Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jessica Wan, Leadership and Executive Coach, based in Berkeley, CA, USA.

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

I'm an executive and leadership coach. My clients are business owners, C-level, SVP, VP, and Director-level professionals with big jobs, big lives, and big dreams. They work with me to navigate change in many forms, including:

  • Thriving in a new leadership role and/or company.
  • Building confidence in people management and leadership skills.
  • Scaling a business through new stages of growth and change.
  • Pivoting career paths or pursuing passion projects more fully.

I spent nearly two decades working as a marketing leader in tech, startups, and arts nonprofits, and I've been in the trenches. I've worked within amazing, inspirational cultures, and I've survived lackluster, misaligned cultures. I blend business savvy (my Haas MBA, engineering degree, and practical experience) with creativity (lifelong musician + opera singer) for a unique approach to coaching.

Here's what my clients say about working with me: https://www.jessicawan.com/testimonials

Tell us about yourself

Hi, I'm Jessica. You can call me Jessica, Jess, or JWan. I've spent nearly 20 years as a marketing leader, working to connect people with products they need and love. I've spent the last decade building and managing teams. Through team leadership, I discovered my calling: to help others take action and unblock barriers in the way of their success. I've coached people managers and individual contributors, managed creatives and analytical folks, and built diverse teams. In my last role, I sat on the executive team and served as a mentor to folks throughout the organization.

As a coach, I'll help you get unstuck wherever you might be. That could be making the next career move, tackling interpersonal dynamics on your team, or thinking about career growth alongside growing a family. I have found that as whole human beings, we can't truly separate work from life and vice versa. Our identities are all wrapped up in both.

And the best thing about coaching? When you impact an individual to bring the best version of themselves into the world, you not only impact them individually, you impact their family, their work culture, and the communities that they're part of. That's what motivates me every day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I'm proud of the way I launched my business. I translated what a "lean startup" approach would look like for coaching practice and focused on what I believe was the most important thing at the time – validation! Once I had the inkling that coaching might be the right next step for me, I immediately started doing the work – coaching people.

In that first week...

  • No business plan. (not yet!)
  • No marketing strategy. (nope, not yet!)
  • No overthinking all the ways it could fail. (don't even think about it!)

I first wanted to validate that coaching was, in fact, what I wanted to do with my time. Before, during, and after every session, I monitored my energy, curiosity, and passion. And guess what? High marks across the board. We sometimes get stuck because our order of operations is flawed. We forget to validate if something is right before we rush into all the other stuff. If I hadn't found validation, then the business plan wouldn't have mattered.

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

One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is that the community isn't built-in. It's not plug-and-play. I've had to use my natural extraversion to reach out to more people and to realize that a community that's built from me is just as valuable as – or even more valuable than – the built-in community that comes with taking a role at an organization.

If you had asked me in early 2020 (before the pandemic) whether I enjoyed working from home, the answer would have been a resounding NO. I'm an extrovert. I get my energy from being around other people. One of my fears about starting my own business was that I'd feel secluded and alone. When I consulted in 2014, this was how I felt, and it was the reason why I eventually joined a company again.

But, the pandemic changed everything! Going into 2022, I realized that no matter what I decided to do next, I'd probably still spend a substantial amount of time in my lovely home office, where I'd been working since March 2020. How we work has changed, and work from home (for my field of work) is likely going to stay remote or hybrid. My community is mostly virtual, I've had to build it myself, and it's now full of awesome people.

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

  1. Practice self-compassion. If you're considering starting your own business, chances are that you have drive, grit, and passion. But there will be hard moments, and in those moments, self-compassion will be helpful to get you through to the other side.
  2. Talk about your business, and ask for help. Wisdom can come from unexpected places, but only if other people know what you're doing and what you're looking for. The days of the "stealth idea" are gone (unless you're truly working on a cure for cancer). I personally think it's much more interesting to present a semi-baked idea, get feedback, and then fully bake it!
  3. Think about not just what you want your business to look like, but what you want your life to look like. How does your business feed your life goals? How does your work-life fit into your whole life? What would success look like? What would fulfillment look like?

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.jessicawan.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicamwan/

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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