If you are thinking about working for yourself, don’t go it alone!
I’ve been working for myself for years, but I’ve never done it all on my own.
I’ve had amazing people in my corner like Vanessa Tharp.
I call her a super connector and shortly after listening to this interview, she’s going inspire you to go out and find your cheerleaders and champions if you don’t know who they are already.
We met 5 years ago at the World Domination Summit in Portland, OR and have been great friends and supporters of one another ever since.
When we met, Vanessa was teaching high school students leadership skills. She loved her work, but in the time I’ve known her she realized she wanted something different.
Recently, Vanessa completed our 30-Day Accelerator program because she decided she wanted to use all the skills she learned as an educator to help heart-centered entrepreneurs spread their message, so she started her own business as an experience designer.
Lot of great lessons in our conversation including:
- How Vanessa works with people to find new opportunities by repackaging their skills.
- The most important lesson she learned in our 30-Day Accelerator: the crucial importance of outreach.
- Building your future work on your past skills.
- What it means to be a “slow entrepreneur”.
- Giving yourself permission to dabble when making transitions.
Life Skills That Matter In This Episode
- Manage your energy
- Build your community
- Reframe your mindset
- Practice self-awareness
How Vanessa Works and Thinks
- Wake up time: 7:30 – 8:30 am
- Ideal work environment: On a big table where she can lay things out with sticky notes, notepads, and different colored pens. Preferably outside or where she can see nature. Also, the ability to be flexible with where she is in both location and time of day.
- Superpower: Connecting people and being their champion and cheerleader.
- 90-day goal: Get a couple new opportunities and be open to some new clients. Develop smaller, more manageable planning sessions to help meet clients where they are.
Inspirational Quotes
“We all need a cheerleader, we all need someone to champion us and say, ‘hey, you’ve got this, you can do this,’ remind us of the obstacles we’ve overcome, whatever it is to keep us moving forward.”
“For me, my outreach is going to conferences, and events, and coffee dates, and meetups, and just talking with people and finding the spheres that I find interesting.”
Coaching Advice
Here’s some advice from Vanessa about becoming a more effective planner:
1) Take a moment and think about where you already create plans in your life.
2) Talk with someone who can help you dig deeper if you have trouble identifying your planning method.
Resources + Bonus Materials
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