From Hope to Hustle: Growing Your Business with Confidence and Clarity

Starting your own business is a wild ride. It’s full of excitement, uncertainty, and moments that make you question everything. What often gets overlooked is how much fear and doubt creep in, especially early on.

But here’s the truth: feeling scared doesn’t mean you’re not cut out for this. It just means you’re human.

Lulu Godfrey’s company, Ampyrsand was founded on her observation that sharing engaging content on LinkedIn was critical for thought leaders to build their personal and company brands. She set about creating this service and quickly realized the need was bigger than she thought.

The key to moving forward is embracing that fear, learning to collaborate openly, and being willing to take imperfect action. Lulu’s story walks you through those real, honest steps that helped a founder turn hope into a thriving business, and how you can do the same.

Lesson 1: Starting With Hope and Experimentation

Lulu’s entrepreneurial journey began with a simple experiment: posting a piece of LinkedIn content. She had zero expectations, just the hope of growing her network. When that post unexpectedly received over 200 likes, it gave her the spark she needed. This glimmer of hope enabled her to pursue her business dream.

It wasn’t long until Lulu realized that growth wasn’t linear. Subsequent posts barely got attention, and early leads fell through. Yet, within six months, her LinkedIn connections skyrocketed to over 10,000 followers and new opportunities came her way.

Future Founder Takeaway: Don’t expect instant success. Experiment boldly and hold on to hope when early results do not meet your expectations. Every founder faces ups and downs before momentum builds.

Lesson 2: Overcoming Fear and Building Confidence

In the beginning, Lulu was not sure how to sell or price her services. Her biggest challenge was handling sales calls without freezing up. She developed rituals like meditation and breathwork to calm her nerves, adopting the motto: “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” Pushing through the discomfort built up her confidence.

Despite undercharging her first client, she gained invaluable experience and belief in her abilities to handle calls as well as how to sell her services with confidence.

“When I first started, I knew nothing about pricing, delivery, or even sales,“ Godfrey said. “Every part of the process was brand new to me, and it felt like jumping straight into the deep end.”

Future Founder Takeaway: Embrace fear as a signal, not a stop sign. Build confidence through deliberate practice, starting small and expanding your comfort zone consistently.

Lesson 3: Co-Creation and Risk Taking as a Core Values

At the heart of Lulu’s company, Ampyrsand lies collaboration. She believes that co-creating strategies and stories alongside her clients produces deeper impact and connection. The name “Ampyrsand” reflects this spirit of working together.

She also overcame the fear of sounding “salesy” on LinkedIn. Early posts mentioning her service offerings made her nervous. However, when one of her posts received a response within the hour, she learned that clear, permission-based sharing invites the right clients.

Future Founder Takeaway: Don’t just deliver solutions. Co-create with your clients and be confident in the promotion of your services, knowing that the right clients will come your way.

Lesson 4: Pivoting with Open-Mindedness

Lulu started her business by targeting solo entrepreneurs. Yet, she soon recognized this market’s limitations: budgets were tight, and time was scarce, among other challenges. She made the decision to pivot and began working with agencies and consulting firms of 20–200 employees.

These organizations typically had bigger budgets and scalability potential. This pivot made her work more impactful and allowed her to grow alongside her clients.

Future Founder Takeaway: Stay agile and listen to your market. Don’t be afraid to pivot your audience or messaging when needed. Embrace sales conversations with authenticity and respect.

Lesson 5: Sustainable Growth and Taking Imperfect Action

Looking ahead, Lulu is committed to building her business by refining client processes, testing new ideas, and creating resources for founders not yet ready for full agency support.

Her advice to founders is simple yet powerful: take imperfect action. You’ll never feel fully “ready.” Polishing endlessly stalls progress. The critical step to your success is landing your first customer and then steadily improving your solution for your dream clients.

Future Founder Takeaway: Perfection is a mirage that delays impact. Take steps (and even leaps!) forward even when you are unsure. Real learning and growth come when you’re doing, not waiting (or doubting).

Growing from hope through fear, pivots, and collaboration, Lulu’s story offers a practical, inspiring roadmap for future founders. By embracing discomfort, staying flexible, and focusing on authentic impact, you can build a business that exceeds your clients’ expectations as well as fuels your passion and invigorates your purpose.