In this episode, Jeanette is joined by Paula Burns, a creative business mentor, to talk about their shared love of helping women connect with their true selves and build heartfelt businesses.  Paula has come to the show to talk about how she started to develop a close relationship with God, what she does with her God-given gifts and how she uses her creative skills to help people stand out in their industry and promote their businesses with authentic confidence. Tune in!

Paula is a creative Business Mentor predominantly working with female business owners to help them connect with their true selves and stand out with their heartfelt businesses. She grew up in a Christian household and she always felt like having a relationship with God was a part of her life, but she made the conscious decision that she wanted to deepen her faith and deepen that relationship. 

It is through those relationships and her natural, God-given gifts that she has lived an abundance of experiences that eventually took her to where she is today, helping women build their confidence and stand out. The process for her was not linear, so she emphasizes that starting from where you are today and finding out what your next move is, trusting that the following steps will be clear as you advance,  is a formula that has helped her and the people in her circle. You could be the next one, so let's dive in.

"Do what you need to survive but stay focused and keep taking one step at a time"

"Life isn't a rehearsal. It's not a rehearsal. We're here to do something and we have to get on and do it."

“Life is not a rehearsal.  We're here to do something and we have to get on and do it”

Verse: Psalm 27:1

In this episode: 

• Faith and life with God
• How Paula has helped people in her circle with her creative problem solving 
• Finding strength and making way for what you want
• Paula’s newest mentoring program for women who want to go from business wallflower to spotlight sensation.

Wanna go deeper?

Connect on the grams https://instagram.com/jeanette.peterson

Join the community on Facebook: https://jeanettepeterson.com/group

Find Your Spiritual Gifts QUIZ https://xh063pdr6s6.typeform.com/to/pb2mrc2H?typeform-source=www.jeanettepeterson.com

Free book: Build a business with automation excellence https://jeanettepeterson.com/ebook

Prayers: https://jeanettepeterson.com/prayers

Download your 40 powerful prayers here: https://www.jeanettepeterson.com/prayers

Connect with Paula:

Website: www.paulaburns.net 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paula.burns.3150

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulaburnsmentoring/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulaburnseventsandmentoring/

Podcast: https://thetrueyou.buzzsprout.com/

Do you want God's plan for your life? Do you want to discover your calling? Do you want to build a business that's aligned with God's will? Hey girl hey! I'm Janette, business and faith coach. After a decade in the military, the Air Force said, see you later, and I had to find my true calling. Want to know how God directed my life from a cybersecurity engineer to a faith and business mentor? In this podcast, I'll teach you how to start a business, how to know your business is God's calling. How to use your organization techniques, how to trust the Holy Spirit, and how to set boundaries to listen to His word alone, ready to become unapologetically unstoppable. Hey girl hey! Welcome! I'm so glad today we have Paula. Paula Burns is a creative business mentor, predominantly working with female business owners to help them connect with their true selves and stand out with their heartfelt businesses. When I first met Paula, we clicked instantly and I know you guys are going to love her as much as I do and it's going to be fantastic. So Paula, is there anything else you want to say to introduce yourself?

Oh goodness, well you did a very good job there Janette. Yeah, I mean I'm just really about helping women connect with who they are but also using my natural creative skills to get them to promote themselves in a way that they'll stand out.

So yeah, I'm so passionate about it. I love that this is your journey because I feel like that is also my mission, like in a different way obviously right? But the mission is still the same. What are we going to do? And do that. And then the creative part of just being like, okay you can do this, you can do this, but what are you supposed to do?

All these strategies can work, but what is your strategy? Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. You know, it's that, this is why I always start with them as an individual because there's so many things out there, so many options and it's so easy to get distracted thinking, oh I'll try this, oh I'll try this, oh I'll do this, but not really thinking does it really suit me and who I am and what I stand for or am I just going with it because it's the

trend right now because there's so many trends, right? Always. I'm still not on TikTok and I feel like that's a big trend. You need to get on there. Tell me about how you first met God. What is your come back to Jesus or come to Jesus thing?

Well, you know, Janette, I grew up in a Christian household. So my parents were preachers, so to speak. They set up various churches and traveled a little bit and it was just, I was always in that environment and I suppose, you know, it's one of those things where you feel like it's always part of you, but then you have to get to a point in your life that you make your own decision and so for me, I felt like it was when I was around 12 or 13. Now at that time I was living in Jamaica because I was born in the UK, but then we moved to Jamaica when I was about 10 and lived there for four years and I would say it was just a really, really special part of my life because it was the time when I felt like I developed into, you know, I was learning about who I was, you know, and it was a great time as well for me to find, you know, Jesus and bring, you know, God into my life more. We went to a fabulous church there as well called Open Bible and it was just such a great atmosphere. We grew, we grew so much within that space and so that's what I remember profoundly in terms of, you know, that was the age where I made a decision, but then I felt like, you know, when you're 12 or 13, you're still learning, aren't you? You know, you're still growing, so you are going to sort of like, you know, be swayed in different directions and you're still finding

out what is your truth and what is your belief and how close and building a relationship with God really. Absolutely. I feel like when you're at that age, it's like you're like going through puberty, you're discovering things about yourself and so of course God is going to be part of that

journey as well. Absolutely. So I felt like, you know, it wasn't until I then got into my teens and then into my late teens, you know, it's a continual build in my relationship with God.

So what made you so unapologetic about your faith to be like, no, I am a Christian. I am a Jesus follower. I am that person.

Oh, do you know what? I thought about this and I feel like, I feel it every day. Yeah. You know, it's not something that you can explain and I feel like, you know, when people talk about their faith, it's something that is such a personal thing that, you know, it's not something you can say to somebody, oh, somebody, wow, this is how it works because you follow this formula and this, this and this. And I think, you know, there's so much of that out there in terms of religion. It's like follow a formula and that's religion. And I always say to people, I'm not about religion. I'm about real faith and personal relationship with God. And so, you know, I feel like I live that every single day because, you know, it is the experiences that I go through, you know, how I get past one situation to the next. And I look back and think just how good God has been. And I think with my life now, I really feel like I've come to a stage where I don't question things. It's like, if something doesn't work out, I'm not sitting there going, oh, I wish it did. Or, you know, I want it to work. It should work. I'm at that stage where, if it doesn't work, I believe that it wasn't my thing. And I believe that, you know, God didn't want me to have it. If I'd had it, later on down the road, it wouldn't have been as amazing as I thought it was going to be. And so, it's great to get to that point where you, yes, there's a disappointment. We're only human. But then when you're at a point where you're like, okay, I'll just let it go because I know that something else is going to come up later on down the road. And

that's for me. And normally it's bigger and more exciting than you could have dreamed. Yes, absolutely. Now, you might think you want this, but really, I got this other thing.

I know. And yeah, so I'm, I'm all okay with that. So, I saw your answer to the spiritual gifts quiz. Do you remember what it was? Vaguely. But you remind me.

It was a gift of prophecy. So, how do you feel about that? Were you surprised? Or were I don't even know what this means? Tell me more.

Oh, my goodness. I don't think I was surprised. I thought it was very much in my nature. People have said that to me, that I changed their lives. And sometimes I don't even know what I did. Which I don't know whether that sounds right or wrong. But, but yeah, the feedback and, you know, sometimes people come back to me years after I've met them and say, you were so instrumental in changing my life. And thank you so much for that. And, you know, I just totally, you know, I get so emotional when people say that I've had it said so many times to me. And, you know, that's why I feel like I've got a special gift. And I have to put it out there. And I think, you know, having come to this point now in my life where I do what I do in terms of mentoring, I really feel that this is my path. Yes, I do, you know, I started off working, you know, my business is events and weddings and special events and weddings, but it was always about bringing people together and having that special space. And, and then, you know, it's just naturally led me into this path where I am working with, with business owners and with individuals and mentoring them and helping them show up as their better selves.

Yeah, I think that's amazing. And I think that's a great way to start a business. Yeah, I think that's amazing. Because with the gift of prophecy, you also can see what sin is. And like you want to restore relationships, which is so like, duh, you're an event planner, you know what I mean? You want people to have relationships, you want people to be together. Tell me more about your business. How did you start your business? What made you think like, I'm going to be an event planner?

Oh, do you know what I am? I worked in a corporate company for over 20 years, just over 20. 20 years. And I, it was a point in my life where my mum became seriously ill, terminally ill. And it was a big thing for us in the family. My mother was quite, you know, a major figure in the family, which most mums are. And so when mum became ill, I think it sort of just struck us all. But for me personally, because I can't speak for everybody else, but for me personally, it was a thing where it just hit me. Life isn't a rehearsal. It's not a rehearsal. We're here to do something and we have to get on and do it. And yes, I'd spent those years in corporate and I've learned so much from those, that experience. You know, I did my MBA, I worked my way through customer services. I did business development, project management, business analysts. So I had everything, all of that experience within that arena that I could take out and do something that was more about me. And for me, I was always involved in creative things. I sang in a band, I did amateur dramatics. I, you know, I loved writing short stories, which is something I've now used with my mentoring. I write sort of like creative posts for my clients as well, because I love creative writing. So everything about me as an individual was about creativity. And yes, with the events, I thought, you know what, I want something fun where I can come up with different ideas and then I can bring everybody together. So yeah, I decided I wanted to do this because I know my mum had done a lot in her life, but there was a lot of things that she wanted to have done. And I didn't want to come to a place where I felt like I was just going through the motions, which is what I was doing, working for a company. So, and ever since I set up my business, there's been challenges, definitely been challenges, because anybody who tells you that they run in a business and everything's smooth is lying. They're absolutely lying to you. But

I can absolutely say I never looked back. I've never looked back in terms of I want to be back in an environment where I feel as if I'm controlled. I want to be out of a controlled environment. I 100% agree with that. As somebody who's in the military, which was all control, no, let's get out there. Let's go do our own thing. I like to call entrepreneurs bushwhackers because we're just out there bushwhacking each of us on our own, but like, yes, keep going, girl. Yes, keep going, girl, like on our own path. And then some people are looking at us thinking, what are they up to now? What are they doing? I know people think that about me. I come up with these weird and wonderful ideas, but they always work in the end. Yes. Which is like, I love being like multi-passionate because I can do so many different things at one time where some people get stuck in doing one thing. And I just love how we were created. Like, this is just amazing. Right. I know. I love it. What's one thing along your journey that you would say this, maybe a story, give me a story of like, where you were like, okay, after that,

I knew I was unstoppable. I knew that nothing could take me down. I think it's how I am as a person and my personality. The stuff that gets me excited gets people worried. I love that. It really does. I'm like, I'm like, you know, somebody throws a spanner in the works and I'm like, oh my gosh, how exciting. Let's go do this. And people are looking at me thinking, are you sure? I get excited about things. And also I love the idea of problem solving. So looking at something and thinking, oh, how can we rearrange this so that this is, you know, what we're looking for, you know? Yes, it might look difficult, but let's see what we can do with it and create something different. And I think I'm just wired differently. And I love the fact that I am wired differently because it makes life so much more exciting. So I say this thing to people about, I see things that other people don't see. And sometimes people think I'm saying, oh, I'm seeing spirits or I'm seeing whatever. And I'm like, and it's like, you tell me something and I can see a way of dealing with that issue that you've got, that you haven't seen. And that's what my mind works like. So I can see all these opportunities that other people just don't naturally see. And this is why it works really well for the mentoring, because as soon as I start talking to someone, they tell me their different challenges and I'm saying, well, what about this? How do you not see that you could do this? Have you tried this? What are some of the things that have come up for you here?

And this is what's making the difference. So, yeah. That's so amazing because when we're business owners, sometimes we're just too close to, we're too close to the problem. We're like, I have, I can't see anything. All I see is all these trees and these weeds. I know. Just go this way. It's fine. Like there's another way out.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it's because as well, you know, when you go through those experiences, you, you've got something to draw on as well. So as well as the fact that I'm naturally like that in terms of being wired to think differently, also the experiences that I've had over the years, I can relate to those when I'm talking to my clients. So, you know, they, you know, if they say things like, you know, I've got no money at all coming in, what can I do? Or, you know, this is a really difficult time. I've been there. So this is what I did. And, you know, it's not as bad as you think. So it's like, it's that whole thing where, you know, I can talk people through, okay, let's, let's just breathe. Let's just breathe. And let's just start taking one step at a time. And you're going to get past it. You absolutely are going to get past this stage. But you've just, you've just got to breathe. And you've just got to start putting a plan in place. And yeah, I love doing that. And I love seeing

the transformations. What, what is, I feel like you were like on the edge of giving us like a really good gym there. Like what's one thing that you would tell a client that is struggling with, like, maybe not getting money, or they've gone through something that they're like feeling stuck

in? What's one thing that you would actually tell them? So I'm like, I would say, do what you need to survive, but then stay focused and keep taking just one step at a time. So if you're not, if you're not making money right now in what it is that you're doing, what is it that you can do to start making some money? Okay. Even if it is something like stacking shelves, just do something, just start making some money somewhere, but don't lose your focus. Because that's what happens a lot of the times is you find something that gives you, it's only supposed to be an interim. And then all of a sudden you've lost your focus of what you're really supposed to be doing. So think about, you know, the stuff that you need to do that is going to get some regular cash in and then keep your mind on where you're going and where you want to be. And then keep taking just one step at a time, because you won't see the next step until you take the first one.

Yeah. And then you'll see the next one. And then you'll see the next one. But yeah, that is the advice that I give. I feel like some people get stuck in that of being like, I can't do anything because I don't know exactly how I'm going to get there. That's what they need is that one first

step. Yeah, absolutely. Again, you know, like I said, I'm wired differently. It's like, I'll tell you a story. I was in Antigua and they were talking about, you know, how the government allows you to buy land over there and build, you know, and certain people can do things and they're asking all these questions about how can I buy land in Antigua? And then who would I need to see? Not that I have any money to buy land. But this is what I'm like, I will ask those questions because you never know. You absolutely never know. So just open your mind.

And then once you have all the information, you might be the person that's talking to somebody else. It's like, yeah, I'm going to buy land in Antigua and I have no idea. And you'd be like,

I know, I know how to do that. That's why people look at me and think, what? How do you know? But it's also an exciting and interesting experience as well, because when you have

those conversations with people, it opens your mind up so much more. It's like not putting limits on what you can do or how you can live life or anything. You're just limitless. People love those limits. They love to put themselves in a box and be like, I can only go to this nine to five and that's it. Yeah. No, you can do so much more.

Oh, I know. And they say things like, oh, it's okay for you or it's okay for them. It's so much easier for them. And you think, no, they're no different from you, honestly. That is one of the phrases that I do dislike a lot is when, if people say it maliciously, oh, it's okay for you. It's really easy.

I just didn't stop. I just did not stop.

Yes, exactly. Just found a way. And there's always a way. There is always a way.

I think that's what people get stuck on too is they think there's only one way. I think we talked about that. Yeah, we talked about that. There's millions of different ways. You have to find out what works for you and your personality, your morals, your ethics, whatever that is. Figure that out and then you can go give it.

Exactly.

So what is your favorite Bible verse and why? Oh, my favorite is Psalm 27 verse one. Do you know what that is? No, it is that one. It is. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the light of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? That is so good. I always think of Jesus as the light. So if I'm in the light, there's nothing you can fear. It is so great.

Yeah. And it's funny that when I was thinking about this verse, I thought it's funny that I have a recent program that I've just launched for business women called Business Wallflower to Spotlight Sensation. And honestly, it links to this whole thing, getting yourself in that light, in that spotlight. Yes. I love it. Okay. So tell me all about your business. How can I work with you? All the things. Okay. Well, you can find me on my website, which is my name, which is paulaburns.net. And if you are just, you know, you just want to chat, I can chat for 15 minutes, so you can book me for a 15 minute chat. It's amazing how much you can learn from me in 15 minutes. It's absolutely free. And we can talk and it just sort of gets you maybe giving you that little bit of a boost of what you need to do next. I have various packages. I work online a lot, so very much we can set up a Zoom or a Teams. And, you know, people can have like a one hour booster session with me. Or as I said, I've just launched this program called Business Wallflower to Spotlight Sensation. If you are someone who has an amazing gift or something that you need to put out there in the world, you know, you're trying to build your business, but you haven't got this confidence that you know you need. And you're struggling to get seen and to get noticed. This is the program for you. We work through that whole process of understanding who you are, working on your self-love, and really sort of digging deep into your customer and how you're communicating, but using all the great creative stuff that I bring into the mix as well. So it's like a group program, but first you have an hour kickoff session with me one-to-one anyway. And then you've got the support of everybody else within a Facebook group, Q&A sessions every week, and also Zoom sessions, group Zoom sessions every month as well. So it's going to be amazing.

It sounds amazing. And I know you now, and you are just like, you are a light too. So it's going to be so easy to be with you and want to follow you and shine. Like I love this because those people, our people, everybody needs to learn how to stand out, especially in a crowded marketplace

like the online world. Yeah, absolutely. This is the biggest thing. It just hit me. And again, you know, I feel that my gifts are, as I said, you know, they are from God. And I feel like, if you stay still enough, you hear the voice. It comes from within. And I really do feel, you know, it came to me in terms of, it sort of led up to this whole place where I talk about, how are you standing out? How are you putting yourself out there? And then this program sort of came from, you know, I was sort of, I think I was in a group session talking about different titles for a program. And I was thinking, what is it that I'm actually want to create for people, a safe space where they can be absolutely authentic and true to themselves. And if it's in a group atmosphere, we can all hold each other. We can all hold each other and support each other through it because, you know, it's great. I do the one-to-ones, which, you know, some people prefer to have just one-to-one programs with me, which is absolutely fine. But, you know, when you've got other people going through and they're sharing their experiences as well, it's great because you can learn from each other. Yeah. And it keeps you going. It just keeps you being consistent because that's, again, one of the major problems that happens as you start, and then you're like, oh, don't have the time. I've missed that. Oh, I can't be bothered. Oh, I won't bother carrying on. So, yeah, it's something that I'm really passionate about and passionate about growing the program and growing the group. Well, I'm so excited. When does it launch? It launches, well, it's sort of like it's ready for people to jump on board now. People are starting to jump on board now. And I'm opening up the Facebook group in the middle of June, sort of middle of June, end of June. But, you know, if you join now, straight away, you'll get all this sort of like welcome details. You can, you've got like a booking pack that you need to complete. So send that back to me so that I can understand a little bit more about you. And then you can actually straight away book your one-to-one session with me as well. So all of that would be sent out straight away as soon as you join. And that's on your website? Yeah, it's on my website. It's called, yeah, it's under the business mentoring. So if you go to my website, it's got two parts because you will see that I, because I still do events and weddings as well. So you go to my website, paula burns.net. This business mentoring is one of the drop down menus. You sort of look at the drop down, it'll show business wallflower to spotlight sensation. Just click on that and it'll take you through. And I'll also put that in the show notes so people can just click the show notes and get it too. So that would be absolutely. That'd be fantastic.

All right, Paul, is there anything else you want to tell everybody about you or about your business? I feel like this was like a wonderful conversation.

Oh, I know. I'm really enjoying it. You know, I think I've shared, I think people have got the, the sort of like the basis of what I'm about. And I hope my energy has come across in this podcast as well. Yeah. I definitely hope that that happens. I have got a free group as well on Facebook that you, if you want to connect with me there, you can find me at Irresistible Business, Irresistible Business Impact with Paula Burns. That's my group on Facebook. So if you want to come over, you can find me there. And I've also got a free download as well that you can get. So there's so much stuff that, you know, if you want to get seen, you need to start taking steps.

And I've created all these little steps for you. I love that. Thank you so much, Paula, for being here today. All of your links will be in the show notes so everybody can find you and be a part of your free group or your paid group. And it's going to be amazing.

I'm so glad to have you. Thank you so much for having me, Jeanette. Thank you. I've really enjoyed it.

Wow. That was so good. So I know that you know somebody that also needs to hear that. So share this episode, leave a review. And I would love if you could watch my free workshop at JeanettePeterson.com slash missing piece. I'll see you guys over on the Grams at Jeanette.Peterson. Bye.