Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in coaching but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Hadriana Leo, Founder of Money Navigator International, located in Pickering, ON, Canada.

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

I'm in the business of inspiring, empowering, and equipping women to create wealth. Did I mention that she gets to do that confidently and without apology? Yes indeed! In the world of personal finance, where women are underdogs, underserved, and undervalued, I have been called to guide women on their journey to wealth. Money Navigator International provides a unique combination of confidence building, strategy development, and optimized implementation that reflects and honours the woman who is being served. The result? Women who are active and confident participants in their wealth, no longer living paycheque to paycheque but living from one fulfilled dream to the next. Women who create extraordinary outcomes for themselves, their families, and their communities. Women who learn to believe again in themselves and the power of their dreams. I work with those who want to change their world.

Tell us about yourself

I am an island girl, having moved to Canada as a young adult from the beautiful island of St. Lucia. What I encountered when I maneuvered within the personal finance sector was so disheartening. So many roadblocks. So many times when I was looked down. So many times, I was offered less than I deserved. And then I found out that it wasn't just me.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Staying in business, lol. It has been an upward climb to bring this niche product to the market and convince women not only to take a chance on themselves and their wealth but also to consider a different way of participating in wealth creation that is led first by a vision and then by strategy. My biggest accomplishments have been in the results my clients have experienced - the reduction and elimination of money as a source of anxiety. Relationships are back on an even keel because money is no longer pulling them apart. Women go from "I will never own a home" to home ownership in less than five years and without having to give up on the things they enjoy in life. My client's success is my biggest accomplishment.

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

For me, it is self-doubt! Not in my competency as a guide, inspiration, and strategist. No, that is intact. The self-doubt I experience most is in my capacity to run this business successfully and for the long haul. I know all too well the things I am not good at in the operations of the business and what I just don't like doing. I outsource as much of that as I can, but the self-doubt persists. Thankfully, I have mentors, coaches, and fellow business owners who help but shut that self-doubt down... until the next time, it comes whispering again. Managing my self-doubt is an ongoing challenge.

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

  1. Start!
  2. Fail!
  3. Start over!

Oversimplified, perhaps, treating failure as a teacher as opposed to a character flaw is so liberating. It certainly has been for me. Approach every new idea as an experiment and examine the results and then take the next step. Don't take it personally.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I live in a world where we shift financial outcomes for women from just possible to highly probable. I have found that the best starting point is discovering where a woman is on her road to wealth. When we know this, we can develop a plan for where she is and where she should go next. Our Steps to Wealth assessment is a great tool to explore this. I welcome you to take the assessment here: https://www.moneynavigator.ca/steps-assessment/.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.moneynavigator.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moneynavigator/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moneynavigator/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hadrianaleo/

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.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.