My Career Pivot

I know I've been quiet since I announced my parental leave back in October, and that's because I've been taking some time to reflect while rapidly working on new programs and refining my marketing and messaging. Recently, I revisited my journals from 2023 and realized there have been significant developments over the last year, laying the foundation for my career pivot, which I'm excited to share with you in this update.

In 2014, when I started my career coaching practice, a mentor advised me that to have a successful business meant to find what works, build on it, and rinse and repeat. He also warned that I might eventually tire of my business, but what bored me could remain fresh for clients. This emphasized the importance of scaling — whether through increased pricing, hiring staff, or expanding products and services to larger audiences.

Despite taking his advice to scale my business, I didn't do it in a way that was aligned. A turning point arrived in 2022 when I decided to hire a "high ticket" coach who championed "high ticket" offerings and "plug and play" systems. Regrettably, this path led me further away from my authentic self. By the end of the first quarter of 2023, I sensed a misalignment with my business.

Looking back at the second through fourth quarters of 2023, amidst the whirlwind of my pregnancy, I decided to put myself through my own Inner Compass Process, stepping back and working through what I call my great pivot.

Similar to the process I take my clients through, here's what I did:

I reflected:

I explored my past patterns, not just in terms of business success but from a personal standpoint. Despite being a career coach and business owner, I realized I had gotten out of touch with my own career management. I decided to move away from plug and play high-ticket offer systems and focused on building an aligned business based on what works for me and my clients.

I evaluated what I liked, what brought me joy, and playfulness in business. Letting go of what felt heavy and wasn't working resulted in some of the best clients and more lucrative outcomes in the last quarter of 2023.

I played:

I went on local adventures around the DC metro area, participated in trivia nights with friends, attended dance classes, and more. I brought that playfulness into my business through walking and talking appointments with clients, hosting Zoom meetings in my backyard, walking and recording new content on my phone, and infusing playfulness throughout my work. As a result, myself and my clients were having more fun.

I talked to people:

Engaging in over 30 career and business conversations with former clients, existing clients, and other business owners, I aimed to learn more about clients' needs and what was working for other business owners. As a result, I was able to integrate my findings into my business.

I experimented:

Some experiments succeeded, while others did not. For instance, my work/life balance program called 9tothrive didn't take off. I won't delve into details, but it simply didn't gain traction. However, placing more focus on career coaching for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start the right business and experienced business owners aiming to realign their ventures worked exceptionally well.

While it was challenging to see some experiments fail, it was also enlightening to figure out what worked and achieved success.

I can empathize with why clients sometimes struggle to start a business or make a career change. Over the years, I've learned that stepping outside my comfort zone and testing different approaches is essential to determining what will work. It's scary to acknowledge that something can fail, and sometimes it's painful when an endeavor doesn't succeed—I've had a few good cries. On the flip side, what did work and succeeded was incredibly rewarding, providing the clarity I needed to move forward.

This brings me to my great pivot.

While I've previously focused on career coaching with mid-career to executive-level professionals, assisting them in making career changes, (which I still plan to offer), I've decided to revamp my website and begin producing content to help business owners discover and launch the right business or help existing business owners realign their offerings. I'm thrilled about the content I've been creating, which will soon evolve into a book and an online course.

In the meantime, I'm excited to announce some new offerings:

✧Business (Re) Discovery Coaching For Entrepreneurs:

Do you want to start a business, but have no idea what to choose? Or are you looking to re-align your business but unsure of the best direction? This personalized coaching program unravels the narrative of your past, using childhood memories to identify the inherent strengths and core drivers that will guide you in starting the right business or realigning your existing service offerings.

✧Business Coaching to Launch New Offerings or Start Your New Service-Based Business:

Are you frustrated with generic business advice that has failed to guide you to your launch date or has steered you off course in creating a business that truly mirrors your authentic self? This personalized coaching program uses reflection, play, and experimentation for aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their new service-based business or experienced business owners aiming to launch an authentic business aligned with their identity, strengths, and viability in the market.

What's Next?

I'm thrilled to embark on this journey with you and to share my evolving thought leadership on these topics through emails and social media.

The announcement of these new offerings marks a turning point that feels incredibly aligned with my values and vision.

While I eagerly anticipate my upcoming parental leave, I'm equally excited about the prospect of returning on May 15th and diving into this new chapter.

During my parental leave, I might reach out from time to time. The joy of reflection and turning thoughts into articles is something I look forward to sharing with you.

As always, I appreciate your continued support and understanding. I might be a bit slower to respond to emails, but rest assured, I will respond.

Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime!

With excitement and gratitude,

Danielle