Episode 38: Karen Swyszcz - How Being An Entrepreneur Is Like Rock Climbing

Gold Nuggets in this Episode: If you have a set vision or plan in your head, you tend not to pay as much attention to external factors. Karen didn't have a plan when starting her blog or her podcast, and her philosophy was "start it, try it, and then decide". This meant she could be more adaptive to the environment. "If 2020 has taught us anything, I think it has absolutely convinced even perhaps some of the non-believers that the ability to pivot is absolutely key to success." "With respect to your entrepreneurial toolkit, I believe that written communication is really important." People portray themselves as successful but never really show the behind-the-scenes. There's the image of the iceberg: at the tip of the iceberg is the success we see on social media, and under the water is where we find the long hours, sleepless nights, stress, and setbacks. "If you're not resilient or you don't think positive, then entrepreneurship is going to be tougher than it already is for you." "Do not wait; the time will never be just right. Start where you stand, work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." – George Herbert Our guest is Karen Swyszcz, Co-Founder of Kaibigan Connection, Founder and blogger at Makin the Bacon, host of The Bacon Bits 'n' Bytes Podcast, and author of the best-selling Women's Health book, Fitness to Freedom. She works part-time as a continuing and professional studies instructor, teaching blogging and social media strategy courses at Sheridan College. She is also the co-author of Lighting The North, a book on diversity and feminism in Canada, which is also a 2020 Non-Fiction Finalist for the Canadian Book Club Awards. Karen holds a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Waterloo. Song by Adam Vitovsky / CC BY 3.0