Hey everyone! Long time no blog, huh?
I’ve been pretty busy working on my SECOND BOOK (!!) and that has left me little time to blog, but I know there are many of you out there who check in on my regularly. I want you to know how grateful and I am and please know that I truly, madly and deeply appreciate every single one of you. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would have so many Internet friends! I really am so thankful for you and I’m glad that we can connect here.
As a big ole thank you to YOU, I’d like to introduce a new feature here on my blog called CREATIVE CRUSH. Every now and then, but hopefully with a bit more regularity, I’m going to introduce you to someone I think is wonderful. Whomever I’m featuring will really have something to offer you – and I promise that checking them out and digging into their work/philosophy/services will benefit you.
I’m kicking this new feature off with someone I just adore – and I think you will too: Michelle Ward and her business is called When I Grow Up Coach.
I’m not exactly sure when I became aware of Michelle and her work, but I’m so glad I found her. Her spirit, genuine enthusiasm, and her passion for what she does rings true clear as a bell. I’ve not met Michelle in real life, but I would like to. In fact, she embodies a lot of the qualities that attract me to our community to begin with.
Once a year Michelle offers a scholarship, open to everyone, and you can apply to work with her FOR FREE! She gives you some hints as to what she is looking for in an applicant in the interview, and if you wondering where you’re headed, need some business support or just want to get clear on your goals and develop a plan on how to get to where you want to be, I encourage you to apply.
So without further ado – read on sweet friends and apply! apply! apply!
xoxo, Kari
PS Before you get started here are the various places where you can find Michelle:
Michelle on Twitter
When I grow Up Coach on Facebook
Michelle on YouTube
Michelle’s Blog
Michelle’s fabulous eCourse that she facilitates her fabulous friend and co-creator Jessica Swift The Declaration of You
Here’s the interview!
First of all, I’d like to take a page from your book Michelle and ask you one of your own questions: What did you want to be when you grew up? An actress/singer/waitress/travel agent/teenager/Debbie Gibson/Punky Brewster. Although once I was bit with “the bug” around the age of 7 I only wanted to be on Broadway! How were you able to recognize that another path was calling your inner Career Woman’s name? Well, when I got really, truly, deeply, scarily honest with myself around the ripe old age of 27 and really, truly, deeply, scarily owned up to the fact that I didn’t want acting to be my career any longer. It was just absolutely unacceptable to me to be in a career that I wasn’t passionate about, so I set out to find a new passion. I wasn’t optimistic about finding something I loved more than performing, and I was very adamant that I wanted a “grown-up job” with “stability” and “benefits” and yada yada yada….but, I didn’t find it in that regard. What I did find, once I dug deep into my strengths/skills/values/personality type, was that being an entrepreneur appealed to me on multiple levels, and coaching other creatives through their career transitions could be the closest I got to a new passion. When I looked into life coaching further, it just clicked – and I knew this was The Answer. I was almost mad at myself because I felt it was a “hippie” career and I was mad that I had to be an entrepreneur to do it, but it made sense on every other level. A Career Woman I was gonna be – but on my own terms 
When did you first discover coaching as a career? I wish I could tell ya, but I can’t! I have no recollection of it. Although my husband wrote a sweet post about the day I told him about deciding to be a coach – I don’t remember that too well, either!
My readers are mostly hand-makers. They are interested in making a full time living wither their crafts and other creative handmade products. How could someone like them benefit from working with a career coach like you? Oh wow – so much, so much! See, the thing about a life coach is that our goals and objectives for our clients are the goals and objectives that our clients have for themselves, so we can help with just about anything. But specifically, I work with a lot of crafters on launching their businesses, figuring out how to promote themselves in the way that works best for them, decide on which project(s) to focus on first (and second and third and fourth), figure out what they don’t know and how they can fill in the blanks, determine their “niche” or brand or whatever you wanna call it…I could go on. I think overall, though, our sessions give my clients a clear “mission statement”, and a window into their own personal process – how they work so they can build the shop that they want on their terms. I’m also big on baby steps – they’re huge in building a strong foundation for a successful business, so we work together to figure out the baby steps they need/want to take that week and how they can make it happen. You can also take a peak at my Testimonials page and read the ones from the Jessicas, April, Deanna, Ann, May, Maggie, and Christina – those are all of my handmade mavens! There are more comin’, too.
I’m providing a link so readers can listen in on one of your sessions, to give them a first hand, clearer sense of what a coaching session is like. What are some signs that a prospective client of yours is ready to take the leap and hire a coach. In other words, how do I know if this is right for me? Honestly, there’s two pieces to look at in deciding if coaching’s right for you, whether with me or someone else. The first: You’re really ready to dig deep, experiment, put the work in, and make changes. Like, I’m-Gonna-Do-The-Work-and-Nothing-Will-Stop-Me Ready. Like, Enough-Effing-Around-and-Let’s-Do-This-Already Ready. Then, you have to be willing, able, and excited to find the answers yourself. A coach will not give you advice or tell you what it is you need to do to be successful. A coach is there to help you clarify what those answers are and how to get there, as well as to support you, acknowledge & help you build on what’s going right, cheer you on, and hold you accountable. I compare it to taking a road trip, where I’m in the passenger seat with the GPS and the traffic report, but you’re the one driving. That’s when you know coaching is right for you, and that it’s the right time to invest in working with a coach. And if a coach you’re thinking of working with isn’t certified or tells you anything drastically different than I am…run the other way. They’re not really a coach!
Listen to a session with Michelle!
How did your first day of not-working-for-the-man FREEDOM feel? Ohmygosh, I don’t remember the specifics, but when I think about that day I just light up inside. I remember it being surreal – like I was on a working vacation. It took a good 2-4 weeks for that feeling to go away – I kept thinking I’d have to wake up and someone would bust into my home office and force me to get on the subway for an hour at rush hour and work in a cube under fluorescent lights. But nobody ever did. Amen and hallelujah!
Why the scholarship? Because it’s amazeballs! I started it in 2009, when I was still in my cube, as a way to “give back” and give coaching to someone who couldn’t afford it otherwise. That’s still why I do it – that hasn’t changed. I had 27 people apply that year, which made me super happy. Then, in 2010, I did it about 2 months after I left my job, and I had 154 people apply. I was just floored. Floored! I responded to each entry personally and gave ‘em a coaching-type exercise to help them clarify what would be a good first step for them – whatever they were working out personally – and then offered everyone a low-cost group session to be a part of – $29/session as opposed to the $79 or $99 I was charging at the time. This year, I have about 40 entries so far and I’ve only been accepting entries for a few days. I’m a little scared at what the numbers will be – and how tough the decision’s gonna be! Geez Louise Louise! – and I’m not sure yet what I’ll be able to offer everyone, but I’m gonna see where it takes me and how I can help everyone who applies. It really is about giving back, about making coaching with me more accessible and affordable, and offering that One Person something they couldn’t do otherwise. What are you looking for when you decide the winner? Honestly, I’m looking for someone I’d really love to work with – that I can tell through the application is ready and willing and able to get to work, and would also be someone I know I’d click with on a personal level. I won’t lie – a sense of humor works well, as does really writing loads in the 5 questions I ask in the application. I never ever ever have picked – or have come close to picking – someone whose application is less than 2 pages when I print it out. It’s hard for me to get the story, the personality, the amazeballsness of that person through just a few sentences. How should people apply? Fill out this lil’ survey with your answers before 11:59p on Fri, April 1. And if ya want more details, you can find ‘em here.
I’m always, always (!), collecting time management tips for my readers. We all have so much going on… sometimes 2 jobs, families, the need for free time and fun… I have personally (ahem) found that working for myself presented loads of challenges that I never expected, time management being my own personal biggest hurdle. Do you have a trick or tip you can share with us that will work magic on our inner bosses? I use a timer method to help keep me on task, but that doesn’t always work for me. As a business owner Michelle, what works for you personally? Ha! Can I tell ya that time management is my biggest challenge, and one I’m working on constantly? I’ve been working with a time management coach for quite a few months now, and that’s been a big help. I’m also about to sign up for The Incubator at Third Hand Works. However, a “free” tip is to use Springpad, my newest, favoritist app in all of AppLand. I found it about 3 weeks ago and have loved it ever since. It’s basically delicious + Evernote + project management + vision board, as you can clip anything and everything online, build notebooks for each project you wanna work on, add tasks and notes and media and whatnot, and then create a “bulletin board” for each notebook to visualize stuff. It’s free and has a killer iPhone and Android app as well as having browser plug-ins and being fully functional online. I’m recommending it to everyone who’ll listen – so thanks for listening!
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Go forth and apply to work with Michelle!
xo, Kari
This is Pony and Foal. They were our Vermont neighbors for awhile.
