Coaching My Inner Entrepreneur

by Jennifer Gleeson Blue, Founder of Get There From Here

Entrepreneurship for me began at the delightfully tender age of 11. After realizing I might be a hot commodity in the babysitting and pet sitting worlds, I got my dad to agree to buy me one – “Just one?!?” I whined – box of business cards.

Seventeen years have passed and I still have that one box. It’s completely full.

Today, I’m an entrepreneur once more – this time I own my own business as a life coach – and a lot has changed for me in the intervening years. Yes, I’ve grown up, and subsequently gained focus and an attention span. More importantly, however, the practice of being a coach has greatly informed my understanding of how to successfully be self-employed. (How to, for example, actually DO something with business cards!)

The following two core principles of coaching are foundational to my second go-around as an entrepreneur:

1. Do what you love. This is something I recommend to clients all the time, so it should have come as no surprise that it would change things for me, too. Not only is my business centered on work I love, but when I’m actively engaged in projects that excite me, I have loads of energy, ideas and follow-though.

2. Integrity comes first. My coaching practice is centered on helping people integrate who they are with how they live. The coach in me reminds the entrepreneur in me to constantly evaluate whether or not I am in integrity with myself, my clients, my marketing and any new ventures I’m considering.

I don’t hold on to business cards these days. Whether I’m at a wedding, a conference, a laundromat or a networking event, I’ve learned that talking about what I do is good for business.

More specifically, I’ve realized being a coach is good for business. I can now see that marketing is a gift. By doing what I love and authentically integrating who I am with how I live and work, selling my services is nothing to shy away from. Turns out coaching has made all the difference.

Jennifer Gleeson Blue, through her company Get There From Here, is dedicated to equipping 20- and 30-somethings to create inspired, authentic and sustainable lives. In addition to individual coaching, she facilitates workshops, delivers presentations and helps organizations get the most out of their young employees. She is a graduate of Coach University and currently serves as Vice President of Marketing for the Philadelphia Area Coaches Alliance. For more information, please visit www.gleesonblue.com.

Comments

[Susannah]

Ciao Jennifer,
I want to introduce you to the wonderful term "Intrapreneur" which combines both the internal self with the more external, career self- and as well can best be applied in organizations by helping stakeholders create more change/impact from within. Let me know if you want some coaching to develop your own intrapreneur or instill some more intrapreneurship in your organization. Best, Susannah