Rock-It at Work: Do What Scares You Most

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• June 28, 2011
• By Jaclyn Schiff
• 6 Comments

This is part of a series of posts featuring members of the Brazen Careerist team. Brazen staff were asked to provide a little information about themselves and one piece of career advice based on what has helped them most in their careers so far.

Name: Ryan Healy

Age: 27

So what do you do at Brazen?

I am the co-founder and COO of Brazen. Basically, I do all the stuff that no one else wants to do!  Just kidding, every day is different for me.  Some days I’m working on investor presentations and summaries. Other days I am brainstorming and wireframing new products and services we can offer, and other days I am making sales calls, doing our finances and even reviewing legal work.  It definitely keeps me on my toes.

What did you do before Brazen?

Before Brazen I was a financial consultant for IBM. For most of my time at IBM I was staffed on a project for the U.S. Army, and had the opportunity to work at the Pentagon every day. I also ran a blog called Employee Evolution at the same time. The blog ended up spawning Brazen, so it was definitely a good move to take on a side project.

Tell us something unique about you.

I have an undergraduate degree in Accounting.  Most entrepreneurs despise doing finances, but I actually don’t mind it.  I will never, ever, be an accountant, but it’s a skill I can use for the rest of my life.

What is one thing that has helped you advance in your career?

Volunteer to do the thing that scared me most. I used to be terrified of speaking in front of a group. I decided the only way to overcome the fear was to tackle it head on.

When I was 22, I wrote a section on the about page of my website that said I was a recognized public speaker, and was available for conferences, events, meetings etc. About a month later I got a call from an organization. Not only did they want me to speak to 150 executives, they wanted to pay me!  I wrote my speech, then practiced for 2 hours every day for 30 days straight. Somehow I got through the speech without a hitch, the attendees loved it, and so did I! Since then I’ve done more than 50 speeches, and it’s one of my biggest strengths as an entrepreneur.

Brazen Life is a lifestyle and career blog for ambitious young professionals. Hosted by Brazen Careerist, we offer edgy and fun ideas for navigating the changing world of work. Be Brazen!