Michelle Bondesio
Michelle Bondesio is a solo entrepreneur and the Founder of Creating Cadence. She offers writing, coaching and speaking services. She has a podcast also called Creating Cadence, and is the author of a new book called The Cadence Effect, due out in May 2023.
Tell us about your life before the venture/ leading up to your venture?
My background is in communications and project management and over the past 20 years I’ve worked across creative and digital industries. I’m originally from South Africa but I currently live in the UK and work with clients around the world.
Tell us something about your organization. What is it about and how is it helpful for people?
Creating Cadence helps high achievers stuck on the treadmill of hustle culture to transform how they work. So they can activate more of their potential and perform better in every part of their life. The focus is on ways to implement more mindful approaches to work that help improve our performance and productivity, but also support our wellbeing and increase our creativity.
Traditional working practices focus on unsustainable ways of working which cause excess stress that leads to burnout. It’s my aim to help people become more intentional with their productivity so that they can create momentum, work with purpose and craft a more meaningful life.
I offer private group coaching programmes, talks and workshops on topics relating to wellbeing, productivity, the impact of emerging technology and the future of work.
When I started out doing this work in 2018, I originally called my coaching brand Growth Sessions, but it has subsequently merged with my podcast brand so my work now fits under the umbrella of Creating Cadence.
Main Site & Podcast: https://creatingcadence.co/
Growth Sessions: https://growthsessions.co/
Book: https://thecadenceeffect.com/
What has been the response of the consumers towards your venture?
It takes a shift in mindset to realise that the standard model of working is broken, and that our business outputs need to be about more than just money. There are better ways of achieving our goals and outputs. When we become more intentional about how we approach our work it can have far reaching positive effects, not just in the workplace, but also in our larger lives.
When my clients adopt intentional productivity practices, it activates more of their potential and helps them to align their work with a stronger sense of purpose that is more closely tied to their values and beliefs.
As a result of my work over the past five years I’ve had the honour of being invited to be an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)
https://www.uclan.ac.uk/schools/business/entrepreneurs-in-residence
How has your life changed because of your venture?
My entrepreneurial journey has helped me to put wellbeing at the center of how I work and to create more meaning in my life. It has given me the freedom to design a way of working that optimises my productivity and enables me to work on my terms.
Give a motivational message for the audience/women who are reading this.
It can be scary starting out on this journey, especially if you are starting from scratch and have so much to learn. Nothing ever happens in a vacuum, and you can benefit from the input and insights of others, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s always an opportunity for learning, so be open and curious.
Also, have faith in yourself. Trust that even if you don’t know how to do something that you can figure it out. A growth mindset is essential for handling the uncertainty that comes with the entrepreneurial journey.