Experimentation Mindset: The First 100 Days

Progress, not perfection. The SheHive, like the women who founded it and every woman that will walk through its doors, is a work in progress. We will always be learning, evolving, experimenting and course-correcting - but never more so than our first 100 days. Along with developing and piloting new systems, processes and ideas, we will be testing three major assumptions through Friday, February 03, 2017.

Three Major Assumptions

Need

Women want a more authentic life and purposeful connection and the two are inextricably intertwined.

User

Women will create safe space radiant with wholehearted kindness, bravery and shared wisdom if a place to do so is provided.

Sustainabiity

Stewarding purposeful connection and intentional self-empowerment can be a sustainable business.

100 Things We Learned in the First 100 Days

01.
You can't spray paint acoustical tile ceilings. Well, you can - but it will take approximately eleventy-billion cans of spray paint if you don't prime first.

02.
There are at least thirty women in the world that are so excited about sharing their wisdom with, and being a part of, a community that they will volunteer their precious time and talents to make the SheHive a reality.

03.
It is completely possible for a vine to exist and grow in an electrical socket for at least a period of two weeks without water or sunlight.

04.
The Patriot Act slows down the process of securing an online merchant account by at least three days as Uncle Sam vets you to make sure you are not a money-laundering terrorist.

05.
Starting a small business - even one that is 100% aligned with personal mission - is terrifying and exhausting and hard.

06.
If you pay attention, the universe will guide you to exactly where you are supposed to be. This isn't about religion or even spirituality, it is simply the way of the world.

07.
Amazing things can be created - places, experiences and ideas that you never even imagined - if you open yourself up to the input of people like you and very much unlike you.

08.
​Starting a business highlights the best and worst of your personality and brings out your biggest insecurities...sometimes ones you weren't even aware of.

09.
We can fit up to 50 people in the SheHive at any given time - and about 10 really comfortably.

10.
A floating floor can move almost a full foot over the period of one really, awesome party. (Also, a floating floor can be fixed the next morning in a matter of hours before your first workshop.)

11.
There is no one demographic of women that wants to be in the SheHive. We are young, old, black, brown, white, professionals, students, retired, single ladies, empty nesters, from the neighborhood, from Detroit and from as far away as White Lake. Our only commonality, thus far, is a deep desire to connect with other women that want to live a positively-focused life.

12.
As much as you think you want to sell out your product (classes, in our case) right off the bat - you don't. A small customer base to start provides an opportunity to test, explore and improve as you grow.

13.
The women walking in the SheHive doors are generally looking for more connection and discovery than a single, two-hour class provides. We're adding additional workshop series in 2017 to accommodate this need.

14.
Not everything has to be super-serious. Sometimes women just want to get together, connect and laugh. Hence the addition of crafting and cocktail events once a month.

15.
Two topics dominated nearly every one of the SheHive events in November - no matter what the topic of the discussion was scheduled to be. The two topics? The election and sex. We aren't surprised about the election, but sex? Women want to talk about sex way more than we imagined. Anyone know a good sex expert that wants to come talk to the women of the SheHive?

16.
Women have much more flexible schedules than we had originally accounted for and many are asking for daytime events. We're going to figure out how to make that happen in 2017.

17.
When starting a small business, you have to remind yourself at least one half dozen times a day that "Rome wasn't built in a day."

18.
Women of all ages and stages still want to play with some glitter. 

19.
There is a constant tension when starting a small business on a shoestring budget between working on your business and working in your business.

20.
No matter how much you believe your business partnership to be perfect - it's not. Open and honest communication, a fair amount of tears and kleenex and an airtight operating agreement are all necessary after the honeymoon phase of starting a new venture together wears off.

21.
No one has time to capture 100 things you've learned in the first 100 days of your business because you are too busy getting your business off the ground! 

22.
Click here to read what Ursula has to say about our first 100 days.