Everybody wants support. Sponsorships, shoutouts, funding, followers. But the truth is, if you’re not willing to invest your own time, money, and energy into your idea, no one else is going to either. You can’t expect people to believe in something you barely back yourself.

When I started Holy Hoops, I didn’t wait for a sponsor to write a check. I printed flyers with my own money. I got shirts made before I even had vendors locked in. I put in hours building the event before anyone outside my circle knew what it was. That’s what made people pay attention.

You don’t need thousands of dollars. But you do need to be willing to skip comfort for the bigger picture. That might mean putting your own money into your first product drop. It might mean staying up late designing instead of just talking about your goals. Most people love to plan but hate to actually build.

Putting something on the line makes your mindset shift. You’re not just playing with ideas. You’re building something that costs you. And because of that, you take it more seriously. You move different. You show up with intention.

People can tell when you’re all in. They can see it in how you talk about your brand, how you prepare, how you push through the slow days. That energy spreads. That’s what turns a small project into something worth betting on.

If you’re waiting for someone else to come in and save your dream, it’s not going to happen. Start with what you’ve got. Stack small wins. Prove it works on your own terms.

Because once people see that you believe in yourself, they’ll start to believe too. But it has to start with you.