Choose to Be Happy - Anna Liebel

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Anna Liebel, a mindshifter, business coach, and startup mentor based in Reykjavik, Iceland.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I help male C-level leaders and their teams to get out of firefighter mode and stay sane on the rocket ship of a fast-growing company. Many businesses crack and burn when they reach that desired hockey-stick growth. We work on improving the self-leadership of the company's key players and building a healthy culture that will ensure the sustainable growth of the team and the well-being of its members. My focus is on late start-ups and scale-ups within tech, but I've also worked with service providers, consultancies, and consumer brands.

Tell us about yourself

I have a background in computer science and project management and love the "people" part of my job. While working on developing technologically advanced products, I was getting the most energy out of helping my team members grow, succeed, and become better versions of themselves every day. The idea of getting into some kind of coaching full-time came to my mind when others started asking for pieces of advice and guidance for their personal development many times per week. And once, a friend with whom I've been having weekly calls said, "Anna, I've been getting so much value from this [our calls]. I want to pay you". After a while, I registered a company and started taking in paying clients.

My motivators are the victories of my clients, both small and big. When clients write to me that they are having a tough day and manage to catch themselves on the negative thoughts, stop the downward spiral, take a break to reset and recharge themselves, and manage to make it a good day. Or when they share a critical situation within their company and tell me how they have handled it in a healthy way aligned with their values. I see that by working for a longer time with leaders and going in-depth with their personal development, I create a positive impact on a larger scale. When my clients lead themselves in a better way, they lead others better as well. They build companies where employees thrive, they attract fantastic clients, and they make this world a better place through their passionate work and great products and services.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Choosing happiness every day. I went solo because I was tired of the constant search for meaning in my corporate jobs. Only to realize that meaning, fulfillment and happiness are choices, and we can make them anytime, no matter the circumstances. My mission is to be happy and help others choose to do the same. In 2022, this mission has been probed big time with the war back home. I am Ukrainian, and even though I've been living abroad since 2010, my family and friends are there; I've only hired Ukrainians as contractors for my business and have been generally engaged in promoting Ukraine internationally and creating new opportunities for the youth there. So 2022 has been the year of truly practising what I preach and, by my own example, showing clients that they can choose to be happy, no matter what the world looks like around them.

I've taken the mission to the stages of the biggest tech conference in the world, the Web Summit. I promoted it from my podcast, Genius Leadership: Overcoming Everything. Taught it to the employees of global brands like the Richemont group (home to Chloé, Cartier, and Montblanc), ManoMano, and Forvia. Helped leaders and their teams (confidential) grow in a healthier and happier way. The best thing about being a business owner to me is having the freedom to decide how the mission is to be implemented in bold, fun, and sometimes crazy ways.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Showing a representative, honest behind-the-scenes picture of building a business. I love my work with clients; they make me super proud daily. I enjoy building a broader community of responsible leaders. Every time I'm teaching or coaching, I'm in a flow. But there are things that I don't like (accounting, building systems for the business to run smoothly). I also have tough days and low moments. Being a coach and a business therapist, as some clients call me, I need coaching and therapy myself. It takes a lot of awareness and intentionality to remember to show all sides to my audience, to paint the picture in all colors, and not only rosy-pink ones.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Ask for help. From your family and friends, hire a team, work with a coach, and create a support group/mastermind with other solopreneurs. Lean onto people who know you well, can see your patterns, and call you out when you sabotage yourself for some reason.
2. Work it till it works. Give it time, have trust and be patient. It takes time to see the results of any step/decision. If you jump from one strategy to another, one system to another, and one action to another, nothing will ever work. I had to practice deciding on a path and then sticking to it long enough to see any results (with reflection and tweaking small parts on the way, of course).
3. Know thyself. It's so difficult and draining to build and maintain a business in a way that doesn't suit you! It is crucial to learn what kind of company and lifestyle you want to have, how you want your days, weeks, and months to look like, who you want to work with, and how, etc.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: http://annaliebel.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna.liebel/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/liebel_anna
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-liebel/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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