When you meet someone accidentally on purpose, you’ll never know what’ll happen.

Like the time I met Leslie Hassler, my roommate at One Story. I had no clue that we’d be putting our heads together to create an awesome project or that she would inspire me to do something that I’ve feared.

Some of you may remember when I participated in this event hosted by Stella Orange back in April.  If you haven’t already, read the email below:

Have you ever had an experience that was so everything that you wished you could put that vibe in a bottle and atomize the air with it whenever you needed to feel something good?

The organizers of the event encouraged participants to find someone to room with. When Leslie reached out to me I was like “cool”. I didn’t have second thoughts about staying with a stranger. I figured, if she was attending this event, then she must be good people. When I met her for the first time, I knew by her smile that she was.

For the past two years, Leslie has been running  Your Biz Rules ™ where she helps business women owners become the hero in their businesses in a way that gives them more freedom to grow their businesses and be with their families. She knows her stuff and helps her clients get results.

I asked her to be a guest blogger on a blog series that I’ve been working on for female wannapreneurs. Well, the conversation shifted and I suddenly found myself collaborating with Leslie on a project that I had no clue would be taking place a few months ago.

Happenstance or coincidence. Call it what you want, but when stuff like this happens to me, I pay attention. I’ve written about accidentally on purpose
before and here’s how it worked this time:  

My intention for going to One Story was to connect with amazing people in this tribe so that the seeds of building a business would be planted within me.

You see, I’ve been a little hesitant about blossoming GoneGirlGo into a business. I’ve talked myself out of it a few times. I’ve wrestled with doubt and fear. I’ve agonized over how, when, and where to start. And I didn’t ever want to feel pressured into building a business, even though it’s been something that I’ve thought a lot about. Working with Leslie has given me first hand experience of possibilities. I realize that all that has happened accidentally was actually on purpose.

Leslie’s presence has helped me more than you know and is especially captured below:

I recently read a portion of Leslie’s guest post that she wrote for GoneGirlGo and it struck a chord within me:

Leslie: I don’t know that there is ever a “right time”. Some of the most successful businesses were started during the recession when people were leaving the market place.  I think it has more to do with being “prepared enough”. Owning your own business is a bit of an adventure. You wouldn’t set out for a hike across the Smoky Mountains without provisions would you?  You’d have some food, some shelter, some clothes along.  You’d have a plan.  But you’ll never really know what will happen on the adventure, do you?  That’s business for you. You need to be prepared enough to start and last on the journey.

So if you are an wannapreneur who’s been agonizing over starting a business and now you’re ready for the adventure, you’ll want to sign up for the online program that Leslie and I’ve been working on. I’ll be emailing you more information later this week.

I’d love to hear if you have been tiptoeing around starting a business or if you’ve ever experienced anything accidentally on purpose. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below or on the GoneGirlGo Facebook page. You can also email me too at zoe@gonegirlgo.com.

Cheers to making our business ideas blossom!