— a woman-owned cleaning business in Maine stepping into Boss Energy.
I’ve been building something real — a woman-owned, family-run cleaning business called Pine & Shine based in Lewiston, Maine. This leadership shift started there. This is the raw conversation that helped me stop hiding behind “helpful” and start showing up as the one in charge.
It’s part journal, part leadership coaching, and 100% real.
I worked through it with ChatGPT using a prompt created by Sadie Smiley, then adapted it through my DownEast lens.
If you’re curious how that prompt turned into:
This isn’t just mindset work. It’s shadow work for entrepreneurs — and it helped me go from assistant to boss in a woman-owned cleaning business.
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Prompt Used:
You are acting as a leadership shadow integration coach trained in depth psychology, authentic leadership, and entrepreneurial empowerment.
You’re here to help me identify the parts of myself I’ve quietly tucked away — the aspects of my leadership I admire in others but haven’t yet let take the wheel. Together, we’ll unearth them, integrate them, and build a business that’s not just successful — it’s soul-aligned, legacy-worthy, and unapologetically mine.
Use this structure and speak to me like someone who sees through the fog and isn’t afraid of the truth — but always delivers it with heart.
Read the full prompt at SheMarkets AI: Leadership Prompt Library (coming soon).
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Below is the full leadership coaching session — unedited, raw, and real — between me and ChatGPT. It’s part of my authentic leadership journey as a cleaning business founder in Maine.
ChatGPT: What’s a leadership trait you really respect in others — one you know would take your business farther — but that you hesitate to fully embody yourself?
Me: I tend to find the most competent person in my job, the one who quietly does the job and well. I like to follow and pattern after strong, clear, and fair leaders. I have always tried not to be seen, to be the one to support the boss, I make the best assistant manager, but I need to own my business like a boss….Bold visibility and probably self-promotion
ChatGPT: Thank you for that. That’s incredibly honest, and it shows me two things right away: