Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Melanie Klein, an Empowerment & Success Coach at Melanie Klein Coaching & Consulting, located in Carpinteria, CA, USA.

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

I am a sought–after empowerment + mindset coach working with individuals and teams across the country to align and integrate their personal and professional spheres for increased success and abundance without compromising their joy. I am also a successful writer, speaker, and Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies and have written and/or contributed to over nine books on empowerment, personal transformation for collective liberation, and cultivating resilience, including the groundbreaking and award-winning anthology Yoga & Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery and Loving Your Body and most recently, Embodied Resilience Through Yoga.

I combine over two decades of professional and personal work and integrate my background in mindfulness and embodied wisdom with my academic expertise and advocacy work. In this way, I offer a holistic and unique pathway to personal freedom and prosperity, one that is customized and designed for each individual. This includes 1:1 VIP coaching as well as group programs.

My clients know that I am committed to the highest level of excellence, integrity, and joy! My work is potent, powerful, and deep, as well as playful, exciting, and inspiring. There is never a doubt that I operate in service of their highest good and exceptional results that blow their mind. My recent TEDx, Conscious Empowerment & Collective Liberation, provides a powerful window into my story and my mission.

Tell us about yourself

After 15 years of teaching Sociology and Gender/Women's Studies, I was hired as a full-time tenure-track professor, and I felt victorious. It'd been a long time coming – years of teaching, facilitating workshops and panels, mentoring, guiding, and leading students and engaging with the wider civic community, publishing essays, articles, and books… all of it. Eighteen months into my tenure-track position, it became abundantly clear (and inconvenient)… Oh, I need to resign and open my coaching and consulting calendar full-time. I'd made myself available to private clients for well over a year at this point, and I found the guidance I was able to offer and the transformation I was able to witness and support in my clients exhilarating and exciting. I wanted more of the 1:1 experience. I wanted more opportunities to use my entire skillset to serve. I was ready for the next phase of my career and the next evolution of my work in the world.

People questioned my choice – why would I leave now? I'd be tenured soon. They cautioned me – why take such a risk when this path was "guaranteed"? Things would be easy. I could kick back and coast.
I knew with absolute certainty that I needed to follow my gut instinct and pivot. It was one of the best choices I've ever made and is a prime example of the big life transitions and moments of trust I help my clients navigate and execute.

The last five years of my business have been deeply rewarding and inspiring. I can't imagine ever saying "no" to the life I'm living. The work I'm able to do in the world, as well as whom I'm able to work with, is deeply fulfilling. My client results are inspiring and motivate me every day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment has been guiding and serving my clients with an unwavering commitment, a high standard of excellence, and a deep desire to see them flourish. In short, I am consistently deepening my commitment to my work and my clients. I use the same teachings, practices, and tools to stay ignited and inspired versus depleted. I can't think of a greater accomplishment than my dedication to my mission... my client's exponential growth and joy.

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

I think one of the hardest things about being a business owner is creating schedules that honor one's work and one's rest. I'm proud of my ability to commit deeply to my work and commit equally deeply to my replenishment. It's one of the many things I help my clients manage in a more empowered and deliberate way that creates greater success with increased rest and resilience.

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

  1. Always remember the bigger picture - your why - and allow it to magnetize you forward.
  2. Be flexible and adaptable in your mindset and action-taking.
  3. Be impeccable in your communication and honor your commitments.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.melaniecklein.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelanieKleinEmpowerment
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melmelklein/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-c-klein/

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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