Becoming An Industry Changemaker with Laura Bonnett
If you discovered your true, fulfilling purpose in life, would you be ready to embrace it?
My guest for this episode, Laura Bonnett, is the founder and CEO of YellowTree Grant Writing.
Laura worked for the federal government for nearly 10 years and now uses that experience to make an incredible impact on the world by helping organizations access grants that help them effect change.
Shifting from academia to entrepreneurship meant letting go of structure and embracing a level of fluidity. While she was used to a requirement of absolute perfectionism in her former career, she found that entrepreneurship is more fluid and adaptable — and you’re allowed to fail and learn from it.
As she grew, she developed her own structure by putting systems in place for bookkeeping and time management, and creating a schedule that worked for her.
But what she really struggled with was believing that she deserved to have more and get bigger. When it was time to transition from solopreneurship to agency, she felt frozen. “I had to increase my belief in myself and in my company, to trust that this growth will continue,” Laura says.
She soon realized that she didn’t just need to expand her business, but the industry itself. “We grant writers are few and far between in Canada. But in doing this hiring process, I realized that I need to start creating the pipeline,” she explains. “Because the pipeline’s not there… I’m going to have to start teaching more, because I need to develop this industry even further.”