Introducing The Classy Entrepreneurs Interview Series

Over the past year I have met so many classy ladies who are building their personal brand as an entrepreneur (or solopreneur.) It’s amazing to see how many of them are young, uber-successful and so willing to share information that might help others.

That’s why I’m launching the Classy Entrepreneurs Interview series! I want to extend my network of awesome young professionals to you, through weekly interviews.

Now you can learn how these entrepreneurs are helping 20-somethings just like you to find balance, start careers, launch businesses, navigate through the quarterlife crisis years and more. Consider them your friendly girl-next-store resources for anything you might be going through during life after college.  If you know someone that deserves a special highlight, let me know. I want to introduce you to as many classy entrepreneurs as possible.

Name: Michelle Ward
Company: When I Grow Up Coach
Age: 34 as of Jan 14th
College(s) attended: BFA from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts; CPC from International Coach Academy
URL/Blog: whenigrowupcoach.com & whenigrowupcoach.com/blog
What do you do in one sentence? I help creative types devise the career they think they can’t have – or discover it to begin with!
Who do you help? Not to be repetitive, but….creative types But by that I mean that the client identifies with being called “creative”, even if they’re not an artist in any way and/or don’t want to pursue an artistically-based profession. You can be creative “just” in ideas and/or out-of-the-box thinking, too!
What is one piece of advice you can give young professionals? Daily baby steps build a super strong foundation. “Just” 15 minutes each day will give ya almost 8 hours each week, and that ain’t chump change. Don’t believe me? Follow my 15-min/day twitter, blogging and entrepreneurial tips (depending on how you wanna hone your connections) and see how far ya get. Oh, it’s on.
Biggest life lesson you have learned so far? The biggest?! Eek – pressure! The first thing that came to me was Uniquity, and how important it is to differentiate yourself from the competition (whether you’re going for a corporate job or want to be your own boss) and demonstrate your value (and yes, uniquity is a word I made up, but made-up words are part of my uniquity). Aaaaaaand I can’t help linking to a post I wrote about how to find your uniquity. The Declaration of You is great for that, too (if I do say so myself).
Where do you want to be in one year? Personally, boob cancer free! Professionally, a published author with a 6-figure biz. Oh yes indeedy.
Favorite tool/book/magazine/app or resource of the moment: This is a tough one too! I bought IttyBiz’ Emergency Turnaround Clinic a few weeks ago and just ate it up. I wasn’t in an emergency, but it was pay-what-you-can and I drool over everything that Naomi says, so I went for it. Huge with the a-ha moments for me, and helped me solidify the next service I’m offering. Such goodness.