Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dana Smith, Founder of Dana Smith Wellness, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I help ambitious people get unstuck, free from fear, and in touch with their intuition to live their exquisite life with ease. My clients know they’re here to have influence and make an impact during their lifetime but feel off-course and burned out. They can’t tolerate exploiting themselves any longer, and they may be experiencing enormous upheaval as a result of this. I call this process up-leveling. It’s messy, raw, uncomfortable, and pushes the edges of comfort & familiarity, but it’s completely worth it. I facilitate my clients through a process of re-connecting with their Higher Selves. They learn how to manage the influence of negative internal narratives so they can flourish in the presence of their own wisdom and fully thrive again. The work we do is a mixture of gaining insight but also about putting their learning into meaningful action toward their goals and dreams. It’s in the action-taking that the most learning occurs.
Tell us about yourself
About a decade ago, I started my career in helping people achieve their potential as a massage therapist (I’m still practicing) and added coaching to my offerings as soon as I saw that the pain people feel often is often linked to misalignments in other areas of their life, too. I was called to develop skills to help people in this additional way, and I chose to coach as the methodology because of its aspirational and future-facing perspective. This vantage point lined up with my natural inclinations, and it was such a good fit that I dove headlong into the training and certification process. As a coach, I help my clients attune to their innate wisdom by learning to receive bodily information and help them develop skills to regulate their nervous system so that the actions they choose to take are rooted in their true desires, not in fear. Because of my applied science background related to massage therapy, I am able to help people understand what’s happening with their biology as they work with their mindset, spirituality, and creative expression. I have always been interested in human-ness and expression, from figurative painting and drawing to sketch comedy and theatre, then eventually massage and coaching. There continues to be a thread of exploring what it means to be a human and how to be the most authentic version of self. My coaching practice feels like a natural extension of a lifelong journey of personal inquiry, creative expression, healing, and integration. I am in the trenches doing the work of transformation just as my clients are. We are all works in progress.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
About a year and a half ago, I fired the mean boss version of myself that had turned into a tyrant and berated me for my every misstep, fumble, or hesitation. I had started having more cynical, pessimistic, and self-deprecating thoughts, and I could see how this was affecting my ability to reach my true potential. It was toxic and led me to dread working in what was once such a beautiful place of inspiration and healing. I made a deal with myself to only be in my business when it felt good too. This commitment ensured that I spoke nicely to myself, rested when I was tired, allowed for more space to play and create, and ensured that I was as gracious to myself as I am to others. I dropped my expectations of success, the “shoulds” and the “have to.” As liberating as it was, the unlearning and disentangling from deeply rooted oppressive systems were often heavy lifting. I’m grateful for the privilege of being able to press pause and re-invent my motives. The healing in that process has increased my capacity as a coach. I expected to see a dip in my overall revenues as I re-positioned the leadership in my business. But as it turns out, this approach was really good for the bottom line.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Many of us get into this work because we love working with people and being part of their transformation. It truly is magical, no doubt. Many aspects of running a business as a solopreneur have little to do with the actual client work. For me, the hardest part of running my business is losing connection to my vision by getting lost in the minutia of business operations. Most small business owners need to wear all the different hats to ensure the tasks are getting done. Learning to get comfortable with the discomfort of being pulled in many directions is imperative.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Just start. The best way to learn is by doing.
- Be a good boss to yourself. If you wouldn’t tolerate being treated poorly by someone else, don’t tolerate it from yourself either.
- Define how you want to feel when your business is wildly successful and find ways to create that feeling from day one. Don’t deprive yourself of experiencing joy, fulfillment, and confidence while you’re on the journey; the arrival at some fictional destination may never come, so enjoy the ride today.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.danasmithwellness.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanaSmithWellness/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dana_smith_wellness/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danasmithwellness/
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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