#625 Be a Game Changer: Overcome Fear & Launch Your Dream Business with Michele Novack

What if the only thing standing between you and your dream business… is fear?

In this deeply moving and motivational episode of Talking with the Experts, we welcome Michele Novack—founder of CardinalsByte and a fearless advocate for helping entrepreneurs confront the mental and emotional blocks that keep their brilliance trapped inside.

Michele isn’t just here to talk cybersecurity. She’s here to guide you through a conversation about the invisible battle most entrepreneurs fight: the fear of not being enough, not being ready, or not being worthy of success.

You’ll hear Michele’s powerful story of reinvention and how she transitioned from corporate cybersecurity to becoming a mentor and mindset coach for business owners ready to make a difference. Her message is clear: It’s not about waiting for more information or the perfect time. It’s about facing the fear, embracing the challenge, and becoming the Game Changer you were born to be.

Together, we unpack:

• Why fear—not failure—is the real dream killer
• How to identify the hidden beliefs holding you back
• What it takes to stop playing small and step into your power
• The mindset shift that can transform your life and business

If you’ve ever found yourself hesitating, overthinking, or postponing your goals, this episode will serve as both a wake-up call and a roadmap. Michele’s story and strategy will move you, challenge you, and equip you with tools to overcome fear and finally say yes to your dreams.

🎧 Ready to live your best life yet? Tune in now. 

🔗 CONNECT WITH MICHELE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-novack-abugosh/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571054412796

Website: https://www.cardinalsbytes.com

📌 PROMOTION: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZ7YSSNK

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Transcript

Intro | 00:01
Welcome to Talking With The Experts. Here we discuss all things business. By business owners. For business owners. Here is your host, Rose Davidson. 

 Rose | 00:12
Hello and welcome to Talking With The Experts. I'm your host, Rose Davidson from rosedavidson.com.au. Today it's my great pleasure to introduce you to Michele Novak, who's going to be talking to us about overcoming our fear as an entrepreneur and being a game changer. Hello. 
 So why do brilliant ideas die in the silence of someday? Well, why don't we embrace being a game changer? And Michele's going to talk to us a little bit about that. Michele is an inspiring leader and founder of Cardinals Byte, a cybersecurity risk management company. With over 30 years of experience in the financial sector and cybersecurity, Michele has a unique ability to simplify complex compliance requirements for small businesses. Her journey of transformation and resilience is truly motivating. As an author and mentor, Michele empowers others to live their best lives by sharing her knowledge and fostering collective growth. Her dedication to helping others and creating positive change is remarkable and I'm just about to find that out. Michele, welcome to Talking with the Experts. 

 Michele | 01:20
Thank you so much. I so appreciate you inviting me today and sharing with your audience and collaborating with you. 
 So I appreciate it. 

 Rose | 01:29
You're very welcome. It's an honour to have you. 
 So tell me a little bit about how you want to help entrepreneurs overcome their fear of being not enough and become a game changer. 

 Michele | 01:45
Yeah. I mean, yeah. 
 So, you know, when I wrote that book, it took a lot of thought process, right? I kind of had to reflect back on where I started. 
 You know, I became an entrepreneur a couple of years ago. I've been in, you know, the financial industry for over 30 years working for corporate. And, you know, it was very scary kind of branching out on my own. There was no roadmap. I had to do a lot of research. 
 You know, I spoke to a lot of different people. But, you know, I was able to do a lot of research. Nothing prepares you. For actually doing it. There's no rule book. And I remember I went and I took a couple of classes. I went out into the community to find out what was available, reached out to a couple of successful people that I knew that ran their own businesses. And everyone told me, you know, It's going to be rough. 
 You know, you got to have a lot of money in back of you. You know, it's got to be you got to be prepared, you know, for downfalls. You have to do X, Y and Z. 
 So I think, you know, It scared me. It really scared me and But I kind of figured it out and I had this feeling inside that I could do it. And I knew I had to do it. Right. 
 Like I knew this was the next phase of where I wanted to go. So, you know, in order to be a game changer, what I realized was it was in the mind. Right. It's a mindset. And that's where it starts. It's part of overcoming, you know, the battlegrounds within your mind and, you know, you're going to fail. And it's okay. It's okay to fail. I think what was even more scary was when I became successful. Right. 
 You know, you don't prepare yourself for that success. Like, my God, I'm a business owner now. 
 You know? So I think if that answers your question, you know. 

 Rose | 03:45
Absolutely, yeah. I think, you know, taking that leap from corporate to, Starting your own business is absolutely terrifying. 
 You know, some of the information that people share with us as we're taking this leap into entrepreneurship can be a little bit, I guess, difficult. I think it can be a little bit misleading as well. 
 I mean, not everyone has to have money behind them to start a business. If you're working for yourself, You know, you can start with nothing, really. It just... Patience and time and just your laptop perhaps and, you know, your desktop camera and microphone. That's all you need to start. 
 I mean, that's my opinion. You don't need all the bells and whistles that go along with what people say. 
 So I think sometimes taking advice from others can be challenging in a way that it shouldn't be. You know, I think we should take our own leaps of faith and in, in, most often times it works out for the best well you know whether you're destined to be an entrepreneur or not is, you know, truly up to the person involved, I think. 

 Michele | 04:55
Absolutely. You know, and I think you hit on a key factor there. I think by listening to other people, you know, as I was going out and I was starting out, it does, it creates that doubt. 
 You know, when you want to start a business, you get like really excited. You're like, I'm going to do this. 
 You know, I'm going to start this. I'm going to do this. And, you know, you have this kind of feeling of like, this is what I need to do. You start writing down your priorities. You start writing down your plan, right? Your business plan. Maybe you don't have all the essentials and you don't really know. Kind of what's needed but those are the things that you put together that's all part of starting your business right and you know branching out and doing the things that you need to do you know my business in cyber security is a lot different than most businesses because it requires a lot of technical training and you know I had to go to school there were a lot of certifications and things like that I needed to take in order to be successful in doing what I want to do but I listening to the naysayers, was probably the biggest thing. And, you know, I started to watch YouTube videos for... 
 Like just inspiration. Right. And I think that's what got me over the hump of, I'm not listening to anybody else. I'm not listening to the people around me, the most trusted. I'm going to listen Yes. 

 Rose | 06:23
To family and friends. Never listen to family and friends. 

 Michele | 06:27
And that's my whole point. You know, just, I'm going to go listen to people who failed, like, you know, It's amazing because I did fail, right? And the one thing I learned about that failure is, you know, you can fail or you could be a failure. And the difference, I think, between them is one is, you know, you're just not going to do anything about it. 
 And then the other is you're going to get up or you're going to start over again and you're going to figure out why and you're going to kind of reiterate. And I've had to do that a few times. Right. And I found out that that's OK. And many successful people fail. We all fail. And it's OK. 
 You know, you have to be okay with yourself. And I think that's the most important when you're an entrepreneur. You've got to, I always say, love yourself and smile through it. 
 Right? Bring that smile. Because there's a whole, There's an old saying, fake it till you make it. Right. Make it till you make it. And it's so true, you know, and I think, you know, The thought process behind that is critical. It's critical for people and people who are starting out or entrepreneurs today to understand Not overwhelm themselves, sit down, write your priorities out, right? We all have lists. I have probably 35 things I have to accomplish today. But there's a promise that I made to myself like years ago, and I learned this very early on, thank God, I take the top three and I make sure they get done by the end of the day. I make sure that those are the pillars of what I build on. Right. Because if you don't, you're going to become overwhelmed. You're going to get burnt out. And it's very easy. 
 You know, especially as you continue to grow, forget it. 

 Rose | 08:15
Yeah. And you've got to build that team. And I think you've got to build that resilience and, you know, I think as an artist for resilience is probably one of the most important things to have. 

 Michele | 08:30
Yeah. You know, So resilience goes a long way, right? I think grit, I like to call it grit. Right, getting into the weeds and having that grit to kind of say, okay, here I am today where I'm going tomorrow, you know, as entrepreneurs year over year and as you continue to grow, you're going to have different perspectives, different challenges, new challenges, things that you haven't done before. 
 You know, right now, you know, I wasn't an accountant. I had to figure out how to do a cost analysis. I'm like, what is that? 
 You know, So, you know, these are things that you learn as you go and it's okay. Right. But thank God for AI. Right. Thank God for a lot of organizations today. A lot of organizations are out there. I went to this great organization Women Economic Development. And, you know, they were fantastic and I'm still with them. Right. I'm still part of them. They really kind of gave me. Grounding and support, right? To really help me as a woman business owner grow, reach out, find out what the resources are and help me do those things. And that was critical, right? But now, you know, as you go, you get a team and people that do that with you and so on and so forth. But I have to tell you, resilience will always be a key, no matter what. Right. I think. I think for people who want to start their business, they have to sit down and they have to look at themselves in a mirror. And I wrote another book called Shifting Your Mindset, right, to abundance. And that's about really kind of knowing who you are. Start with you. You got to overcome, like I said, the battleground in your head to get there. When I take a look at being a game changer, there are a lot of critical points that I wrote in my book. But I think one of the biggest things, again, will always be. Know who you are. Know your audience. Do the marketing. 
 Right? I think people forget to understand who they're really targeting, who they're going after. And you know, that's critical when you're starting out. And I'm sure you, as you started your own business, you realize that as well. 
 Like, who am I really going to invite to my show? Or how am I going to do this? And do they need my product? And I started out like doing many tests out there before I even... Kind of went out all in. And that's critical, right? The demographics, understanding who I need to sell to. But that's changed. And that's the one thing as a business owner, you need to understand that that's going to evolve too. As you continue to grow, where you define your products better and better, that changes with it. And you have to redefine that constantly to keep ahead and kind of continue to evolve. And that's, it's tough. 

 Rose | 11:32
It is tough. It is tough to, you know. To, you know, have to reinvent yourself from time to time, you know, to find that marketplace that you know that is out there, but you just need to find it. And in marketing, you're right, is key to that. And you need to now do your research and use those keywords and, you know, write those blog posts and update your website pages from time to time and making sure that, you know, that you're being found in the right places by the right people. 

 Michele | 12:08
I think that's always a challenge though, right? Because I mean, let's talk about, you know, marketing as a whole and overcoming that. I think that was the toughest part of anything that I've ever done. And I'll tell you why, because you really, you know, today's world. Marketing has changed significantly. 
 You know, in the last, I've used alone. And it continues to change, right? Podcasts today are the new TVs. Right. The new news. I Whereas Five years ago, I mean, yeah, they've been around for over 15 years and that, you know, they've been in the industry, but now everybody's coming to the podcast, right, to discuss things. 
 You see, you know, the president obviously was on a podcast. You know, think about that, right? 
 So when you... Yeah. Ha ha! But think about it, right? 
 So like you have all of these different social media platforms, AI is integrated now with them. It's become so robust and so fast. And that was the most difficult, like, where do you start? Yeah, do this. And you can go down rabbit holes of trying to learn. Absolutely. 
 Yeah. You know, and I'm sure you have, right? 
 So you can go down rabbit holes trying to learn how to get your brand out there, how to develop yourself, how to, you know, present yourself. And, you know, and I always just say, be authentic, right? Don't be afraid to admit. When you're not. Don't understand. 
 I mean, I don't walk in a room, drop your ego out the door. Right. 
 I mean, those are things that I always tell everybody when they ask me, they're like, you know, when you walk into a room or a boardroom or, you know, you're walking into a larger client and, you know, there were all these people. You know, how do you feel? And I said, you know, listen, you're always going to have butterflies when you meet somebody, right? I'm the type of person that, you know, you're just going to, I'm going to overcome them really quick, right? Overcome your fear. Bye. I believe in myself and I believe what I'm delivering and I believe in my message. And I think that's the most important because at the end of the day, I, that's really all I have, you know what I mean? 
 Like, and if I don't, display that then Who else can speak for me? I mean, you Like there's no one else that's going to, you know, stand up in that room for me. 

 Rose | 14:43
Absolutely. And you've got to be authentic in your work. Your delivery of whatever it is that you're doing, whether you're giving a, you know, a Ted talk or you're at a networking event or, you know, Your marketing, everything's got to be authentic. It's got to be you. It's got to reflect you as a person. And you're right about ego, you've got to leave that outside the door. 

 Michele | 15:09
Yeah, I mean... I always say to myself, you know, when I take a look at kind of like, My journey isn't a straight line, right? It was never a straight line into entrepreneurship. It's a tapestry, like you said, of resilience, reinvention, and a relentless pursuit of growth. And I think that is what the game changer is. Right. We all have the ability and power within to become that game changer, but not everybody has the ability to Continue. Pursuing it. They give up too easily. Right. You have to be able to sit down and know the actions that you need to take. And that you need to overcome those challenges, right? Not only personally, but professionally, right? You're not always going to have that foundation that you need, right? But you got to get rid of... The abyss of self-doubt, right? Procrastination. We'll kill you. But some form of procrastination is healthy. And that's what I found, right? But When you procrastinate, you start to stagnate. Right. And don't overthink. 
 You know, don't overthink. We all tend to overthink. And what I've learned by overthinking is you're going to just sit there and spin your wheels and it's going to keep you up at 3 a.m. Right. And I think that's kind of the key when I say, you know, kind of. Having that grit, understand these things. Have a new good. The grit, the resilience, and the perseverance. Perseverance, I'm sorry, to stay on the course and rise above the noise. And I think that's kind of where I am. Really kind of focus on. 

 Rose | 17:02
Right yeah i agree with that i think you know you've got to have all of those things if you're going to be a successful business person it doesn't matter what industry you're in you have to have all of those things and you know Okay. Authenticity is really high on the list of my priorities and integrity. I think you've got to have and a high level of integrity to be in any business. And it has to shine through. 

 Michele | 17:33
Yes. You know, integrity is a great word. But even the best people have lost integrity. And, you know, it's hard because When I think about. A lot of people who were successful and then their ego got in the way. And they became unsuccessful because of the lack of integrity, unfortunately. It just keeps you grounded and remind you that, you know, what's important is people. I love building communities. As an entrepreneur, I mean, I think now in the phase of my... Stewardship, as an entrepreneur is always been teaching others and building that community and sharing with them the resources that I know. And, you know, it doesn't cost much to share your knowledge, right? 
 Somebody told me a long time ago that, you know, you have 1% knowledge and then you have, you know, 20% more. Than what somebody else doesn't know. 
 So share it. And I always have that like in the back of my mind when I meet people, sometimes I over talk. 
 Yeah. But that's me. 

 Rose | 18:49
I mean, this is how we learn. This is how we grow as humans. I think, you know, you can't keep it all to yourself. That's selfish. 

 Michele | 18:59
And you're absolutely right with that. You know, I mentor these young women in code. That want to get into cybersecurity. I think the biggest challenge that I see for a lot of them is the confidence. Right. The building the confidence to get where they want and get to where they want to go. And, you know, I have great conversations and I always tell them, you know what? Stop thinking about it. Just do it. 
 You know, I had this young lady just reach out to me the other day. She was an MIT student here in New York and she was graduating with her MBA and she was having difficulty getting a job. She was like, I don't know, you know, like, so we walked through the process of interviewing and how to interview and where to go find jobs. And she just IM'd me on LinkedIn like this. That she got her first job and she was so proud of herself. And I'm like, you see, you got it. You got this, you know? And I think sometimes you just need somebody behind you cheering you on. And that's the hardest part. And I'll add that as an entrepreneur. There's... You're very alone. In this journey sometimes. And it's hard to find that support system or that one person that's going to say, keep going. Don't worry. You got this. And you got to be your own cheerleader. Yes, you have to be your own cheerleader. 
 So put up visuals, put a post-it notes. I mean, every day I have something that, you know, pops up on my phone that reminds me of why I started this journey. Right. But again, stay positive, smile. It's hard. It's hard because you want. You want the best for yourself. You're building generations. 
 And then if you have families, they're relying on you. That pressure's there. But you know what? If you started this journey, you believed in yourself in the beginning. 
 So continue to do that. And you do have people don't shut down. A lot of people isolate themselves when they start to fail or they're not sure things, they're not sure how to fix something that went broken or you have a client. We're all going to have clients, you know. It just happens, right? I'm needless to say, right? 
 Yeah. 

 Rose | 21:20
So just stay true to yourself and stay true to your goal and just, you know, plow ahead and, you know, keep your. Deal. You're... Intentions, church. 

 Michele | 21:34
Yes. Persevere. 

 Rose | 21:37
Absolutely. Absolutely. Now, if you want to, getting in touch with Michele. You can find her on LinkedIn at Michele Novak-Abugosh and on her Facebook profile. It's got a heap of numbers, but these will be in the show notes. 
 So you can just click on them and you can reach her through there. And then on her website is carlenilbite.com. Her book, I believe, is up there. I'm not quite sure what the book is. Can you explain what book you've got. 

 Michele | 22:08
On? Absolutely. It's overcoming your fears. I have a couple of them, but overcoming the fear of entrepreneur and solopreneurship. And transform to a game changer. It's on Kindle. And if you look me up, it's going to be Michele Novak. My maiden name. 
 Yeah. So yeah. Wonderful. I love. 

 Rose | 22:33
Michele. It's been an absolute pleasure to meet you. And thank you for sharing with us today about how we can all become game changers. 

 Michele | 22:41
Absolutely. Thank you so much for allowing me. Have a great day, everyone. 

 Outro | 22:45
You've been listening to Talking With The Experts, hosted by Rose Davidson. Make sure you have a look at our back catalogue over at talkingwiththeexperts.com. And be sure to subscribe to our podcast so you don't miss out on any episode. We look forward to your company next time.