In 2001 Elaine Rasmussen, Founder and CEO of Social Impact Strategies Group (SISG) experienced catastrophic failure in the wake of the dot com bubble burst. She lost her business, her home, and only managed to survive through a single act of kindness that helped her get back on her feet and start the process of recovery.
In this session, Elaine shares the lessons that she learned from hitting rock bottom and the journey of pulling herself up by her bootstraps to survive and thrive on the other side.
QUICK CONVERSATION TAKEAWAYS
- It is important that founders acknowledge mental health during their journey. Taking care of yourself and having a support system goes a long way in your business survival and recovery.
- Transcend survival thinking to enhance your ability to see opportunity.
- Stay focused during challenging times. Start with the two things you need to do today to move closer to accomplishing your short-term and long-term goals.
- Set boundaries and be grounded in them as boundaries will help you stay focused, healthy, and disciplined.
- Be prepared to go against the grain — take that risk and be confident even if you fail.
MENTIONED RESOURCES
- The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling
- The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKER
Y. Elaine Rasmussen is Founder and CEO of Social Impact Strategies Group (SISG) a Black/Native-led certified B-corp social enterprise and a serial entrepreneur. SISG provides facilitation and consultation on racial equity and social impact audits, education workshops for investors & underestimated entrepreneurs, and produces the annual ConnectUP! MN Summit which promotes and grows inclusive and equitable entrepreneur ecosystems that drive positive, sustainable social impact grounded in economic justice. Rasmussen is a Cordes Fellow and RSF Social Finance Integrated Capital Fellow. Rasmussen was recently featured in Fearless Commerce Magazine and received the National Association of Women Business Owners Achieve! Innovation Award for her work on inclusive economic development.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
The session is moderated by Kelly Buhl, Operations Lead at BETA — Kelly has worked in people operations for Fortune 500s, nonprofits, and startups where she’s created and implemented operational systems that empower people to do their best work. Kelly is a graduate of the Carlson School of Management. Learn more about Kelly and the BETA team!
ABOUT THE SERIES
"Surviving a Recession" is a five-part series presented by BETA and Launch Minnesota featuring local and national thought leaders sharing how they are applying lessons learned from their experiences weathering multiple recessions (such as the dot com bubble, September 11 and the 2008 housing crisis) to their businesses today.
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