Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Michelle Kenney M. Ed, Founder of Peace and Parenting, located in North Hollywood, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am the founder of Peace and Parenting. My customers are parents in search of alternatives to punishments and rewards.
Tell us about yourself
I somehow thought I would be a good parent and that it would come to me naturally, like teaching. I wish I would have been even a version of good. I ended up trying to control my oldest so I could fulfill some hollowed-out version of perfection I believed would revere me as a mother and dismantle the shame I felt from childhood. That desire to control my daughter and her behavior led me down a road of yelling and punishing. Eventually, I decided I needed help and began to look into the idea of Connective Parenting. After 12 weeks with a coach, I was converted. It changed my home and the relationships I share with my daughters. What came next was the profound desire to help other people find peace in parenting too. In those days, I knew so many parents close to me who would have benefitted from these ideas, but none of us knew where to begin. I enrolled to become a Hand in Hand Certified Parenting Coach in 2015 and, upon completing that program, begged parents in my neighborhood in Laurel Canyon to take free classes out of my living room. I think people thought I was nuts, but I didn't stop. From there, I began an Instagram account and a podcast, and I began charging for my work, and most recently wrote my first book: Unpunished. I never began this work to make money. I was purely motivated to help others find more calm but leaning into connection. Today that same idea rings true for me each time I interact with parents who want to make radical changes.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Completing my first book earlier this year. Unpunished: How to Let Go of Punishments and Find Your Parenting Peace
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Everything is challenging about owning your own business. The ups and downs are hard to rectify. You can have the most incredible week where everything feels good, and then something will happen, and you can't remember one good moment about being in business for yourself. The little things seem to bog you down when you are trying to focus on the big picture, and the big picture becomes overwhelming in moments, and you are happy to focus on the details. I try now to remain calm and steadfast as I do in my parenting. I try not to take things personally and come with integrity with those who I work with and for.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't ever give up. It's not an option. Success is the only option, and you will get there if you want to.
- Lead with your passion, not a quest to get rich. Your passion is what will set your business well above others.
- Learn as much as you can about every hard situation that you have encountered. Make the failures worth it, and don't let them take you down.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://peaceandparentingla.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peaceandparentingla
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peaceandparenting/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-kenney-m-ed-6391ab139/
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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