Achieve Meaningful Goals - Morningtide Health Coaching

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Charlotte LaVictoire, Founder of Morningtide Health Coaching, located in Minneapolis, MN, USA.

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

My business is Morningtide Health Coaching. I'm an Integrative Health Coach with years of experience helping people create and achieve meaningful goals that align with their values. I coach those interested in creating a more compassionate relationship with their bodies and emotions and improving their ability to self-advocate for their needs. I specialize in supporting others to return to wellness after experiencing burnout, overwhelm, and compassion fatigue. As a coach, I'm anti-diet, body-positive, and size-inclusive, and I'm also a trained yoga and meditation instructor. Mindfulness practices are a very important part of my coaching approach.

Tell us about yourself

My desire to support others has been life-long and was absolutely influenced by the people along the way who have helped me to heal. Healing isn't something we can do alone. It's important to have folks in your corner who can actively listen and assist you in prioritizing your goals - not someone else's ideas of what your goals should be. Your personal wellness vision should be an inspiration along the way that reminds you of who you are at your core and what loving, empowered behaviors you want to realize for yourself. In our work together, I focus on affirming my client's strengths and identifying their inherent resources. I'm motivated each day to help others remain resilient in the face of setbacks by the many mentors I've had, clients I've worked with, and peer coaches I know. There isn't one of these interactions that haven't taught me more about others and myself. What I know is that this healing work on ourselves ripples out and has a positive impact, not only on us as individuals but on our families, our friends, our workplaces, and our larger communities. On the hard days, knowing that we are all connected in this way motivates me to keep going and keep learning.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I think my biggest accomplishment as a business owner is that I'm doing it again. I owned a business years ago in a completely different sector. I had a good few years, but ultimately I burned myself out, and I wasn't totally aligned with what I knew I really wanted to do. After closing the doors, I felt shame and failure for many years. I feel it is a huge accomplishment to have recovered from those feelings and to have found the courage to try again. I'm so much happier and more fulfilled by the work I do now. And going through that experience is exactly what I needed to set my life on a path that is truer to who I am at my core and not a response to others' expectations of me. I'm really proud of that!

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

Really trusting your intuition. It's important to find time and space to tune out the noise of others, no matter how well-meaning they are, and also to follow your own path. There are some tried and true ways things work well and some ways you may want to divert and do things differently. I feel I attract the people I can best help by staying true to myself. It is very easy to get caught up in the rush of wanting it all to work some days and that feeling of lack versus trusting in a mindset of abundance. Pausing and taking time to listen to myself and what really feels right for me and my business is vital! Sometimes going left where others traditionally go right is exactly what needs to happen.

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

The most important thing, I believe, is patience. It takes a lot of time to grow any business. Don't give up if it doesn't look quite like you planned 3 months, 6 months, or even a year in. Things tend to grow exponentially. It's more important to gain clients that will become a strong foundation for your business rather than just gaining clients to have them. You will feel more gratified by the work you're doing, be less likely to burn out, and have a greater impact on those you support if you seek mutually beneficial relationships with clients, as opposed to just gaining clients to fill out your schedule.

The second tip is to be gentle with yourself. Starting a business is a steep learning curve. There are so many hats one has to wear and skills to operate a business that you never thought (or even perhaps wanted) to know how to do that you will have to roll your sleeves up and learn. If you don't get it right at first while building a website or getting the social media posts flowing, give yourself a lot of grace. It's okay; it doesn't have to be perfect. You can shift and change and refine things as you go. Nothing is really permanent. There is always the opportunity to grow and change in the ways that will make you happiest being a business owner. If something isn't working or feels wrong - take your time to figure out why and what you would like to do instead and shift gears. It's worth it to adapt in the ways you need to versus sticking to something just because it was your original plan.

Third is to access all the amazing free resources out there you can find! I had a friend tell me once, 'you shouldn't have to pay to play.' When you start a business, there are suddenly a million people wanting you to pay them to tell you how to do things. They can be loud and more obvious, but I have learned that there are also a vast array of completely free resources and many helpful people and organizations that do not want to be gatekeepers to this information. Take the time to do some research and see if you can connect with those who are interested in supporting small business owners. You may even make some valuable connections this way that turn into incredibly beneficial business relationships! Some of the best relationships I've made along the way started with free resources and people who genuinely want to see small business owners succeed.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.morningtidehealthcoaching.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morningtidehealthcoaching/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-lavictoire-226a16181/

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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