Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in coaching but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mark Strong, CEO of Strong Training & Coaching, located in Edina, MN, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Strong Training & Coaching is a professional learning company with the mission of helping people get strong at work to be strong in life. We offer four key services: training for all levels - executive to individual contributor, team building, executive coaching, and meeting facilitation. Our clients' list varies from Fortune 500 to organizations with fewer than 50 people.
Tell us about yourself
When I started Strong, I founded the company on the core value of love. Too many of us are working in careers and cultures based on fear. Everything we do at Strong is based on love - you can feel it in the way we sell, train, coach, and serve clients.
I started my career in advertising, so "design" and "experience" are also front and center in everything we do. I know that everyone on our team is motivated by helping people build new skills and generating "aha" moments that drive real behavior change.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
While I'm so pleased that we've grown so dramatically over the pandemic and are working with new clients every day, my biggest accomplishment is building an agile and magnetic organization where people can work wherever they want and however many hours.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Holding space for people when they fail. I believe that failure and success are complementary. We all fall many times, but it's all about the grace we get back up. I'm a former people pleaser, so it's hard for me not to step in. But failing is part of everyone's process, and I always celebrate that despite being hard. My favorite line is: that discomfort is the precursor to expansion.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Develop and protect your strategy.
- Hire people who are in their "unique brilliance."
- Know the financials inside and out.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://markstrongcoaching.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strong_tc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strongtrainingcoaching/
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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