This week on the show, I’m super excited to have creative career coach Michelle Ward back as part of the Friendpreneur Series. Michelle has been on 3 times in the past, and we always have a blast (you can find links to the other episodes at the bottom of this post). I think you will love that we talk about some of the challenges of being an entrepreneur, and how she’s recently chosen to refresh and change her coaching offerings. In looking back over her clients and work over the past 10 years, it became apparent that the work she loved and got the most traction with clients is in the “discover, launch, build” season of beginning a creative entrepreneurial business.
Here’s what I love about Michelle (and what she shares in this interview) – she’s wildly dedicated to helping entrepreneurs figure out the what and the how of launching a biz. Her passion is really about getting past the road blocks and limiting mindset of a person’s initial creative idea. So many entrepreneur hopefuls have big ideas, but get stuck, and stop, and it’s her mission to help people figure out the ways past and out of the places they are stuck. She does everything from suggesting a website they can go to find a manufacturer for their product, goes over potential flaws in the product, suggests different ways the entrepreneur can raise funds for their idea, and much more. She’s so passionate about what she does.
Knowing that this is the territory Michelle loves – we talked about it a lot.
She shared some of the common areas that new entrepreneurs get stuck:
1. That thing that feels like fun? That’s where your business is.
2. Do I want to do this forever? Maybe not? Approach the baby steps as a place to start.
3. Can’t figure out what fun looks like for you? Play. Consider those things that you do with your free time.
4. The biggest roadblock? People feel like they need to have a guarantee that whatever they’re tying out will be the thing they do forever. This idea of finality makes it hard to move forward, so it’s good to ask yourself – how can this be the place I’m starting? How do I let go of the idea that this has to be forever?
In this chat, Michelle Ward and I talk about:
- Her 10 years as an entrepreneur and creative career coach
- How she’s been craving change and got it
- Her methodology on identifying the foundational programs that she wanted to include in her business, moving forward
- Her new “Build Your Client Base” program that will be launching in mid-June
- How to avoid getting stuck in the analysis paralysis (set a timer for 45 minutes, research, make a decision
- The emotional mind / body connection of running the NY half marathon this year after a cancer diagnosis two years ago
- As an entrepreneur, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel – that’s why there are genres
- Lin-Manuel Miranda’s discussion with Sondheim, and why we should keep looking at the new angles on the things we love – it keeps us fresh, and it keeps our followers or fans engaged.
Resources
Michelle Ward’s When I Grow Up Coach website
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s interview from NY Times from October 16, 2017
Michelle Ward, keynoting Women, work, and worth conference with Mavenly (registration is open)
Waitress the Musical
Hamilton the Musical
You’re a BadAss at making money by Jen Sincero on Amazon
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan on Amazon
Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey Off the Beaten Path by Erin Loechner on Amazon
Hunger by Roxanne Gaye on Amazon
The Dead Moms Club: A Memoir about Death, Grief, and Surviving the Mother of All Losses on Amazon
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