Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Claudia Hesse, Founder of The Better Workplace, located in Munich, Germany.

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

I'm a personal and executive leadership coach and trainer. I specialise in supporting women - mainly in leadership positions or owning their own businesses - who are tired of functioning perfectly as "superwoman," endlessly juggling roles & demands. Why? Because I WAS this woman and paid a rather high price: exhaustion, fulfilling everybody's demands but my own, monkey mind, and being afraid of not being good enough at any role - in my case, being a leader, a mum, and a wife. I created a reliable process based on principles & experiential elements to get out of this hamster wheel - which always works! The result is a solid foundation that finally results in my clients confidently choosing success on their own terms, creating more time, energy, and peace of mind, for themselves and everything/everyone else important to them.

Tell us about yourself

Getting where I am now was a slow process that led me through a storybook corporate career with a sudden end, one failed business and another successful one with partners, a failed marriage, raising two kids on my own, moving to another country, and a collaboration with a man who opened my eyes towards other ways of working and who got me in touch with a woman who helped me breaking through the crust of my own conditioning and limiting beliefs. All of that brought me here: my wish to support other women like me! To create a shortcut to courage, clarity, and confidence so that women dare to go their own path - not necessarily the one prescribed by society, their parents (you'd be surprised how long their influence lasts!), or even by a part of themselves.

I'm so familiar with the pain that arises from not being aligned with myself and seeing it permanently with my clients...even if they might not see it themselves yet. Seeing the transformation with the women (and sometimes men) I work with is a huge reward and makes my heart sing every time. And change often comes quickly and spontaneously...another myth debunked ;-). That is what makes me get up each day. AND knowing that I learn something new from every clients I work with. Highly satisfying.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Well, there are two answers:

  1. The "external" accomplishment: Knowing that my support triggered a client's transformation is the biggest accomplishment each moment it happens.
  2. The "internal" achievement: I'm a completely different person today than I was when I started this business on the side 6 years ago (now the 4th year as a full-time job). My own growth has been extraordinary (not just my judgment and feeling but also feedback from my coach). I've been developing into the woman I really am step by step...and with no end in sight :-).

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

One of the hardest things as a business owner is to realize that there will be things you don't enjoy. For me, it's all the administration and paperwork I'm definitely not keen on. There will be tough times - maybe at the beginning or even in the middle - be prepared to live with uncertainty and unpredictability. If you're not prepared to do so, it will become really hard.

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

  1. Resilience: things will not always go in one direction...so when money might not come as expected or get tight, you got to be able to deal with it and, worst case, have a plan B.
  2. Consistency: Stick with it, don't jump around too much. Follow a path and test if it works. If it doesn't - test another...until you find what does. And then repeat.
  3. Clarity. Be clear about your message, your product, who you sell to, and what problem you solve. And then make it as easy as possible.
  4. Learn how to sell. That's essential to every business. If you don't sell anything, you have no business.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thebetterworkplace.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claudia.hesse.111
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claudia_d_hesse/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CHSchwyz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/executiveladershipexpert/

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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