Brenna Potter
Brenna Potter, CLC is a Certified Life Coach.
She tells us that, “I think every business owner has to go on a journey to figure out what works for them best. What I’ve learned for myself so far is to intentionally make time for the people and the activities that are important to me. For example, my boyfriend and I live together and we both work from home, but even though we’re around each other daily, it’s important to me that I/we make time to schedule and enjoy quality time together. Often this is spending evenings together cooking dinner, playing games and/or watching a show we enjoy. When preparing for evenings like this, I know that if a work task can wait (i.e. it’s not urgent), rather than pushing through and forcing myself to do it today, I schedule a block of time for it on my calendar the next day. Of course, that’s not something that’s always possible.
There are deadlines that require more focus and discipline, but for the most part I live by my calendar and trust that I can manage my schedule. One tool I use to help me organize my schedule to make these decisions is to review my to-do list and categorize tasks into three categories “Do, Schedule, Delete” This helps me prioritize tasks and is based on the task management tool called “The Eisenhower Matrix” This also helps me to be more flexible with my schedule when unexpected things show up.”
When faced with unexpected hurdles in your business, how do you stay strong?
I would say relying on my community and my network is one of the biggest things that has supported me when I go through challenges in my business. Having the ability to share struggles with other entrepreneurs and brainstorm solutions is very helpful. On a more personal note, I would say that I am someone who leans on my faith for support to help me through challenges both personally and professionally. This helps me to reframe challenging experiences as lessons, remembering that hardships are temporary and new experiences are on the horizon.
How do you determine the success of your business beyond financial metrics, focusing on factors like customer satisfaction and community impact?
As someone who is truly driven by passion for my work and the fulfillment it brings, I believe when I am showing up consistently and I am being of service in the ways that I want to be through my business, that is a measure of success. It’s kind of a self-evaluation of asking “Am I making the impact that I’m here to make with this work?” I believe that each business is unique to a certain extent and as a business owner you must regularly check in with yourself, be honest with yourself, and make any necessary adjustments to ensure that you’re staying in alignment with the mission and vision of your company and delivering results to your clients/customers.
Can you recount a pivotal moment in your business journey where you saw remarkable growth or witnessed a transformative change, showcasing the impact of your products or services?
One of the first clients I worked with was a fellow young entrepreneur. She was working a fulltime job during the day and she enjoyed it, but she had a business on the side that she also really enjoyed and she wanted to expand. She had an idea of how she wanted to execute the growth but she had been struggling to follow through. When she came to me for coaching this was the main thing that she wanted to focus on. During our time together she was able to identify and overcome quite a few limiting beliefs that were blocking her from taking action. She was headed into something unknown which brought up doubts and fears, however through our coaching and the action plans that she created, she was able to design and execute a project to expand her business. Within three months of closing our coaching engagement she messaged me to let me know that she had officially expanded her business and was seeing success! It was fulfilling to witness her transformation and then get to celebrate her success together. She went from being a place of inaction due to fear, to a place of joy, happiness and gratitude for the action that she took to achieve her goal of expanding her business.
In your view, how crucial is mentorship for the success of small businesses, and how have mentors influenced your own entrepreneurial path?
I find mentorship to be incredibly important. It’s one of the reasons that I focused a lot on meeting as many business professionals and entrepreneurs as I possibly could during my first year in business. Learning from their experiences, asking questions and being willing to learn from them has helped me make decisions as a first time business owner. I’m also grateful for those mentors I have within the coaching industry as well. They have helped me grow my skills not only as a coach, but encourage me to apply my learnings to my coaching practice so that my business can thrive as well.
What is your business focused on, and how does it contribute to making a positive difference in the world?
My business, Coaching to Confidence, is focused on supporting women 18 and older as they navigate the transition into adulthood. Whether they’re facing the transition from high school to college, college to the workforce, figuring out what’s next in life, changing jobs/career, navigating relationships, or engaging in personal development for the sake of growth, my goal is to be there to help them navigate those challenges as they create the life they desire. Though much of my work is based on self-discovery and mindset, I place a strong focus on topics such as self-love and self-compassion because I believe that those are two foundational principles to have in your tool belt as you navigate life. My business is not just about empowering women, especially young women who are just getting started in life, it’s also about recognizing and embodying the need for more love, kindness and compassion in the world. My goal is to build a community of women who share these values and come together to support each other no matter how different or unique their journeys may be from each other’s.
What special ability do you wish you had to make your job easier?
The first thing that comes to me with this question is the ability to not become distracted because there are so many distractions competing for our attention every day. Is it a realistic hope? I don’t think so. We’re only human and that comes with the experience of life, but it would be nice if there was a switch we could flip so that we could be in deep focus to execute the things that we want to accomplish without having to worry about all the other things going on in our lives and the world.
If you could invite three fictional characters to help you plan your next project, who would you choose, and why?
The first would definitely be Lorelei Gilmore because I’m a huge fan of the show Gilmore Girls and I love her sass and wit. She’s also a business owner so I think she would be an enjoyable brainstorming partner. Next would be Betty Suarez from Ugly Betty. The audience gets to watch her go through her very own transformation and self-discovery process through her story. She goes from having a lack of confidence in herself to a major increase in her self-confidence, all the while maintaining so much kindness and compassion for other people in her personal and professional life. I think she embodies some of the same values that are embedded in my company including staying true to yourself, standing up for yourself, never giving up and offering kindness and compassion whenever and wherever you can. My third pick would probably be Cassie Nightingale from The Good Witch. She is a very wise woman who it’s always looking out for the people around her. She lends support to her friends and community all while bringing a little bit of magic wherever she goes, and it’s always magic that helps someone. I love her generosity and example of using your own power, your own magic, for good and the good of others.