You can build a client forecast, test three scenarios, and explain risk down to the dollar. Then you close the laptop and leave the spreadsheet about your own future unopened for years.
Fear rarely introduces itself by name. It can look like a business plan you never write, a job you stay in through burnout, or constant work that keeps you from sitting intentionally with your thoughts.
In Episode 34 of She Counts, hosts Questian Telka and Nancy McClelland share two conversations recorded at the 2026 Theater of Public Speaking Advanced retreat. Katie Helle, CPA, explains why she waited seven years to start her firm. Mariana Alvarez describes how she rebuilt her identity after 17 years in an abusive marriage.
These experiences aren’t equivalent. One is about career risk; the other begins with survival. Yet both women found that change came through support – and one careful step at a time.
Turn vague fear into questions you can answer
“We should use it as information, not instruction,” Katie says. Fear can raise valid questions. The problem comes when we let those unanswered questions make our decisions.
Katie managed a CPA firm for 15 years and had long wanted to work for herself. She had entrepreneurial experience, including running a successful home-based jewelry business. Still, leaving a comfortable position felt risky because she was her family’s main income earner.
Her fears piled up. What if she didn’t make enough money? What if she was unprepared? What if clients didn’t want to work with her?
Then she used a familiar accounting tool: a spreadsheet. She calculated how much she needed each month and how many clients it would take to reach that amount.
“Once I dug into the spreadsheet and did the math… the math worked,” she says. “It was very logical. But my brain was telling me something different.”
The numbers didn’t eliminate all the risk, but they made it easier to examine. Burnout finally pushed her to act. Katie loved her job, but long hours, a small child, and running a household had become too much. Her spreadsheet showed that she might be able to earn what she needed in fewer hours.
If you are considering a change, ask:
- How much income do I need each month?
- How many clients, projects, or hours would produce it?
- How much savings should I build first?
- What do I still need to learn?
- Who could help me test my assumptions?
Once the numbers are visible and viable, the next challenge is finding support.
Take a step instead of a leap
“You don’t want to take a leap,” Katie says. “You want to take one step at a time.”
That could mean researching pricing, building savings, learning a skill, or contacting someone who already runs the kind of firm you want. Katie stresses that quitting without a plan is not the answer. Small, measurable actions prepare you for a responsible change.
Community also changed what Katie believed was possible. Nancy and other women in their mastermind encouraged her to revisit her spreadsheet. Katie also learned from online accounting communities where experienced firm owners share what they know.
“We’re not gatekeepers,” she says. “There are things that you don’t know, but it doesn’t mean you can’t learn them.”
That support did not decide for Katie. It helped her trust the evidence she had already gathered.
The process was still uncomfortable. Katie argues that discomfort may show you are approaching growth rather than heading in the wrong direction. Nancy connects that idea to imposter feelings: learning begins when you enter a place of “not knowing”.
Katie cites a 2025 report that found 60% of people wanted to change jobs but were afraid to act. She challenges anyone in that situation to write down the change you want, name each fear, and place one step beside it.
But some fears require a different first step. In Mariana’s story, that step was safety.
Put safety before forgiveness
This section discusses domestic abuse.
Mariana was married for 17 years. She stayed in the relationship because she feared losing her children. At times she believed the abuse happened because she wasn’t good enough, attractive enough, or able to communicate well. After leaving, she blamed herself for staying as long as she did.
“Then I learned that wasn’t true,” she says.
Mariana is careful not to turn forgiveness into “another burden” for women who remain in abusive situations. Her order is clear: first safety, then support, and then the work of finding your own truth. Forgiveness may come later.
After leaving, anger and bitterness became a protective wall. Over time, Mariana realized that carrying the wall forward kept the experience present in her life. Reconnecting with childhood friends and family helped. They remembered her as kind, cheerful, friendly, and talkative, even when she could no longer recognize those qualities in herself.
Her recovery involved safety, stability, therapy, reflection, and steady support. She also drew an important line, recognizing she wasn’t responsible for the abuse, but she could take responsibility for her healing and future. “I had to do the work,” she says.
That work helped Mariana recover her voice, which leads to a lesson many women may recognize at work as well.
Reclaim your voice without apologizing
Mariana wanted her children to live in a peaceful home where silence meant they were safe. She especially wanted her daughter to see genuine inner strength rather than a facade.
Work initially became another hiding place. “I worked long hours. I worked a lot,” Mariana says. Healing included learning that she didn’t always have to stay busy to hide a feeling or prevent a storm.
Katie and Mariana began in very different places. Yet neither waited for fear to disappear before acting. Each found support and moved forward one decision at a time.
Your next step might be calculating a savings runway, contacting a mentor, asking for help, or beginning the work of forgiving yourself. You don’t need to see the entire path before you start.
Listen to Episode 34 of She Counts to hear Katie and Mariana share their stories in full, and then name one small step you can take today.