When someone believes in you

It’s the President’s Day Ball celebration. A fund raiser we support and love going each year. This time the keynote speaker was a Filipina woman, Sheila Marcelo.  Her story started when she moved to the United States to attend school but found herself pregnant. She saw a need and started a business to care for children and the elderly. The company she started is Care.com

She spoke of her mother that, from the time she was a little girl, believed in her. She would always tell her that she was amazing and that she could do anything she set her mind to. she is the mother that always cared about what she was up to and would always be excited to hear about her life and what was going on with it. She always knew her mother loved her because of the way that she believed in the best in her and she would share that with her. 

 Her story starts when she was young going to College and pregnant. Abortion never crossed her mind. And this is when she knew there was a need for daycare and that is how Care.com was conceived. She said:” I had NO IDEA of what it would take to run a company on my own. Absolutely no clue. But I did know how to care for my child so I had that part down. But running a company? I didn’t have the slightest idea on how to do that. But I did my research and found a way if I could raise enough money, hire a lawyer who could form my own legal entity to launch my business. I sat down and did the calculation to figure out exactly how much money it would take to start the business and asked for a loan.  I felt hopeless on how to get a business off the ground, but I knew if I could figure out a way to make it happen that I would be able to make the company a success out of sheer will and determination! I just needed someone to believe in me enough to invest in me starting this company.”

 And so the first person that came to her mind was her mother. She had always shown so much faith in her that she thought if anyone would believe in her that she would. And so she called her and asked her for her support. She didn’t have anything prepared to show her – just the idea in her head. Her mom didn’t hesitate for a second. She was so excited about her idea. 

The excitement her mom showed toward Sheila and her abilities to be a success changed her entire world. Now the important aspect to the story to understand is that her mom didn’t have excess cash just sitting around. Not at all. Investing her hard earned money in her daughter would be a really big financial commitment, and there she was, a young girl with a baby and no experience in running an entire company on her own. But her mom saw the very best in her. 

She saw things in her that she didn’t even know existed yet in herself.

 And so her mother gave Sheila the funding to start care.com –and Later she could get a larger loan to increase her business but she needed that seed money to start out.  And is in that moment the start of her entrepreneurial ventures started.  And everything she has gone on to accomplish in her career can be tied back to that talk she had with she mom… all because  mom believed in her.

She said:” There is very little as powerful in life as someone who truly believes in you and your ability to achieve greatness. I am so blessed to have a mother who believed in me. I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for her that I would never have been able to start my company and I would never have become an entrepreneur. I became a very successful entrepreneur because I had someone who believed in me, even more than I believed in myself at the time.”

Tonight she was able to express her appreciation to her mom and to let her know that she has accomplished the things she has accomplished in her life because of the belief that she placed in her. She continued:” Words can never express how she touched my life and how she impacted my future which ultimately has impacted the lives of every employee and every employee’s family that has worked for care.com Her belief in me ultimately impacted the lives of thousands of people who benefit from having a job with the company as well as those people’s children. I don’t know if she grasps the magnitude that her belief in a very young and inexperienced girl with a baby born out of wedlock has had, but I do. And now all of you can appreciate it as well.

 The message of the story is this- your belief in someone else is a powerful gift to give. Never underestimate the impact you can have on someone else’s life by believing in them and helping them to believe in themselves. Take it from the girl that experienced the miracle of this in her own life.

 I believe in all of you. I can truly and honestly tell you that. I believe that you are more amazing and more capable and more talented than you have even begun to realize.” And I second her words. 

Con amor,

Vero