Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Shannon Waller, COO of Strategic Coach®, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.

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

Strategic Coach® offers business coaching workshop programs for successful, ambitious, creative, and collaborative entrepreneurs that are designed to step up progress and accelerate results in both their business and personal lives. Our global community of successful entrepreneurs, our highly experienced coaches, our arsenal of proprietary tools, and our deep-dive strategy sessions are the cornerstones of our programs' success.

Tell us about yourself

I've thought that business is one of the best ways to grow personally, not just professionally. Strategic Coach® and I found one another in 1991. Since then, it's been a total joy working with entrepreneurs to constantly expand their freedom of time, money, relationship, and purpose, in particular through leveraging what we call Unique Ability® Teamwork. I'm about having people be happy with themselves, maximizing their growth, working as a team, and fulfilling their purpose. I get to see all of that every workshop.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

As a coach to entrepreneurs and their teams, there's nothing more satisfying than seeing people doing what they're best at, what they love to do, and striving in the ways most natural for them. It's not common for all those things to align, but that's what happens when people implement Strategic Coach® mindsets, concepts, and thinking tools. People are happy, productive, and profitable - it's the best! The other big accomplishment from the company side is that we've been in business since 1988. Building such a company with this kind of longevity and strong company culture is an accomplishment in and of itself. Kudos to the founders, Dan Sullivan and Babs Smith, for being the visionaries to make this happen.

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

There are so many! Making the tough decisions, keeping pace with marketing and technology, and knowing when to exit wrong-fit team members are common ones. Bottom line, though, one of the most challenging things for business owners are letting others contribute to your vision and have a voice. We call it 'Who, Not How.' Once you realize that you're only suited to do a few of the 'how's,' it becomes a lot easier to find the 'who's' who do what you don't want to or can't. (See our book 'Who Not How' by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy.)

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

Focus on solving problems for others that you're passionate about - that will sustain you when things get complicated and challenging. Employ the strategy of Who Not How sooner rather than later - it will keep you from getting bogged down in activities for which you're not best suited and keep you focused on doing what you do best.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Not at the moment! Our Program works best for clients who have been in their business for a minimum of 3 years and who are starting to hit a ceiling to their growth. We help them break through to new levels of success, freedom, and happiness for themselves.

Unique Ability® is a registered trademark, protected by copyright and an integral concept of The Strategic Coach®, Inc. Used with written permission. www.strategiccoach.com.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.strategiccoach.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrategicCoach/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strategic.coach/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strategic-coach/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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