The Courage to Own What You Want

I remember back in the day when I was starting my business as a new entrepreneur. I was very determined to make it work. I knew what I wanted to do, but had no clue how to set up a business.

I had the training, I was getting experience, I loved my work, but had zero vision for what I wanted in a business.

At the age of 28, the most important thing to me was having the drive to get as much experience as possible, work with as many clients as I could to pay my bills, and then figure out the business side of things later.

For a while this model worked. I got the experience. Word spread that I was good at what I did. And I loved working with my clients.

I figured out quickly that I wanted to have a bustling private practice. I loved the one on one work and I loved teaching. Over the years my work continued to evolve from teaching yoga into offering bodywork, energy healing, spiritual guidance and counseling. I had a multi-faceted approach to working with clients that enabled me to meet a variety of needs.

At some point, however, as my practice grew -my business plateaued. I found myself in a position of having a full schedule, with very little time off, and almost all my income dependent on the direct value of my individual time.

This was when I knew I was at a pivotal crossroads. How could I scale my business if I could not add more clients to my schedule? This problem was a startling realization.

What was even more troubling to me was I did not know what I was doing wrong. I didn’t know what was missing. I couldn’t understand why my business wasn’t evolving as I was evolving as a practitioner.

Suffice it to say I got a lot of advice from friends and family, but it didn’t help much. Most of the well meaning advice was coming from people who couldn’t envision what I wanted to do, they weren’t on the same path as I was, and they couldn’t relate to my position as a simultaneous practitioner and small business owner . Even the most loving, caring advice would make me feel defeated simply because I did not feel seen in my actual struggle.

There were so many varying facets to who I was and how I worked - I had no idea how to organize it in a way that was effective for potential clients to see how I could help them.

The problem was not financial. It was clear I could make money doing what I loved. The actual problem was having a clear vision for what was possible from where I stood.

I could not see a new possibility because I was stuck where I was. I simply couldn’t see the solution. I was stuck in a blind spot.

My deepest desires, hopes, and fears felt invisible to even some of the closest people around me. And deep down I felt shame.

Shame, I couldn’t figure it out on my own. Shame that I was stuck. Shame that I was not further along on the path of where I wanted to be.

It took me having to sit alone with my shame to finally realize that this was keeping me stuck. I was so afraid to ask for help. And I didn’t know who to ask.

So, one day feeling so fed up with feeling alone, I took action. I researched other practitioners who seemed to have things together in a way that I admired. I set up calls, I took courses on business development, and over about a year or two of floundering, I found my way to a business coach that got me!

I felt seen for the first time in what I actually wanted to create in my business. I could voice my fears without fear of judgment and I simply felt held. This level of support made all the difference.

It was in this moment the course of the way I did business changed. I was able to see what was missing with someone else’s expert eyes on what I was doing. The course shifted not just because I met a business coach for the first time, but because I committed to the process that was underway.

As a result of signing up for her group coaching program I met a community of people who got it, who saw me, who supported me, and who were on the same path. It wasn’t just the coach or the strategy alone that got me through the challenges I faced, which were much more nuanced and numerous than I had imagined, it was the communal support I received along the way that gave me the courage to flourish.

It was this level of community support that gave me the courage to own what I wanted and go for it.

Throughout the years I was with that program I learned how to love myself and own my worth and as a result my work thrived.

Today in my coaching practice I see many highly unique, sensitive, and empathic people get stuck in the same questions. Simply because what they want to do and how they want to get there is unique.

What they want to create has not been done before and this is where I see the biggest struggle for visionary women entrepreneurs - they try to go it alone and wait far too long before reaching out for help.

I don’t promise to be that coach for everyone. I know my work isn’t for everyone. What I do try to encourage is that honoring your calling and building your business is a process. And to make that process effective having the right kind of support for you is essential. It is going to move the needle of progress the most.

The support that sees you. That hears you out. That meets you along the way as you make important and impactful decisions for your business. Often the choices you have to make are beyond just business related. They are creative ones. They are personal ones. They are spiritual ones. They are intimate ones.

The kind of support that we need in our businesses extends way beyond just practical strategies. What I see is needed most is the emotional clarity and self-confidence needed to make the practical choices that matter most in the long run.

Are you someone who is at a pivotal crossroads in your career? Are you secretly struggling alone to figure it all out? Do you seek a supportive community of peers that will see you?

If you are I’d love for you to join us on Thursday October 10th at 4PM Central Time for a gathering about the Medicine Woman Mentorship Program.

Let’s help you see what’s missing. Let’s help you see that there is a clear choice no matter what challenges are in front of you.

It would be my honor to support you and a joy to welcome you into the group!

It’s free. My intention is to help support the vision you have for your work and life see a way to becoming a practical reality.

I hope you will join us!

You can RSVP here.

With love & respect,

Andrea