Cheri Dixon: A Girl and Her Dog

Hey there y’all! If I am calculating correctly, not only am I through the first quarter of my business year, but I am through the 1st year in business! Yes, about 1 year ago I decided to get my coaching certification and prepare for my first official launch of A Girl and Her Dog Coaching and Consulting! Yay me! I made it one year!

So, if you are wondering how it is going, I have to say that I am celebrating wins every day! Now, just like life, not everything about business is 100% good…there is that regular 50/50 outlook…50% good, 50% challenging. I think the plan for the end goal each and every day, and how I am progressing toward it…farther some days than others, but definitely making progress! However, more importantly, I am learning something new all of the time!

So, if you were a whiz kid back in the 1980s, most teachers did not know what to do with you. I know this, because that was me, especially in math. My teachers in elementary kept me on the same tract as the other students, and of course, I was bored out of my mind. But middle school was different for me. Here is what happened…in 6th grade, I finished the curriculum quickly and my math teacher ran out of extra work for me (there was one other student as well) so we just sat. Halfway through the year something called a “computer” was installed in our school building, and I was assigned (with this other student) to go to the “computer lab”…although only one computer as big as my current dining room table…to work. The screen was green and white, no capabilities of printing, but we were to complete a series of assignments that our teacher could then login and view our progress. Well…we learned how to run that big machine through a lot of trial and error and basically, learned no new math.

Fast forward to my 7th grade year…new school, new teacher, new set of students. No one like me. So…my teacher, who coincidentally knew my family, put me on an individual tract, which did NOT include a computer because this school did not have one. I will say, I definitely caught up on my skills, but not in the area of technology.

My next experience with a computer was in college…if you would like to call it a computer. It was basically a word processor that did not require you to use white out when you made a mistake…and then you printed your work when you completed it. Do all of you reading this even know what white out is???? I still had the original typewriter at home, so in order for me to use these new technology skills, I spent most of my free time working in the NEW computer lab!

I started teaching in 1995 and guess what…we got email! We were so excited and a bit scared as now we could “message” each other quickly throughout the day, respond without leaving our room, and if we were real talented (I fell in this category) we could also make a newsletter for families on these fancy computers! We were in heaven.

As the pandemic hit in 2020, and the world shutdown, we all had to learn real quick the newest and greatest assets of technology. We were all there…some more advanced than others…but all fumbling our way through how to stay connected, how to teach children, how to conduct business without leaving our homes. Zoom…email….google….and so many other programs became our new normal vocabulary terms! I need to confess…although in my early 20’s I may have been a technical pioneer…this was not the case in 2020. But thankfully, I am a very quick learner and I easily learned how to navigate my way through this new world we were living in.

I share this because without all of these experiences, I would never be sitting here in front of you today saying that I am an online entrepreneur. Because of all of these experiences, I can navigate so many different platforms and have the courage to learn when I don’t know how to make things work. There is that saying, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks (see what I did with that…old dog…A Girl and Her Dog…yep, I do have a sense of humor), but I have to say…that you surely can!

If you are someone out there wondering what your next steps are in the world…someone itching for their next career, but terrified that you just don’t have the skills you need to take the first step…I call you on that! If I can make it, learn the skills, and continue to learn something new each day, you can too! And, not only am I learning, but I am recording, editing, and submitting an online talk show for the world to see each week…talk about needing a whole new skill set! So, I encourage you to stop playing small…stop worrying that you can’t and get out there and do it! I promise, you will thank yourself a year from now…just like me!

Until next time! Cheri ❤️