Welcome to Issue 23 of A Good Reputation, a newsletter about a good brand move that helped grow a small business. (Did someone send you? Subscribe here.)

Hello Reader,

My 9-year-old broke my heart last night. She burst into my room around 10 pm—well past her bedtime—unable to catch her breath because she was sobbing so hard. The problem?

Nobody picked her to be partners at P.E. No one ever picks her, she says.

She only has a couple of good friends, and even they have other friends they play with sometimes.

Ultimately, she just wants to be liked for who she is. But in this moment, as she’s halfway into 4th grade, she doesn’t feel like she fits in anywhere. She doesn’t feel wanted.

So, I asked her:

Have you spoken up? Told your close friends how you really feel?

No, she said.

It's clear to me that my daughter lacks confidence and the ability to see her value—a loving, empathetic girl who’s always trying her best.

I remember feeling the same as an awkward pre-teen. I was still figuring myself out.

In a lot of ways, I still am. We all are.

While we might have figured out where we fit in, that uncertainty—those moments when we doubt ourselves or question whether or not we’re worthy of other people’s attention or time—never goes away entirely.

Too often, doubt creeps in and we convince ourselves we’re not enough.

As we wrap up the year, I’ve been thinking about all the times I’ve held back. The times I could’ve been more open with what I was struggling with in an effort to let others in. Or the situations where I could've asserted myself or communicated my value to get what I wanted.

That’s why going into the new year I’m prioritizing using my voice—not just for myself but to help others feel confident enough to use theirs, too.

My inspiration?

​Shantel Love, the feature of this week’s issue.

As a kid, Shantel faced rejection, isolation, and the ever-present reminder that life wasn’t designed to make things easy. Yet, it was precisely those moments of doubt—and the lessons she learned—that shaped the powerful speaker, best-selling author, and leader she is today.

Here’s how she turned her story into a superpower—and built a thriving business in the process.

A Good Story

Like a lot of black women in America, Shantel grew up wearing a lot of masks.

Born in Detroit, her family lived below the poverty line. Her mom, a single parent who had Shantel at 15, raised her and her two siblings on anything she could scrape together.

At age eight, her father publicly denied her, saying she wasn’t his daughter.

In those moments, Shantel truly knew what it felt like to be an outsider. To be doubted and to be told—explicitly or implicitly—that she wasn’t enough. And yet, her mother instilled a powerful belief in her:

You are not a statistic. You are more than your circumstances.

Those words became a mantra.

After graduating college during the 2008 housing crisis, Shantel faced a ton of setbacks. Job offers were rescinded, and she found herself moving back to Detroit with no clear path forward.

Determined not to give up, she relocated to Minnesota (knowing just one person) and took a leadership role at Comcast while living out of her car.

She started in customer success, but quickly climbed her way up—from sales associate to sales executive—by doing two things:
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Articulating her value and asking for what she wanted.

It was there, navigating some of her toughest years, that Shantel realized she was capable of overcoming obstacles by owning her story and speaking up.

Eventually, Shantel knew that she had to help others like her—those who had been told they weren’t enough—find their voice, own their value, and assert themselves. To get to where they wanted, no matter where they started.

With that, she began a coaching practice to help women establish powerful personal brands.

Business started slow, but steady. She picked up clients through her corporate network who had impressive resumes but lacked confidence.

At work, Shantel led by example and stopped wearing all those masks. She openly talked about who she was and where she came from.

But she knew she could make a bigger impact—reach more people and expand her work.

So, in addition to speaking up, she started speaking out.

A Good Approach

Shantel got her first paid speaking gig at a women’s empowerment conference by doing the thing she now tells others to do when they don’t feel like they have the experience or confidence to get what they want:

Faking it until you’re making it.

For Shanel, that meant becoming a keynote speaker.

She reworked her LinkedIn bio, volunteered for free speaking opportunities wherever she could find them, and got herself on podcasts to practice.

One day, at a conference, another woman asked Shantel what she did. “I’m a keynote speaker,” Shantel said, with all the confidence of someone who's actually given one.

“No kidding?” replied the woman, “I’m looking for one of those for my next event.”

That night, Shantel went home and put together a proposal and a speaking kit that she priced at $3,000. When they reconnected, the woman booked her on the spot.

At that event—her first paid keynote—Shantel moved the audience to tears with her story of overcoming her circumstances and finding her voice. And that event led to another and another.

Before she knew it, Shantel was landing 4 and 5-figure speaking deals to deliver a 60-minute talk on something she was deeply passionate about.

And, since she was speaking to audiences full of her ICPs, she was getting flooded with requests from prospective coaching clients and referrals.

Beyond that, speaking out gave Shantel three critical things every founder needs:

1. Credibility,
2. Experience telling her story, and
3. A powerful network.

With each new talk, her audience grew. One particular talk in New York resulted in 500 new followers on LinkedIn—all prospects who didn’t have to question who she is or what she values because they saw it in action.

In four years, Shantel has delivered hundreds of speeches and coached just as many women.

Speaking out didn’t just transform Shantel’s business—it became the backbone of it.

A Good Lesson

Shantel’s story is proof that your voice is your most powerful asset—if you’re willing to use it. But here’s the part that stuck with me most:

When Shantel started speaking, she didn’t wait for permission. She didn’t wait for the perfect moment, the perfect story, the perfect pitch, or even the experience to make it happen.

She simply decided: I’m a speaker.

And she showed up as one—imperfect, but committed.

That commitment led her to keynote stages, corporate workshops, and ultimately, a business that changes lives.

A Good Takeaway

While Shantel’s brand was transformed by telling her story on a stage, you don’t have to start writing your keynote to apply a piece of her approach to your business.

You can start speaking out anywhere.

Social media is often the first place a lot of us go to start honing our voice and articulating our value (and values). But even there—behind our computers in front of a faceless audience—we’re scared to tell the whole story.

So, we hide behind what feels safe. What everyone else is doing. “What works.”

Last year, I took to LinkedIn to start building my online reputation. For me, it’s a good place to experiment. The more I try (like, really try) the easier it gets.

And I find that the more of my story I share, the more people are drawn to me.

That doesn't mean I don't still go through periods of doubting myself and questioning what I’m doing—or if anyone will like me—just as much as the next person (or my daughter).

To that, Shantel offers tried and true advice:

1. Be the person people want to hire.
   ​Study the people you admire. Take notes on what makes them engaging, memorable, and transformative. Then, start honing your craft.
2. Build relationships with other people in the places you want to show up.
   ​Speaking—like so much of solopreneurship—is a referral-based business, and collaboration beats competition every time. Network with other people who are doing what you want to do, share opportunities, and support one another.
3. Learn to sell yourself.
   ​Crafting a compelling pitch, following up confidently, and aligning your message with your audience’s values are critical skills to learn. Speaking up isn’t just about what you say—it’s about how you position yourself as someone worth listening to.
4. Start where you are.
   ​Your first gig doesn’t have to be a keynote at a national conference. Start online, and look for opportunities at local organizations or community groups. Practice in spaces where you feel safe, and let each step build on the last.
5. Trust your value.
   ​Run down your track record. Reflect on the value you bring. And remember why you’re showing up.

Ultimately, I think the hardest part of speaking up isn’t finding your voice—it’s trusting it.

Trusting that your story is enough. That your expertise is enough. That you are enough.

If there’s one thing Shantel’s journey showed me, it’s that the world doesn’t need another perfect story.

It needs your real story—the messy, human, beautifully imperfect one.

So if you’ve been waiting for the right moment to raise your hand, here you go: Start speaking up.

Your voice is more powerful than you know.

A Few Good Resources

1. Want to learn how to promote your damn self? Check out Shantel's book.
2. If more clients and less hustle sounds good to you, my buddy Jay is offering a masterclass you don't want to miss.

Hope you have a good one,
Renee