3 Practical Ways To Build Courage For A Thriving Business
Jun 30, 2025
If you are on the entrepreneurial adventure to have a thriving business then you know it’s not just about doing the bare minimum. That might be how to survive, but it’s not the way to thrive.
“What we do is we bring our A game. We're not gonna show up randomly and do a bad job. And that's not an ego thing if I know I’m going to do a good job.” Kim White
It means knowing your business well.
It means showing up ready to stand out.
It means coming prepared to meetings and interviews.
It takes courage to build a thriving business, and not just a surviving business.
“I started an entire business with this movie.” Kim White
Here are 3 practical lessons from our magical movie - A Knight’s Tale - in building the kind of courage that sets your business up to thrive.
Courage Lesson 7: Taking Care Of Business
In William’s first tournament he fights multiple sword combats to the catchy tune of “taking care of business.” He has to go in to fight after fight after fight, doing the same thing again and again, if he wants to eat at the end of the day.
It’s not too different from the entrepreneurial adventure.
It takes courage to run your business day in and day out, making sure that it is still the business you want it to be.
It's not something that runs itself. You can set things up to be more automated or delegate to a team, but ultimately, somebody has to be responsible for that business.
Are you taking care of your business the way it needs to thrive?
“We have plants and we have to take care of them - water, fertilize, and prune them. Without the attention, they will wilt. So how can we give our businesses the attention it needs to thrive?” Jill Olish
Challenge #7 is to ask what you need to do to take better care of your business?
Courage Lesson 8: Get Creative
“We get lazy at this, but staying creative is important for your business to thrive.” Kim White
After a jousting tournament, William had broken armor and no money to fix it. It was an impossible situation. So he had to get creative to find someone who’d be willing to accept payment when (or if) he won.
He could have made an excuse about broken armor and no money, and forfeited the tournament. But instead, he got creative so he could have a shot at winning the main prize.
This lesson is not about convincing people you’ll pay them later, it’s about getting creative when you’re in a tough situation.
This is something that happens to new entrepreneurs, especially. It’s easy to make excuses and not take a shot at starting a business that could thrive!
Have you ever had any of these thoughts? I’ll do this when I can afford the software. I’ll start when I have the right desk.
“I started an entire business on my kitchen table with color pencils while my competition had printers and fancy software. But I proved that it could be done.” Kim White
Challenge #8 is to look for an area in your business where something is broken and you have no money to fix it. Stop waiting for something to happen, and get creative with how you’re going to move forward. And do it courageously as if you’re going for the main prize!
Courage Lesson 9: The Power Of An Introduction
" I got their attention. Now you go win their hearts." A Knight’s Tale
In A Knight's Tale, William had a hype man. He’d go out to entertain the crowd and introduce William with stories to get the audience to cheer for him during the tournament.
That’s something you need in business, too. Everyone could use a hype man. And sometimes you need to be the hype man for others.
“I believe in the power of an introduction. It levels you up.” Kim White
There is so much power in someone introducing you. It’s a practical way to get a courage boost right before you need to get on stage to present a workshop or launch a new idea.
Challenge #9 is to think about what you would want someone to say about you in their introduction. And have the courage to write this down.
Thriving is more than just surviving. That’s true for life and in business. But it takes courage to get to that place where you and your business are thriving.
It takes courage to slow down to sort out the right things in the right order. But when you do, it will also give you more courage to stay on track and keep building the business of your dreams.
If you missed the conversation about this between Kim and Jill on their podcast Buckets and Boom Gates, you can catch it here.
Our Groundwork Brigade is a home for entrepreneurs who want to build a business that they own and that doesn't own them. It’s a community of like-minded entrepreneurs finding freedom in the
entrepreneurial adventure by practicing putting the right things in the right
order.
It’s a safe space to learn how to build a relational business using irresistible marketing strategies, tailored to your individual needs, in a group setting, with lots of accountability and support.
To connect and find out more about Kim or how to create a sexy business for a sexy life, you can reach her and the My Sexy Business Team at www.mysexybusiness.com.
And to connect with Jill Olish go straight to her website www.mamaoutspoken.com and you’ll find her there!
