Featured Member Interview- Leah Grace

Q: What is your business?

A:  I am a life and entrepreneurial coach offering coaching packages that help
people live in alignement with their purpose, power and potential. I do a lot of speaking and facilitating of workshop along with being a co-founder of The Wellness Collective located in Grand Rapids MI. 

Q: What was your inspiration to become an entrepreneur? 

A:  Both of my parents were entrepreneurs and I have such a creative opportunistic brain, it actually never occurred to me NOT to be and entrepreneur. 

Q: What was your life like pre-entrepenuer? 

A: The only job I ever had was waitressing in high school and college. Other than that I have always created my own stream of income. I grew up on a farm, and had ADHD so I always struggled with academics. Both of these thing require you to work extra hard at life and looking back I believe that is what has given me such a strong work ethic. The ADHD has also contributed to me always wanting to do things my way so building my own company was really my only option.

​Q: What do you most enjoy about what you do?

A:  I love it when people “get it”. When a light bulb of clarity goes on or when the dots connect and they are able to leave or work together feeling so empowered.

Q: What has been one of your biggest accomplishments?

A:  I created my own coaching methodology. It is exciting to me because it is not what I set out to do, it was more so given to me in the work that I was doing both professionally with clients and in my own life. I am so humbly grateful that I get to be the one taking people through this process that I have been shown. 

​Q: What's an example of the work that you do?

A:  Working with a client in a 4-month to a 1-year program that is focused on helping them live their life in an entirely new way. We are making and integrating shifts at such a deep level that most people experience dramatic changes in how they navigate their life after our work.

​Q: What does a day-in-the-life of YOU consist of?

A:  5am rising, feed and kiss all of the dogs, and then meeting myself on my meditation mat.
Mid-morning I prep my day and am usually working 1-on-1 with clients until late afternoon.
Evenings I wrap up my work tasks, usually go for a walk and then make dinner.
 
Every Tuesday I work ON my business instead of IN my business to ensure that I am always moving forward to the next vision.
 
About 3 times a year I will do a work retreat where I get to really let myself go deep into a creative project; usually writing new coaching workbooks or developing a new seminar.

Q: What entrepreneurial hacks have you developed to stay focused and productive in your day-to-day?

A:  ​My “inner boss” and my “inner worker” have two different voices within me. What has developed over time is that my boss is a hard-ass bitch that doesn’t let me get away with much. 

Q: How does being an entrepreneur affect your relationships with your friends and family?

A:  I seclude myself so much more because I am an entrepreneur and this causes me to be in my head and developmental mode a lot of the time. I LOVE my work, it is an evil obsession that trumps my desire over most social casualties.
 
I have noticed when I am not working on developing a new project or evolving the business, rather when I just “go to work” and do my job, that I feel like a balanced “normal” person. I like and crave that feeling but not enough to practice it for very long.

​Q: How do you achieve work life-balance?

A:  It is a fine line of a tight-rope that I am not great at walking, yet I do get better every year as I learn more about myself.
 
One way is that I set some non-negotiables in my life as pillars that help keep some routine and balance in place. Things like my morning meditation and that I am in bed by 10 at the very latest – even if there is still so much to do. The work will never be done, but it took me way too many years to realize that if I am not getting enough rest, none of it is going to get done anyway

Q: What’s the single most important reason for your success?

A:  I am really good at what I do. I remember that and do not let the fact that I am bad at writing, make mistakes all of the time, can be disorganized etc. make me think that I am not worthy of having my dream practice doing what I love. 

Q: What’s the biggest thing you struggle with as an entrepreneur?

A:  Knowing what to outsource and how to get organized enough to do it.
 Also, even though I have done this for 15+ years there are still times when it is an emotional roller-coaster. I do not think that you can put live your whole heart and soul into your business and not have some emotional attachments. 

Q: What did you learn from your biggest failure?

A:  To trust what my gut was telling me all along.

Q: Looking back, what’s one thing you wish you understood about entrepreneurship before you ever got started?

A:  That there is a whole lot of failure involved, and that it's normal. That the path to more yes's also includes more no’s. Get over it.

Q: What was the best piece of advice you ever got? The worst?

A:  ​The best advice I ever got what to keep it simple and that if you are good, you do not need to talk about how good you are, they will know.
 
The worst is always about someone’s strategy and rules and regulations around that strategy. Strategies are great and I love them, but the truth is, if it is not in FULL ALIGNMENT with your unique truth and business – then it is worthless and even possibly damaging.

Q: What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever done as an entrepreneur?

A:  OMG there are so many! What comes to mind as the most strange is just a general comparison to the things I have had to do to make my business go vs. someone who has a pretty typical 9-5 job. Things like staying up for days working so hard, doing crazy projects in the middle of the night, being scared out of my mind and facing my fears ALL THE TIME, procrastinating like I am a pro, approaching people who want nothing to do with me, gracefully dealing with people that I want nothing to do with, reaching certifiably crazy levels of indecisiveness, hating myself, being grateful to myself, and just generally living my life having no idea if I am totally stupid or amazingly courageous. 

Leah Grace is the Co-Founder of Unstoppable
Women Networking GR. 


You can find out more about her business and
services at www.couragetothrive.com.

---