Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and career development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kate Stephenson, Founder of KEMPS Consulting, located in Jersey City, NJ, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I work with dreamers to tell their stories in a way that births their dreams into reality. This manifests in a number of ways. I have three main branches of business.
I am a holistic life coach, a publishing consultant, and a career specialist. The primary activity of those three hats is essentially the same: I assist people in speaking their dreams, crafting goals to help them realistically create them, and we work together on achievable benchmarks to meet those goals. Often people see the three areas of my business as separate functions, but they are quite interrelated. Each one involves helping people articulate their stories truthfully and authentically and live their dreams without hesitation or fear.
Tell us about yourself
My mother gave me a journal when I was 8, and I've been a writer ever since. But I figured out over time that while I had skill as a writer, what I enjoyed more was helping other people hone the craft of telling their stories. Over time, that morphed into editing and then resume writing. A long-time client of mine said to me in the middle of a resume consultation that I wasn't really a resume writer as much as I was a career coach. I had no idea what that meant, so she encouraged me to go find out. As a curious being who always loves a good tip, I did just that. That insight my client so graciously shared revealed my true motivation. Helping other people to understand and see their own amazingness gives me life! Most of us go through life deaf and blind to our own gifts and contributions to the world. It's my job in all of my functions to shine a light and be a mirror to those gifts so that people can show up in the world more confident in who they are and what they offer.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I consider my network of colleagues and mentors my greatest professional accomplishment. Popular culture would have us believe that we can move mountains on our own. While I put great stock and credence to individual power, motivation, and personal will, I have discovered that virtually no success story can be attributed to anyone. We all need other people around us to enrich us, empower us, and encourage us. Over the years, I have cultivated an amazing network of driven, ambitious, ethical, future-minded professionals without whose support I would not have the business I have today.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Being a business owner means being responsible for everything. When you work for someone else, there are so many issues about which you never have to be aware. When you own the business, everything falls on your shoulders. Figuring out when and how to delegate to others, who to trust to handle sensitive information, and allowing for organic and strategic growth can be tricky.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The three things I would tell anyone looking for advice about starting a business today are:
- Go do it! We can think and plan and research forever. Start somewhere small, and just do it.
- Seek feedback--from credible, useful sources who have some knowledge about what you want to do and how it can be done successfully.
- Let go of feedback--from everyone! Even the experts have blind spots and biases. Get all the feedback, critically assess where that feedback can help you, and let go of all the rest.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://kempsconsulting.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kempsconsults/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kempsconsulting/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kempsconsulting/
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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