Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kathy Grassett, founder of Kathy Grassett LLC., located in Orlando, FL, USA.

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

I am a Money Breakthrough Business Coach, specifically serving longtime corporate professional women who've transitioned into a consulting or coaching business where they monetize their genius or are getting ready to do so. These are women for whom this transition is not only a professional one but a deeply personal life transition as well. Because when you've been in a corporate career for two decades or more, and you've climbed to very high levels, you form an intricate, deep connection to the identity you create while achieving this success. An identity that's been shaped and programmed to be successful in that type of environment.

Additionally, most women at this stage, as a result, lose sight of themselves in the process and aren’t really sure of who they are as a person. This unique dynamic can hold you back significantly in your business but is ignored in other business coaching programs.

For these women, before they focus on the mechanics of choosing a niche, creating packages, and selling their services, it’s important to get in the right headspace first, including rediscovering yourself, tapping into your inner entrepreneur, and shifting your thinking and behaviors from those of an employee to a premier money-making business owner. So, I help these women master this shift from employee to entrepreneur, then uplevel their audience, packages, pricing, and sales conversations so that they can 10x their income, achieve even greater success, and never have to worry about going back to a 9-5.

Tell us about yourself

I am a Generation-X introvert, wife, mom to three sons, and a 20-year corporate veteran. I started my corporate career immediately after graduating college, and I worked my way up for big-name global companies and became a well-respected technology project management expert.

I had a very successful career, but, like so many corporate professionals, I reached a point where my paycheck no longer justified the demands of that lifestyle. I was suffering. And that suffering affected my husband and children in tremendous ways. I still had a strong drive for professional success, so I decided to start my own business and design the lifestyle I wanted instead. I was two weeks shy of my 42nd birthday when I took the leap.

Starting my business was easy. And the mechanics of growing an online service business seemed straightforward. But I just couldn’t fit all the pieces together, and nothing I did ever felt right. And my thoughts, once full of confidence and motivation, progressed rapidly to ones full of doubt and insecurity as I went from a professional high to a professional low in a matter of months. Through a lot of personal development, I realized that I didn’t know who I was as a person coming out of the corporate bubble because that person was buried under layers and layers of a persona I’d created to succeed in my corporate career. And that persona was shaped by thoughts and behaviors that served me well for two decades but were the exact opposite of what I needed to thrive as a business owner.

Once I peeled back the layers and shifted out of employee mode into the mode of authentic entrepreneur, everything fell into place. I was then driven to offer full-spectrum business coaching specifically to other women who’ve spent long careers in corporate and struggle with the personal transition as much as the professional. By helping them, I also help their partners, their children, and everyone they touch in some way. How could I not love the ripple effect of doing that?

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My perseverance and determination to work through my initial mindset obstacles. Unpacking and sorting through all my corporate baggage took me a very long time. My business growth was incredibly slow during this time. So many times, I wanted to give up, and I'd even search job postings to see what I could apply for back in corporate. There's a reason why most businesses fail in their early years. We are typically our own biggest obstacle. Getting to the root of my obstacle was huge for me. And when I noticed the same patterns in nearly every other female entrepreneur I met, I knew there was a big opportunity to make a difference in the lives and businesses of others.

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

Isolation. Particularly if you come from a corporate environment where you had leaders to validate your work and coworkers to bounce ideas off of. Your network of support disappears. It's also quite common for friends, former coworkers, and even family to distance themselves from you once you transition careers or disappear altogether. It's hard to know why. Perhaps the feeling that you threw away a good thing for something that's so uncertain. Maybe jealousy that you had the courage to do something they wish they could do. Or it could be that they just don't relate. Then add to all this that you're sitting at your computer by yourself if you're an online service provider. It can get very lonely, even for an introvert.

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

  1. Make mindset work just as routine as focusing on the mechanics of your business. It's important at every stage of business because as you elevate to each new level, new doubts and insecurities will surface. And your corporate persona or parts of it may continue to linger for years after you start your business. Recognize the blocks and continually do the work to remove them.
  2. Build up a support network in your new entrepreneurial space. Your former corporate colleagues do not understand what you're going through, and though they can provide a supportive ear, they won't know what to tell you to help you break through to your next level. Find accountability buddies in networking groups or your cohort going through a coaching program and continue the relationship to support each other. And don't shy away from being an accountability buddy with someone that focuses on the same thing as you. These people will understand your experience better than anyone, with whom great ideas can ignite and be validated. Don't view them as competition. There is plenty of business to go around.
  3. Get clear on your core values. They can and often do change over time so if you haven't thought about them in a while, re-evaluate them after corporate. These will become the ultimate guideposts for everything you do going forward in your business and life. The directions you take and the decisions you make all become easier. If what you're considering aligns with your core values, keep going. If it doesn't, pass and move on. It's as simple as that.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://kathygrassett.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathygrassettcoach
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathy_grassett/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-grassett/

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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