Amy Nelson has been a coach for several years as well as a colleague and great friend of mine. We both enjoy working with local entrepreneurs to help them get started and grow their businesses.
In addition to her MBA, Amy has an advanced certification from the Life Mastery Institute. On top of that, she has over 20 years of business experience. This enables her to help others expand their results and increase their impact.
Amy recently joined us on Creating Your Encore Career and shared how she started her coaching business as a high achiever as well as how she helps high performers get even better.
Mindset
First and foremost, high achievers who want to start an Encore Career need to work on their mindset.
Anytime we step out into new arenas, our nervous systems get activated because they don't feel safe. Therefore, it’s helpful to have some money in the bank and to absorb information, tools, and techniques.
However, it is even more important to work on your mindset. You need to adapt your beliefs about yourself, how things work in the world, what's available to you, and what it takes to be successful. This is a long process but also a necessary one.
Throughout this process, you have to learn to own your expertise. There's something you're good at and that's why you're doing this. Own those skills, whatever they are. Additionally, you have to be an apprentice when you transition to entrepreneurship. Be open and willing to learn and you will go far.
Mental Shifts
On top of mindset work, when you come to this crossroads of leaving the corporate world and starting your own business, you may realize that there's more to life than what you've experienced in the past. When that happens, certain things are likely to come up.
You might begin to question your self-worth. Even the most successful people can develop imposter syndrome and feel like they’re not worthy enough. You might start asking yourself things like, “Can I actually get paid to do this?” and, “What does it mean to earn money outside of the structure of an organization that already has credibility?”
Additionally, most of us will bring along the beliefs and habits that helped us previously. They won't help us anymore but we still engage with them. This may look like taking on a lot of responsibility for things getting done and overextending yourself. Being responsible is good but only up until the point that it degrades your sense of well-being.
It is your job as the new entrepreneur to become aware of these mental shifts. You must decide if you’re going to continue engaging with them or not.
Amy Nelson now owns a successful coaching business where she gets to help people every day. Get started creating your Encore Career and you can do the same.
