Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in leadership development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Holly Duckworth, Founder and CEO of Leadership Solutions International, located in Denver, CO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Leadership Solutions International was founded in 2010 to educate, connect and inspire future global leaders. My customers are organizations that need to transform their unproductive or outdated businesses into productive workplaces where people love to work and drive business results. CEOs, Learning and Development managers, HR teams, and meeting professionals hire me for conference keynotes, staff training, and or consulting in order to make their team cohesive, healthy, passionate, and productive around the business goals.
Tell us about yourself
Each day I am motivated by the people who attend my programs, read my books, blogs, or articles and comment on how my presence and mindfulness training is helping them to activate something in them they didn't think was possible.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Now with more than 10 years doing this work, I could say it was speaking from Canada to Mexico, South Africa to Aruba, and that is all amazing. But it's really the little things getting up every day, not having a commute, and not having a boss. It's knowing that I have the privilege of doing what I love, for people I love, in places I love, and I am compensated well by giving my gifts and talents to the world.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
As a woman-owned business, one of the hardest things is asking. Asking for the client. Asking for what you need. Asking for funding. Women are often taught by society that it is better to give than receive or that we are not "worth it." The hardest thing and the most important thing is putting the vision/mission of your business out there and asking people to help you make it happen.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do less, better. Have a very clear vision/mission and stick to that scope of work. That means saying "no" and "thank you" when a request falls outside of that scope.
- You can't do it alone. No matter how much you think you can or that you have to. Recruit a great team of advisors, friends, family, and clients around you.
- What you visualize, you actualize. Every day visualize success and live each day as if you have already attained what success looks like, feels like, and sounds like to you.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://leadershipsolutionsintl.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hduckworth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hduckworth/
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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