Alyssa Anne Austin, a multi-talented Actor, Author, Speaker, and Coach, has dedicated her career to helping high-performing professional women discover their unique gifts, authentically share their stories, and create fulfilling careers and lives. Through her career development platform, Poised & Professional, Alyssa has been transforming the lives of women for over six years, empowering them to embrace self-actualization and achieve their dreams. We sat down with Alyssa to discuss her journey, her impact, and her vision for the future.
Could you briefly introduce yourself in less than 100 words?
My name is Alyssa Anne Austin, and I’m an Actor, Author, Speaker, and Coach. For the last 6+ years, I’ve run my own career development platform, Poised & Professional, where I coach high-performing professional women of all ages on how to discover their unique gifts, share their stories authentically, and create their dream lives and careers.
Before you became the business titan you are today, enlighten us about the thrilling adventures of your pre-business life.
Prior to starting Poised & Professional, I worked in corporate marketing for 7 years. I worked both in-house and at marketing agencies, developing a deep skillset in content marketing, including SEO, content strategy, email marketing, funnels, and how to craft an evergreen, self-driving inbound marketing engine. I had the privilege of working with great companies and clients, but in 2016, I started working with motivational speaker and business coach Brian Tracy. For two years, I ran his marketing strategy, launching campaigns with a focus on helping people tap into their potential. This transformative experience instilled the knowledge and skills necessary to run my own business and opened my eyes to the personal development industry. From there, a seed was planted—I knew I wanted to start my own business helping others, I just needed to figure out how.
I’ve always been entrepreneurial, running a series of blogs and a niche e-commerce business in my twenties and early thirties. In 2016, while still in corporate marketing, I started Poised & Professional as a blog to help professional women advocate for themselves in the workplace. In 2018, I pivoted Poised & Professional into a full-time coaching business, using my marketing expertise to create an evergreen business that helps thousands of women each year find fulfillment in their careers.
Could you elaborate on the nature of your initiative/business/current role, highlighting its purpose and the ways it benefits people?
The mission of my work through Poised & Professional is to help professional women discover their gifts, own their unique stories, and embrace the journey of self-actualization. I help my clients achieve these goals through three primary programs:
Job Search Jumpstart: A series of career coaching and development offerings designed to help job seekers reconnect with their gifts, visualize their ideal careers, and take actionable steps towards meaningful change.
Authentically YOU – Personal Branding Bootcamp: A 5-week program using my proprietary approach to create a unique and memorable personal brand that propels clients toward their goals.
Radiant Mastermind: A mentorship program launched in 2023, focused on self-actualization. This ongoing initiative connects members with each other and empowers them to become the best versions of themselves.
What has been the response of the users/consumers towards your venture? (You can also talk about your recognitions/achievements here.)
I feel incredibly lucky to do work that I love and to have received such a positive response to my business and message.
My first book, “35 Days of Confidence: Find Your Voice, Fulfill Your Dreams, and Focus Your Inner Power,” became an Amazon Best-Seller in early 2019.
In 2022, I created and starred in my own “part Broadway cabaret, part TED Talk” one-woman show, Always a Banana, Never the Bride: An Ode to Broadway’s “Lesser Ladies,” which encourages audience members to embrace their authenticity. The show won the 2023 BroadwayWorld San Diego Award for Best Cabaret/Concert/Solo Performance, and I hope to turn it into a TED Talk one day.
In 2023, I was named one of the “Top 10 Personal Branding Experts to Follow” by LA Weekly.
In the past two years, I’ve been invited to participate in a variety of workshops and speaking engagements, sharing my core messages with motivated, high-performing women across various industries.
Having a strong support system is essential for your well-being. We would love to know who your biggest supporter is. Share with us and let’s celebrate the amazing people in our lives who make a positive impact.
My biggest supporter is my husband, Mike. He supports my biggest dreams, even when he doesn’t fully understand them. One of the biggest compliments he’s given me was when he said, “I learned a long time ago that if you want to do something, you’re going to make it happen.” His belief in me is something I’m incredibly grateful for.
As a woman entrepreneur, what changes do you hope to see in the world and what opportunities are you seeking?
The biggest change I’d like to see is more diverse examples of what “success” looks like for women. Growing up, I had a narrow vision of what success should be. It took time and personal work to challenge this belief and understand that I could define success on my own terms. Seeing other women create their own versions of success inspired me to do the same. That’s why I’m so passionate about coaching—helping women realize they can define their success, whatever that may look like.
Women now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with men in the workplace, breaking through glass ceilings to reach the top. What are your thoughts on women’s leadership today?
Women are equipped with deep skill sets in compassion, empathy, multitasking, and determination, which make them well-suited for leadership. To borrow a quote from one of my former clients, “Nothing bad happens when more women are in charge.” I hope to see more women in positions of power, starting at the very top. It’s my mission to help women embrace their leadership potential.
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