Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jodi Flynn, Founder of Women Taking the Lead, located in Virginia Beach, VA, USA.

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

Women Taking the Lead is a Highly responsive agile organization specializing in leadership development consulting and development of women leaders who are still adapting after their promotion or are candidates for higher levels of leadership.

Tell us about yourself

My focus in college was Psychology, but I found myself working in Mutual Fund Operations. As I was hitting the executive levels of leadership, I started hearing about coaching as a career path. After starting my certification program, I realized THIS was what I was meant to do. I started my business because, for me, that was the avenue to coaching. That was in 2010, and my business has evolved quite a bit since then. While I certainly have an inner drive to succeed and earn a living, I am lit up by the changes my client's experience as a result of our work together. I often work with women leaders who may have been exhausted, frustrated, or uncertain when we started our work together. When they realize and experience that with a few changes, they and their teams are outperforming expectations, and they still have plenty of energy to have a life outside of work - that's an incredible experience as a coach. And I'm motivated to know that there are so many organizations that can benefit from having women in senior leadership positions, and I can help them create the infrastructure and culture that will allow more women to rise as leaders.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Transitioning from solely providing coaching and training services to doing consulting work. It was a mindset change that I struggled with on several fronts. Going from service delivery to an advisory role was a change. Also, creating a comprehensive approach to helping companies have more women in leadership, and senior leadership, required me to collaborate more with other service providers, which I had not needed to do in the past. It feels great to see the potential for growth.

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

I've found the hardest thing that comes with being a business owner vs. being employed as a leader is there is no certainty of a paycheck. I know people will say that being employed doesn't guarantee a paycheck, but I'm talking about NO certainty of a paycheck, no unemployment benefits, no severance package, etc. And even when you've initiated work on a project, you may not see that money for a few months. It can get really lean until you've hit a point when your income stabilizes. And then something like the Great Reshuffle comes along, and the people who would typically hire you are either leaving their current job or are too new in their current job to ask their employer to sponsor their leadership development. The uncertainty is that much greater when you own your own business.

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

  1. Make sure you know exactly what you'll be providing and to whom you'll be providing it to.
  2. Test out that your products or services provide something that is missing in the market and is sought after. Meaning people will pay for it.
  3. Lastly, expect to be humbled and stretched and to have the most profound personal and professional development experience of your life.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://womentakingthelead.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womentakingthelead
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodimflynn/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jodimflynn
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodiflynn/

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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