Episode 26: Overcoming Fear and Growing Your Business Step-by-Step

In this episode, Jennifer Kok interviews Stacy Sloan, founder of 3 Little Birds Granola, who shares her inspiring entrepreneurial journey. Stacy reflects on her path from culinary school to creating a clean-label, allergen-free granola that has expanded into K-12 food service markets across multiple states. She candidly discusses the challenges of starting as a hobbyist, the fear she faced when transitioning to larger markets, and the importance of focusing on quality, sustainability, and methodical growth. Stacy also explains how she learned to manage a business without formal business training, relying on her culinary background, family influence, and self-teaching. This episode provides valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs about facing fears, building resilience, and being methodical.Top 5 Key Takeaways for Business Owners:Start Before You're Ready: Don’t let fear hold you back from pursuing new clients or expanding your business. Even if you feel underprepared, you can grow and learn on the job.Value Relationships and Network: Relationships can propel your business forward. Stacy’s business grew significantly after one key connection in Detroit Public Schools. Networking can open doors to significant growth opportunities.Quality and Passion Matter: Prioritize product quality and stay true to your mission. Stacy’s commitment to allergen-free, clean-label ingredients helped her stand out in the market and build a loyal customer base.Embrace Methodical Growth: Avoid shiny object syndrome by focusing on one growth area at a time. Being methodical allows you to excel in one market before expanding into others, as Stacy did with K-12 food services.Overcome Fear with Persistence: Stacy openly shared her struggles with fear, but she overcame it by taking small steps toward her goals. Confronting fear in business is essential for personal and professional growth.Connect with our Guest:Stacy Sloan https://www.threelittlebirdsshop.com/Meet the Host: Jennifer Kok has been a business owner for over 25 years and now is a business coach.She turned her first business into a franchise and successfully sold it 20 years later.  She was passionate about building a business and a family at the same time.Today she mostly works with creative business owners who are tired of not getting paid enough for their hard work.  She walks them through the 3-step process she developed to allow them to Create More…Earn More…Stress Less.Get your free guide to grow your businesshttps://nextwavebusinesscoaching.com/3-steps-to-be-instantly-referable/Connect with Jen: https://nextwavebusinesscoaching.com/My name is Jennifer Kok, and I’m a profit and growth advisor for service-based women entrepreneurs. I help women business owners make smarter, more strategic decisions so they can grow profitably, pay themselves consistently, and avoid burnout.Because the truth is, business owners make decisions all day long, but the ones that really matter are often the hardest ones. Should I hire? Raise my prices? Invest in marketing? Let go of a draining client? Expand, or simplify?Those decisions carry weight, and they can impact your time, your profit, your energy, and your long-term growth.That’s why I created the Focused Growth Collective, a virtual mastermind for women business owners who want support making the kinds of decisions that move a business forward. Yes, we talk strategy, but we also look at the bigger picture like mental load, health, profit, and long-term sustainability.My goal is to help women build businesses that pay them well, support their lives, and still feel worth leading 10 years from now.Connect with me:Website:Facebook:Instagram:LinkedIn:YouTube: