COVID Survival Stories – Dilini De Silva

We’re featuring COVID Survival Stories of businesses in our Fiore3 Mentor Group that have overcome, pivoted, and hung on for dear life during the pandemic.

This is a guest blog from a member of our Fiore3 Mentor Group Dilini De Silva.

I never saw it coming even though it was right in front of me. Lucky for me, I saw my day job working as an Executive Assistant for the CEO of an industry I knew little about becoming more and more arduous just before COVID hit. I was feeling unappreciated. I had difficult conversations with my CEO that went unheard. I saw promises go unfulfilled and even the smallest oversights were detrimental to my employment. I felt like I just could not keep my head above water. It left me deflated. Now on the surface, that doesn’t seem so lucky. In fact, it seems downright unfortunate. But all those feelings of lack of control and unworthiness lead me to seek opportunity. I craved taking control over my destiny and empowering everyone around me while doing so.

So in March, I took a monumental risk by taking action on something I had been adamantly against but, curious about for years. I did something so outrageous and scary that it even drew intense scrutiny from those who were closest to me. I invested and launched a social marketing business selling Monat shampoo! This went against everything of who I learned myself to be. In that moment, I set aside my thoughts of self-doubt telling me I can’t even sell a steak to a dog and how I had no idea what I was doing. I set aside my need to look good and have a “title” that would impress my peers and prospective employers. I let go of every reason and excuse that kept me from trying sales and just gave into the process.

It was the most exhilarating experience. In just a couple weeks, I went from being someone who rarely shared herself (especially on social media) for fear of rejection to hosting impromptu Facebook Lives, sharing about some magic oil that helped heal my dry feet! I leaned into all the uncomfortable spaces I had been unwilling to go for so long. I joined coaching calls with my mentor, crying about friendships that had become disappointed in me for the new changes I had made. I made new friendships and reached out to people I was previously too afraid to introduce myself to. Next thing I know, I began sharing the opportunity of being liberated in business with friends I hadn’t spoken within years. This was the first time I could see and feel my personal and professional growth in real-time because fear was not getting in my way.

And then in the midst of launching my new business, I got a call from my boss. Through all those meetings about how our company was left unscathed by COVID, I was told that I needed to start looking for a new job because my salary was no longer sustainable due to delays in contract procurement. I was devastated. The confidence that I had been building up was immediately dropped to ground zero. Fear immediately set in.

My first call was to my Monat mentor. Through tears, I told her about my upcoming lay off and all my fears of being a single mother with a mortgage and no job. She listened to me. She helped me come up with potential solutions. We developed strategies together. She gave me so much encouragement simply by sharing what she saw in me. She shared how inspired she was by me. At the end of our call, she prayed with me. Over the next couple of months, my team pushed me to accomplish goals that I never thought I would achieve! My business had grown and expanded beyond my wildest dreams and I was able to empower so many other men and women to go after their dreams too.

Now, in less than two weeks I will be officially unemployed and leaning on what was my side gig as my full-time source of income until my next opportunity arises. I’m not sure when my next pivot will come but, it will and I am not afraid. I know I can not only survive but, thrive even in the hardest of times. Monat has been the source of my peace through all of the chaos. It has kept me grounded in possibility. From the overwhelming amount of coaching and support from my team to every invigorating shower I take that stimulates my senses, releasing my tension. It has given me the confidence to be who I am and inspire others to do the same. 

So those things that scare you that you don’t think you are capable of doing? Do them anyway. I never thought I would be that girl, selling shampoo. I never thought I would experience more growth and confidence by stepping outside my comfort zone than all those fancy job titles I held or years of becoming educated in college. I never thought I could be the one to help other men and women experience the liberation of running their own business, creating their own success. I never thought I was good enough to be that woman but, here I am and I never saw it coming.

Come shop with me at Monat.

Dilini De Silva is a member of the Fiore3 Mentorship Group on Facebook. For more tips, advice, and collaboration for entrepreneurs, visit the group here.

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