Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Courtney Tidona; she is a Business & Marketing Coach based in Toronto, Canada.

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

I am a Business & Marketing Coach for female entrepreneurs who feel stuck in the hustle and are constantly burning themselves out to grow their business in the digital space. They are done with the feast and famine of inconsistent income, clients, and lukewarm marketing and are ready to step into the empowered AF CEO they know they are! I create bulletproof marketing plans for all of my clients from an aligned place, and my goal is to not only create 6 & 7 figure women but to create long-lasting friendships with all of them!

Tell us about yourself

I'm 28, based in Toronto, and a 3x founder. Now that sounds amazing and all, but my journey to where I am now was not an easy one. Looking back now, I am super grateful for all the obstacles and roadblocks that were put on my path, as it is now the driving factor in everything I do. I struggled with an 11 battle with anorexic from the young age of 11 and was crippled with anxiety & depression through most of my teenage years. I never felt good enough, was constantly comparing myself to others (and we now know how easy that is with the growth of social media). I grew up an athlete and attached much of my worth and identity to being the best at my sport, Track & Field. After turning down 3 scholarships to the U.S.A for track, I started to lose myself and downward spiraled in the thick of my eating disorder. I remember such a pivotal moment in my journey when I was doing a push-up and couldn't even hold my body weight up because of how weak I had become. In that moment, something clicked for me, and I realized I no longer wanted to be this girl that was obsessed with keeping up an image and trying to be something & someone I was not. I want to be strong, resilient and this brought me back to my days of being an athlete. I wanted to be strong, capable, and confident and be a voice and an example for other women.

Although my recovery from that point on was still a long uphill journey, I had a newfound purpose. This inspired me to start my first business as a Personal Trainer. I wanted to empower women to love all parts of themselves and to find their back to what truly made them happy. I then started my second business in the social selling industry at 25 and built a global team within the top 6% of the company, and then in June of 2021, I added on my third business focusing on business coaching with a focus on marketing for women in the online space.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

That's a tough one, there have been so many incredible milestones, but I think the ability to be multi-passionate and have many different ways & avenues that I can help women. Being able to share my story through the speaking engagements is also a project that's been in the works for several years, so to see it all come to life has been such a dream come true.

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

Without a doubt, self-doubt! It's something that I love to be transparent about; I'm not perfect; even though I've been building several businesses for over 9 years, that voice still creeps up on me. Is this even possible, is this dream too big, will this project really work, will people care about what I have to say. As an empowered CEO, it takes sitting in that discomfort and learning from what the resistance is trying to teach you, and growth is NEVER easy; it's super uncomfortable, but I've learned that resistance is a good thing; it's how we break through to our next level. If anyone reading this is struggling with self-doubt, know that you are not alone, and you're not doing anything wrong. We're human but lean into the discomfort because this is where true purpose, grit & resilience is born. The most empowered version of you acknowledges the doubt but continues to move through it anyway!

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

If you are brand new, be patient with yourself and build a rock-solid foundation! I see a lot of women jumping into building a business which is amazing, but they rush through the most important part. Think of it like dating; you want to take your time in the beginning and set your structure upright, so you create sustainability and longevity. Second tip would be to BE YOURSELF AND STOP COMPARING!!! This one is HUGE! It's easy to compare and look at someone online making 7 figures when you are just starting out and feel defeated, but your best asset in business is YOU! Allow yourself time to reflect and disconnect and constantly ask yourself, does this feel good, is this 100% authentic to me, or am I trying to be a polished version of someone else. Especially from a marketing perspective, marketing will never stick with your audience if it isn't coming from you.
The Empowered AF CEO is not following others; she's leading herself! Finally, be willing to pivot, adapt and restructure things. So many women give up when things don't work out; they have a failed launched, no sign-ups for their program or new customers. That's okay! Pivot! I've had to structure and restructure things a zillion times! Have the courage to be super honest with yourself about what's producing results and what's not and adapt accordingly. I actually love planning out my entire year now so I can see exactly what's going on in my business, and that helps me pivoting if necessary. Make little tweaks along the way but hold your big picture vision.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I think the last thing is to ask for help! I am such a big believer in investing in coaching. Don't get me wrong, you can build a business on your own, but why would you want to when you can invest in someone who can get you there 10x faster. A lot of my success I owe to my many mentors that I've had along the way and still have to this day. Another thing I'd love to add is when you are building a business, be careful with who you share your ideas with! Create a circle of a trusted support group who lifts you up, and if you don't yet have that, then be okay with you being your only support system. As you continue to grow, you will find people along the way who are aligned with you! Also, another reason why coaching is so important because you have someone in your corner who's been where you've been and is your biggest cheerleader along the way!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.courtneytidona.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtney.tidona/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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