Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kendra Davies, Owner of Stellar Life Coaching, located in Winter Park, FL, USA.

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

Stellar Life Coaching is a Life and Wellness Coaching practice created in 2014 with the mission to change the way we live, love, and do business using the transformative science of positive psychology. Offering one-on-one coaching to individuals, couples, executives, and businesses. Hosting local, online, and international retreats, workshops, and online courses. Our primary customers are mostly, but not exclusively, women who are feeling the call to do the deep work within themselves that brings about growth and radical change in their lives.

Tell us about yourself

As a child addict, I got sober relatively young (14). So, I have been doing personal development work for over half my life. The incredible changes that happened in my own life with my work and my deepest desire to serve others led me to pursue a degree in psychology. However, I had to pivot when I got pregnant with my son. Life Coaching was a tool to serve others in a powerful way that made the changes that stick. I started Stellar only 4 months after my son was born. I am motivated every day by breakthroughs and ah-ha moments. I feel like I have them all the time myself, but truly, for my clients. When they finally write that book, quit that job, leave that marriage, start their business, when they choose to heal and prioritize joy - that is the Northstar for me.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Stellar Life Coaching is coming up on its 10th anniversary. I could never have imagined back then what I have today from year-over-year six-figure growth. Speaking on national and international stages. The list of amazing clients who are literally changing the world - by changing themselves, their families, their businesses, and even policies for the country. During COVID, we all had to pivot and figure out how to support people virtually - and do it fast. Many businesses did not make it, and I am so grateful Stellar did. During that time, I was able to support first responders here in my local Orlando community- that was a gut-wrenching and beautiful honor. Today, Stellar Life Coaching is still evolving, adding breath and bodywork to its list of services- with the goal of bridging the mind and the body toward whole-person healing.

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

Easy, managing my time and saying no. At the end of the day, I believe the tools and services Stellar provides can help "everyone." BUT at the end of the day, I cannot help everyone. Early on, I casted a wide net, and I got zero back. Honestly, I lost everything in my first year of being in business. I was saying yes to everything: speaking gigs I didn't want, clients I did not feel connected to, and I was throwing away my greatest currency - time. The time I could spend with my kid, learning and growing as a person myself, and building the resources and tools for those who I could help. My time is the most valuable commodity I have. That is the hardest thing that comes with being a business owner. You think, and it feels like, "I have to do this." or "This is too good to not do"... But man, when you are working non-stop, your relationships suffer, your health declines, and the thing you once loved - you begin to loath... Then you see that you have to manage your time. You have to live so closely to your values - that what you do with your time is as scrutinized as your financials.

Then you have to say no to anything that does not align with your values and fit those requirements for your time - period. It is absolutely terrifying, and the uncertainty and self-doubt are crippling at times... BUT the payoff after years of growth is evident. I made more money, working less. I have been more impactful than I thought possible - because I only work with clients I feel connected to.

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

I made quite a few mistakes in my first year of business. I learned some valuable lessons. I would say:

  1. Stop Comparing. Their outsides will never match your insides- focus on your lane, your idea, your vision, and do the next right thing for you.
  2. Blow up the idea that you must work yourself into exhaustion to be "successful." You control your calendar; you must be willing to set and control your time. That means saying No. That means missing out. Once "you make it," you will see that your success is actually hinged on how well you rest, how kind you are to yourself, and deeply you can experience your own life, thoughts, and feelings. You may have money, but if you don't have those things - you are, by and large poor in spirit.
  3. Choose Action, Embrace the suck, and Be Flexible.
    Listen, this is not a ton of fun all of the time. It is hard. NOT THE WORK itself, but the never feeling 100% certain of anything... You have this fire of an idea inside you, and you have to bet it all on it. GO IN 100% even though you do not see the end clearly, even though you don't actually know how to do it (yet!). In my experience, you cannot wait to feel "ready"; it never comes. You must choose action - what are you afraid to do? That video? Speaking? Writing that book? DO IT. You will act yourself into your dreams, then embrace the suck.

    Embracing the suck is about not waiting for it to feel good or for you to feel confident- do when it is hard, and you're scared- you cannot think yourself into a new life or opportunity, then be flexible. Change happens. You make money, you lose money, you get an employee, you lose an employee... You buy into one platform; it is awful. The only certainty we have as business owners is our own vision and dream and what we CAN do. We see it, feel it, and we take action to create it – so for literally ANYTHING outside of your abilities, knowledge, resources, and budget, you must be flexible. Be willing to be wrong and fail, grow, evolve, switch lanes, learn, and be and do different and better next time.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://stellarlifecoaching.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StellarLifeCoaching
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellarcoach/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellarlifecoaching/

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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