Episode 30 - Building a Fulfilling Career That Matters with Shana Elson

Embarking on the thrilling journey of being an entrepreneur, balancing the 9-to-5 grind alongside your passionate side hustle, paints a romantic picture. However, this is proven to become a challenge in the long run and isn’t sustainable.  Ultimately, you need to decide whether you’ll quit your job and work full-time on your side hustle or let go of the side hustle and refocus your energy on your reliable 9-to-5, securing stability and steady progress. In this episode, Shana Elson, CEO of Top This Chocolate shares her inspiring entrepreneurial journey, from courtroom battles to spreading sweetness with Top This Chocolate. Uninspired by her day job as a litigator and bored with the options for her nightly chocolate fix, the lack of variety led her to innovate at home, experimenting with bold new topping combinations. So the idea for Top This Chocolate was born. Shana quit her job and attended USC Marshall School of Business to combine her confectionary expertise with real-world business savvy.  While at USC, she won $25,000 in seed money in the Women's New Venture Pitch Competition. With the vote of confidence and the money, she decided to go for it. Now, she’s fulfilling her cravings and her dreams by bringing handmade tailored chocolate to the masses from her seaside store in Ventura, California. Quotes “Business is risky. Anything is risky. Maybe it’s one of those times where things fall through. But I’m kind of a deep thinker. My role is basically to fight the battle and exhaust the other side and get a client the best outcome you can get.” - Shana Elson “I looked for something to give me a sense of progress. I started taking baking and pastry classes and I just loved it. You are creating something from nothing with ingredients to food. It sounds very simple and basic, but it was a sense of satisfaction that I wasn’t getting anywhere else. And so I loved it, I kept moving forward. ” - Shana Elson “Business school, it really does give you that magic confidence that you need to feel like you can do anything that you put your mind to.” - Shana Elson “It takes a relentless amount of self-advocacy. I would go back and forth during that time. I’d be really broke focusing on the business. I would get to a point where I’m just like, I’m sick of this. I feel like I’m beating my head against the wall. Just wanna have money again. Then I would get some job and it would be so soul-crushing that I wanna be broke again. I need to work on something meaningful to me.” - Shana Elson “One of the important things is not to react emotionally to what can feel like an attack and actually be an attack, but to really just listen to the contents of their question and respond to it very carefully. Part of the process of vetting your idea is coming up with the answers to those questions, figuring out do they actually have a point or do they not have a point.” - Shana Elson Chocoholic? Follow Shana Elson! Website: topthischocolate.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/topthischocolate Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TopThisChocolate Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/topthischoc TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topthischocolate Connect with team Doorward Nate and Jake on LinkedIn!Nate LeBlanc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-leblanc-a8442a221Daniel Jakubisin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieljakubisin Resource The 6 Types of Working Genius RATE & REVIEW this episode on Apple: https://apple.co/3ObriRB SHARE this episode with someone so we all get back to living together. SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss out on any new episodes! If you enjoyed this episode, check out our previous episodes on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you hear your podcast!