Amy Edge

Amy Edge is a former-childhood educator turned impact-driven entrepreneur. She is an operations and project management expert for visionaries and change-makers in the online space. This strategic partnership increases profits, empowers their team, and scales their business without frustration and complete ease.

She is the founder of The Rising Sisterhood movement, the book, and our community, the ‘Collective’. Amy desires to curate a platform to celebrate, empower and lift up our sisters as we navigate towards changing our narrative and stepping into our greatness.

Where did the idea for The Rising Sisterhood come from?

I am an accidental entrepreneur.

My path to entrepreneurship began when life happened and we moved cities away, and commuting to my career was nearly impossible. I leaned into my strengths and created a business that amplified those skills and planted my feet into a market where I knew I could impact a multitude of other business owners.

I researched how to utilize my natural skills, and found an online business I could seamlessly build with zero dollars and massive determination. I worked from my kitchen table, in the early mornings and late into the night, in between keeping everything together with the house and the kids. And slowly but surely, Amy Edge & Co. emerged. It was built around the idea that visionary leaders absolutely needed visionary support through operational and project management, and that I could be their guide to creating the impact they craved.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Each day is a bit different. Some days are full of meetings and then other days are blocked out so there is focused work time. It’s essential to carve out time delegated to go ‘all in’ on the projects I am managing and working on without distraction.

Each day does have some of the same elements to it though since I lead numerous teams as their fractional operations director. I am checking in on the teams and clients each day via their project management systems and Slack. I am also fine-tuning any project plans or launches that are in the pipeline or upcoming along with other projects.

I also ensure that each Sunday, I spend approximately 15 minutes to pre-plan out my week. I use this to understand what projects are upcoming, what potential risks could we be facing in the company, how we could solve those if it does arrive, and to organize my action list by priority so that I can focus on the ‘right’ tasks that will move the business forward.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I am such a detail-oriented person that this is sometimes my roadblock, which is why so many of my clients hold the visionary spot in the company and I work on the granular action plans to make those ideas a reality.

Typically, when we are working to bring these ideas to life, I will mindmap the idea, map it out on large pieces of butcher paper, create a timeline, and then begin to take the bigger ideas and break them down into milestones and smaller actionable tasks with a due date.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Women empowering other women. We are constantly seeing these images or memes stating this sentiment, but for a while now, it has seemed to just be a novelty or something to simply share on Instagram. However, I feel like we are finally moving past just the ‘idea’ of celebrating and empowering women, and collectively we are beginning to take action.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Sticking to my boundaries. This is probably the obvious answer, but, very rarely do we actually create the boundaries for ourselves and then stick to them. We are often swayed by others to schedule a call later than we typically would, because it fits into their schedule, or it’s more convenient for them. In order to enhance your productivity level, you have to stay steadfast with your self-imposed boundaries.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Your inner ‘mean girl’ is a gigantic liar.

We all have this inner voice that keeps us playing small in some ways. When I was younger, this voice was painstakingly loud, and worse of all, I believed her. This caused me to continually dim my light and to believe that I was less than everyone else.

I would tell my younger self, “stop focusing on what your ‘voice’ is telling you that you lack, because you have an amazing abundance already within you. Stand up and be proud.”

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Stop wasting time thinking about your next project or idea. So many business owners are visionaries that like to mull over their ideas and create these high-level, 500,000 feet grand overtures, but those things don’t actually move your project forward. Hand over the reins to your team and allow them to validate your idea and then build it.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Communicate your vision, mission and values to your team every week. The values of my company, Amy Edge & Co., and those that I lead are always front and center, but they cannot just sit on a ‘wall’ to be viewed.

The values of a company have to be lived and played by on a daily basis, starting with the leadership team. The company needs to understand where we are going, and as we move forward, what is the impact that we will be creating. We have to relentlessly communicate without teams to create a work environment that encourages and cultivates growth through each individual team members success.

In the company’s I lead, we do this within our weekly meetings. We discuss our successes and our blockers so that we can create solutions that continually move the needle forward.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Delegation. It is extremely important that projects are delegated out to team members who are experts in those areas instead of relying on ourselves to manage the project. As a company grows, it’s imperative that you are hiring the ‘right fit’ team, and allowing those experts to deliver on the expected outcomes.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I’ve had so many ‘failures’, it would be hard to pinpoint a single one – however, I no longer look at failures in a negative way. Instead, these are opportunities for growth and a chance to step into my next level. It’s not about what went wrong, it’s about our action afterwards and how we keep moving forward.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

A sustainable way to provide drinking water to those that do not have access. One in five humans have no access to safe drinking water. And, there should be a way to fix this. Desalination exists, but it is expensive, and I would love to see an innovative solution to this. A cheaper method could hydrate more people and crops.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I recently went on a spending splurge to make my office feel more ‘homey’. I purchased plants and candles and new art for the walls. I spend 6-7 hours in my office each day and I needed it to feel fresh and reinvigorating.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

My project management system. Since I work with other clients, each client also has their own PM system that manages the company and team, however, my personal project management system allows me to fully break down my roles in their company, keeping me three steps ahead of what is upcoming in their business.

I also use my PM system to manage my life. For instance, I meal plan and holiday plan in the system as well.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

The one book that absolutely changes my business and how I communicate with clients is The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.

The Big Leap is about changing your overall perspective, so that you can embrace a philosophy that’ll help you achieve your full potential in work, relationships, finance, and all other walks of life.

What is your favorite quote?

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” —Brene Brown

This is something that I have been learning through the publication of our book The Rising Sisterhood. I’ve come to the understanding that if we do not claim worthiness inside of our story, we end up hustling for worthiness on the outside of our story – who we are and what we believe becomes secondary to who do you want me to be and what you want me to believe.

Key Learnings:

• Stick to your vision
• Have a dedication to delegation
• Stay steadfast and only settle for clarity