Lesson 4: Not Everyone Will Cheer You On (And That’s Okay)
In October 2025, Eleven Eleven Talent will turn 10. To celebrate, we’re sharing 10 lessons—one each month—about what we’ve learned in a decade of building a business. From community-building to resilience, from hiring to firing, these are the insights we wish we knew when we started.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a recruiter, or navigating your own career path, we hope these lessons support you in building something meaningful and lasting.
Dealing with criticism, doubters, and learning to trust your gut - even when the noise gets loud.
When you start a business, people often imagine it looks like a highlight reel: celebrations, support, and a tribe of cheerleaders rallying around you. And while some of that is true, there’s another part no one talks about as much—the quiet glances, the raised eyebrows, the backhanded compliments, the silence on social media.
We learned early on that not everyone will clap for you.
Sometimes it’s the people closest to you. Sometimes it’s strangers online. And sometimes it’s just a subtle shift - you feel it in a room, or in a text left unanswered.
We had people:
Question our decision to leave “secure” corporate jobs.
Call us “just another recruitment agency.”
Suggest we were being too bold, too visible, too much.
Told us we were too polished and not relatable.
Told us we were too relatable and needed to be more aspirational 🤪
Said things like ‘are you still doing that little agency thing?’
It stung. Especially in the early days when every piece of feedback felt like a mirror - when your confidence is still forming, and your business is an extension of your heart.
Especially when it came from other women, or, other women of colour. That hurt a lot.
But here’s what we learned:
The noise is loud the closer you get to something great.
I (Tess) have a distinct memory of reading the feedback after a 300-person event we had held. There were 90 positive comments, but I focused on and read the 3 negative pieces of feedback over and over. I can still remember them to this day (and who they were from 🤪).
I (Alisha) have a memory of a client who we bent over backwards for and over delivered for introducing us as ‘2 girls who do some recruiting’ to a potential client of ours. I remember how small it made me feel.
Criticism doesn’t always mean you’re doing something wrong. Sometimes, it’s a sign you’re doing something new. And that can feel uncomfortable to others. Not everyone will understand your vision - and that’s not their job. It’s yours.
Here’s what’s helped us tune out the noise:
Discern the source.
Not all feedback is created equal. If it’s not from someone who’s built, risked, led, or stood where you’re standing—it might not be for you.
Let your work speak.
You don’t need to clap back. Your results will do it for you.
Protect your vision.
You don’t have to explain it all. Keep some things sacred - between you and your gut, or you and your co-founder.
Trust yourself.
Our instincts have always known. Every time we’ve ignored them, we’ve paid for it. Every time we’ve followed them, we’ve grown.
Find your people.
The ones who clap loud, hold you accountable with kindness, and believe your success is a win for all of us.
These are the people who know: there’s more than enough room at the table.
We used to take the doubt personally. Now? We see it as part of the process. It made us sharper. More grounded. More sure of what we stand for.
So if you’re building something and the applause is quieter than expected,
That doesn’t mean you’re off course.
It might mean you’re finally on the one that matters.
Here’s to tuning out the noise and turning up the volume on your own voice.
Tess & Alisha
Up next: Lesson 5 – When to Hold On, When to Let Go
The honest truth about hiring and firing, and how the right people can shape your business - and the wrong ones can cost you everything.
