Allison Maslan built an advertising firm by 25 and nearly lost herself to the pressure of appearing invincible. Women CEOs hide their fear and insecurity from everyone, she says, because showing vulnerability feels like admitting failure. She now helps female entrepreneurs build businesses that fit their lives instead of consuming them.
Chapters
And then there's the loneliest one. And I think this is the one that a lot of people don't really identify or talk about much because when you are the CEO and you're a woman, there's often no one that it feels professionally safe to say, I'm scared. Who can you say that to? You can't say it to your team because they need you to be strong and steady, not your customers. They need you to be certain. And sometimes not even your closest friends because they see the highlight reel and they're proud of you and you don't want to disappoint them by admitting that the highlight reel is not the whole picture. So you carry this alone in silence. And every one of those DMs that I got said in one form or another how— That's so true. How did you know, Allison? How did you know? That is so me. Well, I knew because I've lived it and I have sat across from too many brilliant women who were living it too. I built my first company many years ago into a full-service advertising and PR firm by the time I was 25, and I nearly lost myself doing it because I believed that if I loosened my grip for one second, all of it would just fall apart. Well, that was 10 companies ago, and I have spent the years since then helping women just like you set the weight down and finally build the company and the life that they actually wanted, that aligned with their life.
