Tell Your Impactful Stories - Michael McRay Consulting

Team Subkit -

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Michael McRay, founder and owner of Michael McRay Consulting, located in Santa Clara, CA, USA.

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

I am a storytelling and conflict resolution consultant. Weird, huh? I get to work with organizational leaders and teams across the world to help them find and tell their most impactful stories about their work and learn to navigate their most difficult conflicts. I spend a lot of my time assisting teams in seasons of change when the need for inspiring stories and conflict resolution feels particularly salient. I do this through training and workshops, webinars, keynotes, and consultation, but the workshops are the most fun. The hands-on experience with teams (in-person and over Zoom) is where real learning happens.

Tell us about yourself

I entered this work after pursuing my master's in conflict resolution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I traveled through conflict zones like Israel and Palestine, South Africa, and Rwanda. All along the way, I kept seeing the enormous impact storytelling played in transforming conflict, empowering social change, and healing from trauma. My dual passion for storytelling and conflict resolution was fully awakened. I worked in various capacities at different nonprofits for several years while also publishing several books. Finally, when COVID hit, and I lost my salaried job, I decided to dive full-on into consulting. And wow, has that been a delightful success!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I have doubled my salary each year in the first two years! I did not expect that many organizations would be drawn to my offerings, but it turns out that pretty much every organization in the world needs to tell stories about what they do and learn how to move through conflict well.

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

It's all on me! The buck stops here. I am responsible for my success or failure. That can be quite intimidating.

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

  1. Be sure you have the right people around you to support you. As the African proverb goes, 'If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
  2. Get really clear on what you do and what you don't do. Mission creep might feel slight and insignificant early on, but those few degrees off course turns into thousands of miles after a few years.
  3. Believe. It takes a lot of stubborn belief that you can make it. Give yourself some time to fail a few times, and keep believing that the stars will align soon enough.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.michaelmcray.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael.mcray/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltmcray/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.