Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in career development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jennifer Fink, Founder of Fink Development, located in San Francisco, CA, USA.

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

Fink Development is a boutique career coaching collective that brings together the most experienced and effective coaches in their niche to help you identify your unique career goals and then achieve them. We help mid-career managers, leaders, and senior executives gain clarity about where they are trying to go and why, navigate their next career transition successfully, and continually develop in their current roles to be the most effective leaders they can be. We aim to be the long-term support partner that an individual can come back to any time they have a career question and they are looking for the best person or resource to help them solve it.

Tell us about yourself

Well, I got started in career coaching after I had my own career clarity crisis back in 2011. I was spinning in circles and couldn't decide where to take my career, and I didn't know why I couldn't figure it out. I went to see a career coach and realized that I was asking them more questions than they were asking me. It triggered a lightbulb moment of realizing this might be the path I was looking for all along. I then spent two years learning about and testing a pivot into the career management space.

In those early years, when I had just started coaching, I sat across the table from hundreds of individuals who would tell me that they didn't have anything to offer, despite looking at their resumes chocked full of VERY impressive accomplishments. It made me realize, beyond my own personal experience, just how challenging the job search process and navigating your career can be and how it really tears peoples' confidence apart. I knew that I wanted to make the process easier for others. So, I started my company and haven't looked back since. I would say that's still my mission today, more than a decade later, to help people navigate their career journey with more clarity, more confidence, and clear actions that move the needle.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Growing a network of amazing coaches and being able to impact more clients every single day around the globe. Building a brand that people want to get behind is hard, scaling a company is even harder, and showing up every single day focused to ask the questions: "how do we keep going? How do we improve? How do we add more value to our clients?" is even harder. The career coaching space is a challenging and competitive one to be in, and it's exciting to have been around for so long, to still be growing, and to help my clients and coaches grow, as well.

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

There are many things I could say here, and depending on the day you ask me, I might have a different answer. Today my answer is figuring out how to focus and prioritize your time, especially as a working parent or caregiving.

Anyone who thinks that being an entrepreneur is a walk in the park is in for a rude awakening. I spend a lot of time working on my mindset, outlining my goals, and prioritizing the moves that are going to make the biggest impact on my company. And I help my career coaching clients and career coaches do the same. There will never be enough time in the day, so getting very clear about what your goals are and why and then figuring out the best way to solve them is key.

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

  1. Figure out your niche as soon as possible. Go smaller than you think is possible. And go all in on that niche. It doesn't mean you can't change it later, and it doesn't mean that you will limit your options. Many people hear this tip but disregard it without realizing how important it is.
  2. Establish your product market fit as soon as possible. But seriously, establish your product market fit! It's not enough to make assumptions about what people need and want; you have to talk to actual humans and figure out how what they need fits into what you can and want to offer. Many people skip this step and go straight to building their products or services. It's actually one of the top predictors of a failed business idea.
  3. Build a Minimum Viable Product. Truly an MVP. I've worked with a lot of entrepreneurs during my time in higher education and sat through MANY pitch competitors. So many entrepreneurs have told me their minimum viable product, and I can reduce it ten steps back. You may feel like you need to or want to start building your product or service right away, but it's just usually not necessary in the beginning. In the coaching space, specifically, this almost always means spending time building a website before you can launch. You will think you NEED it, but you don't! Get out there and test your concept instead; once it's validated, then you can start to think about building.
  4. Constantly build and grow your network for your career and your business. One conversation can lead to countless opportunities. If you'd like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out by email or on LinkedIn, I love meeting fellow entrepreneurs.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.finkdevelopment.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finkdev/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/finkdevelopment/

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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