Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dr. Monique Valcour, Ph.D. PCC., Keynote Speaker & Executive Coach, located in St-Jeannet, France.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I provide executive coaching services to professionals from multiple industries in countries around the world. I help my clients to examine their situations from a variety of perspectives and see them in a new light, connect to their strengths, overcome the barriers that have been holding them back, clarify what they want, work more effectively with their own minds, and develop new habits to achieve their goals and to thrive in general. My clients value me as a thinking partner who helps them successfully navigate challenging situations and significantly improve their accomplishments and well-being.
With respect to career coaching, my specialty is working with individuals to help them do what I call "crafting a sustainable career." What I mean by this is finding non-obvious ways to align the content of your work with your strengths, interests, and values so that you learn to thrive both professionally and in your personal life. The coaching content is customized to each individual client and may include a focus on topics such as figuring out what kinds of work and work situations are most conducive to your success and well-being, managing professional relationships, learning how to articulate your value and contributions in a way that is authentic and persuasive, developing a stronger network, starting a business, increasing your self-confidence, and/or developing more effective self-care practices.
My coaching clients have a history of hard work, achievement, and learning. But now they're facing a challenge they don't know how to manage on their own. Perhaps the approaches they've used in the past aren't producing the results they want. They're ready to work with an experienced guide who has helped others succeed in similar situations. That's where I come in.
I also design and deliver workshops, training programs, and retreats, both in person and virtual. Additionally, I serve as a keynote speaker, creating customized talks that inform, inspire, and energize audiences.
Tell us about yourself
I am a coach because I believe that everyone has the right and the capacity to contribute to their full potential and to learn, grow, and flourish at work and in their personal lives. Since childhood, I have been driven by learning and self-determination, values that continue to guide me today. Even as a young student, I instinctively recognized that learning was the pathway to empower me to achieve success on my own terms. My version of success is doing fascinating and fulfilling work that brings light to the world while enjoying my lifestyle and relationships to the fullest.
Early in my career, I observed and experienced that work can be a source of both fulfillment and suffering. I wanted to understand the mechanisms that shape people's experiences at work and learn to shift them in a positive direction, both for myself and for others.
I earned a Ph.D. in organizational behavior at Cornell University, developing deep expertise in work psychology and pursuing research on what helps people succeed and thrive. I worked as a management professor in the US and Europe, focusing on helping people learn to create enabling environments where people can perform, learn, and thrive.
But after a few years in my last faculty appointment, I burned out. As my performance and well-being declined, I faced the wrenching decision of accepting suffering and depletion as the price of job security or leaving—not just my employer but potentially the career in which I had invested years of training, hard work, and my whole professional identity.
Coach training and certification rocketed me from despair to embracing a hopeful pathway forward. I loved the intimacy and co-creative power of coaching conversations as a change of pace from sharing expertise from behind the podium. I committed myself to a fully sustainable career, intentionally reshaping my career around work and working relationships that energize and fulfill me. I have selected and created conditions of work that enable me to perform at my best and to have a meaningful impact on my clients, a sound foundation for business success as well as personal fulfillment.
Thousands of hours of conversations with hundreds of coaching clients have produced rich learning about how to help people and teams navigate the trickiest challenges. I shine at helping clients like you clarify what you want, connect to and leverage your strengths, overcome what's been holding you back, and delight in the accomplishment of meaningful outcomes.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Overcoming severe burnout as a management professor in a business school and leveraging my knowledge and expertise in leadership development, learning, and career management to bring a valuable range of services to a global market. Although I never had any particular interest in being an entrepreneur, I have found that I take to it quite naturally, leveraging my core values of autonomy and self-determination as well as my knowledge and skills to provide high-value service to clients who care about fostering leadership excellence and workplaces where people can reach their potential and thrive.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Although the freedom to create is exhilarating, running one's own business can be lonely at times. It is important to build and nurture professional relationships that support your creativity, effectiveness, and well-being.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Get clear on who your customer is and what your value proposition is. Get feedback on your ideas from people in your network who represent your ideal customer and use it to improve your offerings.
- Adopt a growth mindset and a spirit of experimentation. So many businesses in my industry fail because people are wracked with self-doubt, feel they're not yet ready, and consequently take forever to launch new things. Aim to learn something every single day and assess what you do, whether through personal reflection or through getting feedback from others.
- Building a business can be lonely. Develop and nurture a network (even a very small one) of people that you can connect with, learn from, exchange ideas with, and build solidarity.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.moniquevalcour.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrMoniqueValcour
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moniquevalcour/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/moniquevalcour
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquevalcour/
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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