Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in professional development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Danielle Roessle, Founder of Inner Compass Coach, LLC., located in Denver, CO, and Bethesda, MD, USA.

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

With a background in social work and career development, I have psychology and career development extensively. What I have learned is that the best way to find a career or business that's a better fit is to go back to the source of where your motivations developed- childhood. Childhood is where you form your identity, and it is the doorway to show you what makes you feel alive, what holds you back, and what gives you a sense of contribution and fulfillment.

My clients are mid-career professionals, executive leaders, and business owners who feel misaligned in their work. My 3-month signature program, The Inner Compass Process, helps them identify the behavioral patterns that allow them to thrive, break through the patterns that are holding them back, and identify opportunities that would be a better fit based on their self-discovery.

I've written a book, created an online course, and a robust coaching program called The Inner Compass Process that allows career changers and aspiring business owners to access transformative content and make meaningful changes using whatever format best meets their needs.

Tell us about yourself

My business is based on what deeply motivated me from my childhood and still motivates me to this day- my desire to create and connect. I started my business in 2014 because I was working in the career development field and noticed a gap. Coming from a background in clinical social work, I found career services focused on providing vocational assessments and reviewing the results with clients. While assessments provided generalities about a person’s strengths and interests, they did not to the core of what motivates people and why people do what they do.

I wanted to create a process focused on exploring motivation based on behavioral patterns stemming from childhood, which was essential for helping me find my path and clarifying my core motivations. I also wanted to provide career and business suggestions that accounted for the realities of the job market, which I found many assessments failed to do.

My motivation to go to work every day stems from my childhood, which is my desire to connect deeply with others and create meaningful experiences. I was a teenager who had friends from different cliques. While I felt I never fit in, I desired to connect with others because I wanted to be liked. I also loved creating programs for my youth group, whether it be social, community service, or spiritual, because creating experiences was another way I could connect with others.

My biggest gifts are my ability to connect with others from all different backgrounds and to repurpose what I’ve learned about how to find career and business alignment through deep introspection.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment was the development of the Inner Compass Process. I love that my creativity and insight in building this program have manifested into feedback from participants that it works. It took several years to write my book and create my online course. It was an act of taking my subconscious to conscious — figuring out the different bodies of work I referenced to create my program, carefully looking at how I coach and pinpointing the questions I ask my clients to help them find clarity. I had to explore every aspect of my work, find language to describe it, test it on multiple people, and tweak it so that readers and course participants could do it on their own.

For example, I received a message on Facebook from someone I had never met that my book helped them clarify they were on the right career path. They had been experiencing doubts for months, but exploring their core motivations from childhood helped them realize that their current career path was meeting their needs — they needed to make a few adjustments in their current roles and responsibilities. I felt grateful to hear this feedback and to know that my work is making a difference.

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

In 2018, or four years into my business, I was working 70-hour work weeks. I was making significant money, but I was burned out. I learned that money was not a driver for me at the cost of personal growth, creativity, and service. That's when I decided to write my book, The Inner Compass Process, and create my online course because I needed to scale my work and people's access to it.

A part of this journey in scaling my business was also to hire another career counselor to assist with the delivery of coaching. This experience provided a profound understanding of myself, which was how much I enjoyed developing programs that didn’t require me to coach directly and to see these programs serve others in finding a career and business alignment.

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

  1. If you're starting a business, be intentional- In my experience, business owners might start a business because they like the idea of it, not because they have created a job that truly aligns with who they are and the gifts they bring to the world. If we slow down and ask ourselves, is the job I’m creating for myself in alignment with my innate gifts, and what motivates me? Am I working with clients/customers that truly share my values? Have I created a job for myself that I truly enjoy and can grow from? It's powerful what this inquiry can do to help us calibrate our compass and make choices that align who we are and what we need.
  2. Test the waters- I find the biggest mistake business owners make before they start a business, create a product or service, or determine an ideal client is that they fail to test the waters. If you're considering starting a new business, creating a product or service, or changing your niche or ideal client, here are some ways you can test the waters:

    a.) Talk to people who have similar business to what you're considering. Ask them about their experiences and the day-to-day realities of the business, including the good and the bad.

    b.) Job shadow for a day- See if you can get an idea of what the day-to-day looks like (if this is appropriate for your venture, such as the case of purchasing a franchise).

    c.) Try your product, service, or offering on some test clients for free. Use it as an opportunity to see if you like what you are offering, get feedback on how to improve your offering, hone your ideal client, and get testimonials.
  3. Get the support of a coach or accountability group- Many businesses fail because the owner fails to execute. A coach or accountability group can help you ensure that you’re following through on your goals.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Play and have fun. It's easy to get wrapped up in business, even if you love what you're doing. Play has a two-fold effect. It helps bring more work-life balance and brings us back to our true nature. Play allows for work-life balance because we are consciously building time into our schedule to meet our needs for fun, movement, creativity, joy, and pleasure.

It also allows us to get back to our true nature. When we play, it taps unique energy and allows us to be present enough to get into a state of flow. That state of flow helps us tap our creative side, which can assist in building products or services and/or problem-solving in our business.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.innercompasscoach.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/innercompasscoach
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innercompasscoach/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielleroessle/

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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