Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Steven Nathenson, founder, and CEO of Strive For More, located in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

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

Strive For More helps leaders master their mindset to increase their focus, confidence, and performance while motivating others to do the same. I am a Leadership & Executive Coach and former FBI Special Agent, Strive For More's proven training and coaching programs help leaders and their teams thrive through challenges while achieving ambitious results.

Tell us about yourself

Growing up, I often thought there had to be something more to life than just "going through the motions." Over the years, I realized this was a deep-seated need to have an impact on this world that went beyond myself. This need led me to become an FBI Special Agent, which showed me how much of a positive impact I could have. After an accomplished and decorated career, I realized becoming a coach would allow me to continue to create this impact on a wider scale, which is how the concept of Strive For More came to be.

What keeps me motivated each and every day to continue my journey as a business owner is one word – impact. Impact for me, others, and the world around us. A close second to this is creating the clear, easy, and powerful means which bring about this impact. These two key elements fuel and drive my business forward which not only creates the life I desire it also helps others do the same and build true employee-centered cultures in organizations.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

The three things that stand out to me as my biggest accomplishments as a business, besides the impact on the individuals and organizations I work with, are: creating the signature cognitive-behavioral coaching approach of G.R.I.T. – Give, Recognize, Implement, Time, the signature communication style of The Art of Subtle Suggestion and creating Strive For More's proprietary 360-degree assessment instrument which measures G.R.I.T., the impact harnessing G.R.I.T. has - increasing empathy, self-awareness, leadership, and much more - and key skills such as emotional intelligence, trust, what unites teams, and more.

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

One of the hardest things about being a business owner is striking the right balance between work and life. To tackle this, instead of trying to balance two opposing parts of life – the personal and professional – I seek to integrate the two as a harmonious whole. By prioritizing what's truly important, understanding what is reasonable to be accomplished, planning ahead, blocking off and honoring time on my calendar, and ensuring I have the energy and mentality to be efficient from engaging in self-care, I am able to handle what is on my plate (and the" pop-up" stuff) with greater ease and less stress throughout the day rather than being restricted by the traditional "9 to 5."

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

  1. The first tip I'd like to share is to be resilient. Owning your own business is certainly a journey that has both ups and downs; however, it is a very doable journey if you are truly passionate about what you do and the impact it creates for your customers.
  2. The second tip I'd like to share is doing market research and letting it dictate how you do business and to whom. Unfortunately, I find businesses tend to fail because they haven't done this. If we truly know and understand our customers, we can serve them, fulfill their needs, and have a thriving business too.
  3. The last tip I'd like to share is that it takes time to build a business. Preparing for the journey can be greatly beneficial by accepting the time it takes to build, launch, and become profitable as a business. In addition, having a step-by-step strategic plan can help the business launch successfully while alleviating the overwhelm of not knowing what to do next. Moreover, it can help us overcome the feeling of "failure" as we tend to put pressure on ourselves for instantaneous results.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.striveformore.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StriveForMoreLtd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/striveformoreltd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StriveForMoreLt
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strive-for-more/

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.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.