotional growth is a crucial part of your success…. as mentioned above, we attach emotions to events more regularly than men, which means we also hold onto emotions more intensely. While many women can find short-term success by ‘faking it until you make it’ or ‘pushing down the negative for something more positive’, these kinds of approaches lead to burnout. Prioritize your own personal growth just as much as you prioritize business growth and skillset development and you’ll find not only more success, but fulfilment and confidence as well.
Did you make any wrong assumptions before starting a business that you ended up paying dearly for?
Bree Stedman: Faking confidence, the whole ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ and the assumption that practice would make perfect cost me my sanity and almost my first business. As mentioned earlier, these approaches provided me with success early on, but it wasn’t maintainable. And that isn’t because I wasn’t skilled in what I did, but because I was constantly battling with my own negative, sabotaging beliefs and emotions.
If you’re accompanied by a consistent ‘devil on the shoulder’, then don’t try and ignore it – face it, heal it by working with your female-specific PinkPrint so you can heal at the core and break that cycle, and you will most definitely be able to step into a space where you don’t have to ‘pretend’ anything.
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what advice would you give yourself and why? Explain.
Bree Stedman: Follow your intuition more – if something isn’t sitting well, there’s a reason for it. Be ok to question things, to speak up, and to make your own decisions according to what feels right to you, not just because someone is saying “this is the way ‘THEY’ say it should be done”
We’re all so different, especially as women, and we do have a different way of creating success – honor that.
What is the worst advice you received regarding running a business and what lesson would you like others to learn from your experience?
Bree Stedman: There are 2 that I think were incredibly detrimental to me.
1) BE CONSISTENT…
When this advice is traditionally given, it’s implied you need to build a consistent, WEEKLY or DAILY routine.
We are female. We are fuelled by constantly changing hormones (with or without a menstrual cycle) that operate roughly on a 28-day cycle – when women work with the strengths that lie within our natural cycle, and we build consistency around that cycle, we’re able to achieve more, with less effort, more flow and more alignment.
2) FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT
This advice is such a pet peeve for me now, because I have a much better understanding of the consequences of not acknowledging the underlying cause of hesitation.
While there IS merit in doing an activity repeatedly to build some confidence, if the sheer act of performing such a task causes physical stress, anxiety, or otherwise, then practicing is not going to help long term. Because of our PinkPrint, fear, trauma, insecurities – they are real for women.
Work with someone who can help you to identify what is REALLY causing the stress, anxiety, or hesitation and you’ll find that you won’t have to fake anything because you’ll either confidently do it (and do it well) or you’ll confidently say ‘no thankyou’ and delegate it out.
In your opinion, how has COVID-19 changed what entrepreneurs should assume before starting a business? What hasn’t changed?
Bree Stedman: I think COVID-19 has stimulated a lot of people to dream differently about freedom and flexibility…. we’ve all experienced situations where choices have been taken away from us, and as such, the appeal of entrepreneurship is attractive. However, entrepreneurs should assume that there will be a big growth curve – personally, emotionally, and from a skillset perspective. Find a community to surround yourself with so that, although you might be independent in business, you have the support to help you grow as you need it.
What is a common myth about entrepreneurship that aspiring entrepreneurs and would-be business owners believe in? What advice would you give them?
Bree Stedman: That they have to do it alone! I’ve found the most successful entrepreneurs are ones who are surrounded by like-minded people that not only support them, but also call them to higher ground (with some tough love!) when they need it! Women, in particular, thrive in community – in fact they crave it.
Long-term entrepreneurship is a journey, one that will test you, trigger you and challenge you – be ok with asking for and receiving help, be an open-minded student knowing that there’s always something new to learn, especially from those who have walked the path before you.
What traits, qualities, and assumptions do you believe are most important to have before starting a business?
Bree Stedman: Gumption. Determination. Self-driven motivation and a strong work ethic, all fuelled by passion and purpose. And humility!
As an entrepreneur, we’re not accountable to anyone but ourselves – and that can easily be used as a cop-out to NOT treat the venture as a business. One question I frequently asked myself, especially when establishing my business was “if I was a boss, would I hire me?” If the answer was no, I’d fire my ass and start all over again with a lot more intentional action.
How can aspiring leaders prepare themselves for the future challenges of entrepreneurship? Are there any books, websites, or even movies to learn from?
Bree Stedman: Acknowledge any fears or insecurities you have and seek someone who can help you to break those cycles – and maintain this activity. Business will consistently challenge you, and it’s not uncommon to be triggered by new fears, especially as you level up, so surround yourself with people who can help you to personally step up. For women in business, I’d encourage you to follow us at the Institute of Women International – especially if you love and appreciate how female-specific personal development can enhance your life and your business
You have shared quite a bit of your wisdom and our readers thank you for your generosity but would also love to know: If you could choose any job other than being an entrepreneur, what would it be?
Bree Stedman: I’m quite a theatrical, passionate person, and as a little girl could always see myself in a position of limelight and influence, so if I could choose any career, it would be acting – especially if it gave me a platform where I could also empower women through example.
Thank you so much for your time, I believe I speak for all of our readers when I say that this has been incredibly insightful. We do have one more question: If you could add anyone to Mount Rushmore, but not a politician, who would it be; why?
Bree Stedman: I’d put Maz Schirmer on Mount Rushmore. She’s Australian which might be a little controversial on an American landmark, however, I believe the work that she has done for women is changing the approach for emotional healing and breaking intergenerational cycles is going to change the world for women – I see the work that she has done as a massive step forward for female empowerment and all women should know about her, and CREATRIX® Transformology®
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Bree Stedman for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Bree Stedman or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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