The Best Place To Invest — In Yourself, A Founder’s Story with Julie Bee
Julie Bee is an award-winning entrepreneur, a leader of leaders, and an engaging storyteller. Julie has spoken for 14+ years on topics including leadership, management, employee engagement and morale, workplace culture, business ownership, and entrepreneurship. Her forthcoming book with Matt Holt Books, The Business Owner’s Guide to Burnout is scheduled to hit bookshelves in early 2024.
Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up
In 1989, I played pee-wee basketball. I was one of the better players on the green team, but not the best. In one game, we were down 8 points in the 4th quarter. The other team thought they had already won and were acting cocky. My team was mentally down- looking like we were going to lose. But I had other plans. I told the coach, “Coach, I’m gonna steal the ball, do a fast break, and score.” He said, “Ok, go do it!”, not really believing me. I took advantage of the other teams’ cockiness. Not only did I make a fast break and score, but I did it twice, and suddenly, we were only down 4 points. The other team called a time-out and our team started celebrating, high-fiving me. But I said, “We have not won yet! Let’s keep doing this!” We knew the other team would key in on me now, so other players had to get involved. I had one more steal that led to two points and we kept going. In the final few minutes, we scored a total of 10 points. We won! After the game, the coach told my parents that the rally started with my leadership. I never stopped believing and it led us to victory. I learned that I have grit. I am an eternal optimist. I believe in others, but I’m willing to be the first to do something. To point the way. I was resilient for myself and my team at that moment and it was glorious.
How did you get started as an entrepreneur?
My small business journey began at fifteen when I started a tutoring business that I maintained through high school and college. Throughout my life and career, I have repeatedly found myself in entrepreneurial roles, both working for other small business owners and running my own businesses. After college, I started my career as an accountant but quickly discovered that path was not a good fit for my creativity. After losing my job in 2008, I founded BeeSmart Social Media. Today, I continue to serve as the founder of BeeSmart, leading my remote team and supporting them in delivering services to clients. In 2020 I founded my personal consulting business where I help business owners and leaders learn the skills they need to nurture and grow other leaders. I am a graduate of Goldman Sachs's 10,000 Small Businesses program and have been a finalist for several prestigious business awards. I have also served as chairperson on a local board of directors where I led a team of 14 volunteer board members and hundreds of other volunteers. In addition, I regularly advocate for State and National legislature on behalf of small businesses. I also work with community colleges in the Charlotte area to support and mentor locally owned, minority business owners.
What is one business lesson you would tell a startup founder?
Being an entrepreneur really levels the playing field in terms of what’s possible in your career. My one big lesson: As an entrepreneur, anything is possible. I think it’s the most secure career one can get into, given how many options you have, and that you have some control of your destiny. So many people want to become entrepreneurs, but never do because of fear — and I do understand that. But here’s the thing — there will always be a job working for someone else. You can try entrepreneurship as a career path and see if it’s for you, or not. If it’s not, that’s ok. But if turns out right career path for you, it’s pretty amazing. So if you’re considering it… go for it. You’ll learn a lot. You’ll have a lot of fun. You’ll cry sometimes, or get angry sometimes, but that’s part of it. The most important thing here to remember is that when you choose a career path as an entrepreneur, you’re investing in yourself — and that’s THE best place to invest. Bet on yourself. If you do that, if you take the leap into entrepreneurship, you might find yourself on a stage like this, 14 years from now, a successful entrepreneur, sharing your own journey that’s been filled with twists and turns… And inspiring the future entrepreneurs in the crowd to just go for it!
