Espisode 000: The Fearless Entrepreneur: Will Featherstone

Hey there, Fearless Family! This is Will checking in with you for the Fearless Entrepreneur Podcast. This is episode 000, and I wanted to provide just a little information about myself, what to expect with the Fearless Entrepreneur Podcast, and where the idea came from. So sit back, relax, and let's chat it up. Hey there, Fearless Family! This is Will checking in with you with the Fearless Entrepreneur Podcast, where I interview some of the most influential people who have conquered their fears to pursue their passion in entrepreneurship. So kick back Sit back, relax, and let's unleash your fearlessness. So what's going on, Fearless Family? It is a little weird sitting here having a conversation with myself by myself, but I'mma attempt to make it the best that I can. Eh, just bear with me. Just want to let you guys know a little bit about myself. I am William Featherstone, founder of the Fearless Entrepreneur. Founder of the Fearless Entrepreneur Podcast and owner of a creative agency called FLLC Creative Agency, where we help entrepreneurs, small business owners, and nonprofits create, build, grow, and launch their business. This podcast became an idea of mine after speaking with my mentor, and she advised that, hey, you, you have to, you give back. And in the beginning of my journey, I had a lot of people ask, you know, how were you able to make this leap? You know, what were the things that you were able to do in order to get yourself in a position where you were able to leave your job and pursue what you've always wanted to do? And after answering this question multiple times, I began to ask my clients, ask other entrepreneurs, you know, what were some of the things that you had to learn before taking this leap of faith into entrepreneurship? What were some of your fears during the time that things weren't going so well when you first started? And thus was born the idea idea of doing a podcast where I interview successful entrepreneurs to see what their fears were, how they were able to get over those challenges, what was their biggest hurdle, and what advice would they give to others that were interested in doing something similar. The Fearless Entrepreneur Podcast basically embodies everything that the Fearless Entrepreneur brand stands for. And by doing these interviews, you're able to get my insight, but you're actually able to get insight from entrepreneurs that are actually living this life, and they answer the tough questions to the things that may be holding you back from actually pursuing your dream as an entrepreneur. You see, The Fearless Entrepreneur is built on obliterating any fear that you may have in doing anything in life. One of the main sources of fear is the fear of the unknown. But if we provide the knowledge, if we provide the know-how, if we can provide the challenges that you may run into, then now there's really no need for fear because you know how to overcome those. Because we've laid out the groundwork for you. My philosophy is really simple in life, and I've learned this through my family and mainly my dad. And it's, it's real simple. It's just that, hey man, you can continue to try to learn this thing on your own, but there's nothing new under the sun. Nothing new that you have done that I haven't. You can either be hard-headed and try to learn this deal on your own, or you can learn from others' mistakes and make this journey a little bit easier. And as a youth I chose the latter, and it was what it was. You have to learn those lessons on your own. And as the saying goes, a hard head makes for a what? Yeah, you know the rest. So here I am using this platform to give back the best way I know how, through knowledge from myself and others. So to sum up the why for the Fearless Entrepreneur Podcast and the Fearless Entrepreneur brand, it's to eliminate all fear in actually going out there and starting your business.— now is the best time for you to step out and take that leap of faith for yourself and pursue what you're passionate about. We have access to a lot of resources that allows you to be an entrepreneur dang near anywhere. So if you have a dream, pursue it. If you have a passion, then take action. There's no better time than right now. I sound like an infomercial for entrepreneurs right now, but it's true. There's a lot of us out here that are working a 9-to-5, helping someone else reach their dreams and goals, but we have an awesome talent that's within us that we're not nurturing. The last thing you want to be is that person that says, "Dang, I wish I would've," or "What if I did? What would it be like now?" I refuse to live my life like that, and I refuse to have anybody that is around me have that limitation on themselves as well. If you're around me long enough, you'll find out that I have one go-to line And that's we gonna find out. It won't be for lack of action. It may be sometimes lack of know-how, and it definitely won't be because of fear. But at the end of the day, we're gonna make it happen, and we're gonna see what the results are gonna be. And this podcast is me taking my own advice, trying to figure it out. So I'm gonna find out. I'm getting out of my comfort zone and making it happen. And right now, I'm gonna let you get an inside look on some of the interviews that have already taken place. What was the biggest fear you had to confront when taking that leap, and explain what that felt like for you.

So I think, especially for writers, but I think for any creative individual that is putting their heart and mind and soul on the line for other people to witness and take part in, the biggest intimidation is for it not to be either received or not to be received in the manner in which you put it out there.

What are some tips you can give to those that are having some of those same hesitations? You know, people that think that time is running out for them, becoming less of risk-takers because it's not the right time, they lost that moment. What advice would you give to those to let them know that, you know, this is— that's not necessarily the case?

One question I would say that they should put to themselves is ask, if I don't succeed, what's the worst thing that could happen? And I think oftentimes we realize at the end of the day, it's not life and death if it doesn't work out as you would like. But what I want to say really though, you know, it's, man, you just gotta go. I mean, I don't know, Something just has a trigger in each one of us that tells us, go and do that thing. I don't know what that thing is. Everybody has their own talents. Do not— can do not do what I did because I understand this. I went through a certain life that makes me understand the shoe game, how to hustle, whatever. Everybody can't do it, and I'm not saying that I'm special, but I don't know what you know about. Don't try to do what the next person did. Figure out what it is that you're doing. What I'm doing to me, nobody else has done it. And the reason I know that is because I don't conform to that stuff. And that's what my father—

What would you do in the next 10 days?

All right, so day 1, I would go into certain groups, Facebook groups or forums, and look at what people are complaining about. And I would take the next day coming up with a—

So those are the type of in-depth answers that you'll get by listening to the Fearless Podcast. What you can expect is a new episode launched every Tuesday around lunchtime. Listen guys, I thank you for joining me on this entrepreneurial journey. Not too long ago, I was just working a 9-to-5 just like you, but then I realized that, hey, there's a ceiling on what I can do here, what I can make. No matter my skill set, no matter how much I apply myself, the powers that be still have a say-so on my salary, on my happiness, on the direction that I want to go. And the only way to change that is to take things into your own hands, establish a business off of the talent or the passion that you have, and see where these things take you. A lot of times we fail to take action because of fear, and most of the time there was no need for the fear at all. What I've learned in life is that going through the heartache, the storms, the hard times, the uncomfortableness is when your true growth happens. All I want to do is create a culture of people who have learned, who have made it through those challenging moments, and are here to teach others. And if we continue to do that multiple times over, then I believe more people will take action. More people will not allow fear to hinder them from pursuing their dreams or their passion. More people will create with no fear. Fearless family, thank you for joining me for another episode of the Fearless Entrepreneur Podcast. Take a moment to visit thefearless.co/podcast. Like, share, and comment on our channel.