Professional

Aleeza Ben Shalom of Marriage Minded Mentor is a Tribe 12 Fellow from the 2013 class. As CEO of her business, she works as a coach and trainer to empower singles “to get over their hurdles and under the chuppah”.  Aleeza started the Fellowship with an idea that has now grown into her full time job with a stellar staff working under her, international speaking gigs, television appearances, and two published books! Find her on Instagram: @marriagemindedmentor

The Tribe 12 Fellowship gives young budding entrepreneurs an opportunity to blossom. So what is their secret and how do they build an entrepreneur? Here are 9 ways they helped me to grow and become the professional that I am today.

1. Belief In Me, Not Just My Venture

While it’s true that Tribe 12 would be ecstatic to see your venture succeed, it is not the venture that they believe in. It’s not your amazing business idea they want to support. Tribe 12 believes in YOU! They want to help you to grow personally and professionally. Whether your venture succeeds or fails, YOU will always succeed. Because even a failure is an opportunity for growth and learning. And if you have skills, Tribe 12 knows you’ll go on to try something else until you succeed.

2. Business Training Sessions

There is a wonderful and intimate group (about 10-12) of fellows each year. Together you receive training and participate in workshops where you learn new skills, refine your venture and engage in new thinking. Your peers are there to support you. I loved having a team of good hearted and supportive people to help me refine my vision and make my dream business a reality.

3. I Found Myself A Cheerleader

Being an entrepreneur can be lonely and challenging at times. Personally I work from home and spend much time on my own growing my business. Having a peer group and supportive business networking group made a huge difference. I knew I had a squad behind me who supported me and wanted to see me succeed. They cheered me on along the way. A supportive environment is key to an entrepreneur’s success.

4. Network, Network, Network.

I appear outgoing to most people, but I’ll tell you a secret: I’m an introvert by nature. While I have trained myself to be more of an extrovert, meeting new people can be a challenge. Tribe 12 provided me a network and connections that made meeting people a joy instead of a challenge.

5. Go Ahead And Make A Mistake

Tribe 12 embraces mistakes. In fact, if you’re not making mistakes in business you’re doing something wrong. Together we looked at where we went right and where we went wrong. I had a support group to help evaluate how to do things better next time.

6. Grant And Scholarship Opportunities

Whether you’re a for profit or nonprofit business, Tribe 12 lets you know about local, national and international opportunities to get financial support on an ongoing basis — long after your Fellowship has ended. In addition, they have a network of funders who are eager to learn about your venture and possibly support it. I personally received financial support to bring a 20-hour coaching training to market through a connection from Tribe 12.

7. It’s Not A Sprint, It’s A Marathon

Tribe 12 taught me to take my time, develop my ideas and build my business. Personally, I was in a rush to make things happen. Thank goodness for Tribe 12. They helped me to slow down and take the time to do things right.

8. Build Your Business Around Your Life

Instead of a traditional model of building your life around your business, Tribe 12 encouraged me to build my business around my life. At the time I was in the Fellowship I was pregnant with my 5th child! Building a business, while important, had to come second to taking care of my family. Tribe 12 believed in my passion and vision and helped me build a wonderful business around my wonderful (and growing) family. I so appreciated that they believed in me even when it looked like I had my hands full. I slowly grew my business and was afforded the ability to be a stay-at-home mom and work part time doing something I love. Now that my kids are all in school I have time to grow my business at a faster pace.

9. Launch Night

There’s just something special about presenting your venture to a crowd of a few hundred people. I stood on stage and shared what I was doing and why it was important to me. I also had to prepare a table, present my business and talk to potential clients. Of course I had to have business cards ready to go; I also had copies of my book, Get Real, Get Married, which released at Launch night 2013. To this day I am always prepared to attend an event, speak to people and share what I’m doing in business. I still have my bag packed with my tablecloth and everything necessary to showcase my business.

Could I have done all this on my own? No. Tribe 12 was instrumental to my success. Thank you, Tribe 12. I love what I do and I love that you still support me and my growing business.

There are only a few days left to apply for the Tribe 12 Fellowship! Learn more and apply at tribe12.org/fellowship or reach out to Polly Edelstein at polly@tribe12.org for a quick chat!