Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Debra E. Blaine, Founder of Resilience Coaching, LLC. and Very Indie Press, located in Melville, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a physician turned author and coach. I have two niches: one is helping writers at all stages, including self-publishing their books. The other is working with burned-out health professionals who feel they are losing their identities, their values, and their connections to their souls in the now impersonal, profit-driven healthcare industry.
Tell us about yourself
I am, myself, a "burnout survivor." I practiced medicine for well over thirty years and became overwhelmed and dissatisfied by the current state of corporatized medicine, an industry that treats patients like customers and health like a commodity to be leveraged for financial gain.
I wrote my first medical thriller to expose what has happened to our system and to demonstrate to the public why it seems their doctors don't care as much anymore. I found I love writing fiction, and I have since published an additional political thriller and a dystopian fiction as well. I'm now underway in a new sci-fi series. All of my books have societal commentary, which I hope makes them relevant as well as entertaining, and it makes me feel I am making a contribution to the thought patterns of today's world.
When I learned to self-publish, it was a complete game changer, making it possible to release high-quality books on my own timeline and get 4-5 times the royalties paid to me directly. Now I offer this service to those I work with.
My motivation is to help my clients say "no" to traditional avenues to success handed down from family, friends, and company leadership if and when their own needs lie elsewhere and to help them carve their own path toward the life they choose for themselves. My own discovery of how important it is to find personal satisfaction and expression led me to realize how stifled this is in much of our current society. There is also nothing like the joy of seeing my authors get their books distributed around the world, when and how they want, and on their own terms.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Seeing my clients accomplish things they would never have reached for on their own leading to their success in a more rewarding life. A life that feeds their spirits and their bank accounts.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
For me, it is marketing on a consistent basis. I hate selling because part of me associates it with the sleazy car salesman of old. But I've learned we all "sell" ourselves every day. I contracted with a fantastic social media coach to help me get past my reluctance.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do what you love and believe in yourself. There are enough people in the world that there is a market out there for your product or service.
- Don't worry about being perfect. It's too hard to identify with perfection. Just be authentic.
- Don't shy away from making connections. Not only do you never know who holds the key to a great opportunity, but helping others along the way is what it's all about.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://debrablaine.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebraBlaineAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/docdebwriter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/debrablainemd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-blaine-md-7ab42535/
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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