We recently connected with Bryn Baldassari and have shared our conversation below.
Bryn , we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
This question is very fitting for me right now because I just lost my mom several months ago and I have been reflecting on all the things she taught me as a person. I am so honored to share that my generosity came from watching my mom love and care for others. I also have to credit my dad because he’s been an amazing role model as well. Growing up, my mom would bring my brother and I to pick up food from grocery stores and bring them to local food banks. I remember many times helping give the food out to others in need. My mom would also bring us to the Denver Rescue Mission to help serve food to the homeless. As a young girl, I wasn’t super comfortable in this space, but seeing how my mom was the most welcoming and loving person to anyone, showed me how to be generous to others. She was also an avid thrift store shopper! It was a treasure hunt for her! She had many items of clothing and loved to express herself with some nice leopard pants and a stylish scarf to go with it! Almost every time we went out someone would compliment my mom on her a fun item she was wearing and many times she would give them the necklace, scarf, jacket, etc. right off of herself. She truly was an amazingly generous person and I will forever be grateful to have learned this from her. Even in her last days, she held a fashion boutique of all her clothes and accessories. She spend time in her hospital bed in the living room accessorizing her outfits and sold everything for $3. She donated that money to a COOP that supports people with disabilities and enjoyed sharing her love for fashion with those she loved. Now when I wear those fashionable leopard leggings in public and get a compliment, I think of her generous spirit and try and pay that forward.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
What I do? I run a business supporting adults with developmental disabilities to become the best versions of themselves. We have an onsite center that works on job skills, life skills, and provides social opportunities in the community. Our participants run a COOP that consists of making products such as candles, lip balms, lotions, dog biscuits, culinary treats, running a coffee shop 3 days a week, and running a food bank to the community. We also do in home supports to help individuals work on cooking, cleaning, laundry, and household care. We can help our participants find jobs in the community and provide ongoing job coaching support, and we support individuals to live independently, or in a host home where a provider can support them as needed. I feel like I have the best job in the entire world. I love working with this amazing population, and providing a space for staff and providers to be creative and person centered in the services they provide our individuals.
What I feel is most special about it?
I think Stepping Stone excels in our authenticity and genuine care for the individuals we serve, our providers, families, and volunteers. It’s been humbling over the years because I have realized early on that when you build something that is a need, people come! We have grown SO much over the last 10 years and I now realize I cannot save everyone that needs help. BUT I can be authentic about it, support in the ways I can, and do my best to guide people to other resources that might be able to help more than we can.
What I want you to know about Stepping Stone?
What I want others to know about Stepping Stone is we have so many individuals we serve, and providers, that have amazing talents! Please check out our COOP and see the items they sell! You can order online and we can mail them to you! Or stop by our coffee shop in Littleton, CO, or donate to our Food Bank so we can give out more needed goods to others in need. We see more of what our population CAN do than what others might think they cannot do! Whether you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right! We work so hard to show the participants that they CAN do it, and we can support them to reach their dreams.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three areas that come to mind that were most impactful in my journey are perseverance, kindness, and networking. There were MANY times and seasons, even still, that are hard! It feels like things just aren’t supposed to work out, or you have a season with a tough staffing group, etc. I have certainly wanted to give up many times, but I kept on going. I tried to look at what I could do, instead of what wasn’t working! Allow yourself have those tough moments and even cry, but then sit down and work on ways to overcome this season and slowly but surely you will see yourself come through the tough time and grow even stronger from it!
I think kindness, at least in my journey, has been a big key to my success. It also ties into the networking piece. You cannot do this all alone! A team of people is what allows you to learn and grow, and if you are not open minded and kind to those around you, you will not be able to build a team that will stick around you to allow you to grow. I always want to honor those around me and their knowledge because my way might not have been the best way. For me, I had to learn also that being too kind and not sticking up for myself, or not saying the tough stuff, also isn’t good. I had to find the balance of still allowing myself to be kind, but also ensuring I am honoring my vision in the business. I am still learning, but I have found a better definition for myself that “clear is kind.” Being clear with my team is often kinder than not saying the hard stuff so others cannot grow. We are all in this journey together and no one is perfect, so its important to lead with kindness and honestly, and empower other in the ways you can.
The networking piece is a huge piece of my success. People have been in my industry for decades before me, and they know some of the best practices. I love to network and talk with others. That’s been so helpful for me because I definitely didn’t know all the answers, and still don’t, but I have created a network around me of people who do. So I can easily message someone that is now a friend, and they are happy to share how they deal with a situation so I can implement that at Stepping Stone. And vise versa. I am always happy to share what we do so others can add that into their practices as well!
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I think this is a great question because we all get overwhelmed in life! I love to hear how others deal with their stress because I have learned some good tactics by hearing others outlets. There is SO much pressure on your shoulders as a business owner and often no one who can 100% relate that is in your company. When I get overwhelmed, I allow myself to have my moment of meltdown, and for me, I just cry and need to vent to my dad, husband, or business consultant. I have my “safe” people and they are the best sounding board for me to be able to vent. After that, I typically feel much better even just by having that time to express myself. Those people are my safe people because they can listen without emotion, and then support me in talking through how to best move forward. If I am overwhelmed because of a staffing or even parent conflict, I often need to journal out some thoughts to ensure I am not responding in am emotional way. I always try to bring it back to seeing their side first and assuming positive intent. If I am overwhelmed about just systems and processing becoming too much, I take the whole thing I am overwhelmed about and I break it into bite sized pieces and create week to week, or even day to day goals to help me start to work through it. So generally, the best course of action for me is: 1. Release: Allow myself to feel the overwhelm and give myself a moment to cry, vent, and cool down
2. Regroup: Create the best action plan moving forward to help resolve the issue
3. Respond: Connect with the person(s), start tackling the plan one bit size at a time.
4. Relief: You did it! You overcame your fear or whatever was causing you to feel overwhelmed, and now you have grown more in that muscle to handle it for next time! Celebrate this win!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.steppingstonesupportcenter.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteppingStoneSC
