Turn Your Business Dream Into Reality.
Q & A with Success Coach Julie Swan
A question was once posed to me… “If you were to take a woman who was at rock-bottom to a place of empowerment, what would you teach her? What would you want her to know?” Wow! What an incredibly powerful question. In that very moment, the past 13 years of my life flashed through my mind at lightening speed. Such a powerful, thought-provoking question stirred up many emotions. Joy, sadness, despair, conviction, confidence, determination and spirit – all rolled into one moment of thought. It was then, at that point that I realised how I could help other women. My story, experience and mindset needed to be shared.”
This story was to become my signature framework, the beginning of a quest to empower as many women as possible to uncover their strengths, to design and create their ideal business and life.
Julie Swan is a Success Coach that specialises in helping women to design, create and prepare their ideal business for launch. She runs her own graphic design business – Julie Swan Design, along with creating award-winning greeting card ranges for Australian-owned Company Koala Publishing. Her passion lies with helping women in all stages of their life to take that first step towards their dream of starting their own business, and fulfilling a desire to become more.
What inspired you to want to work with entrepreneurial women?
I am drawn to confident, inspirational women who want to make positive changes in their life and business, women who know what they want but aren’t sure how to take that first step. As a coach, we tend to be drawn to work with people that reflect our own experiences, and this is certainly true for me. I believe that I cannot take a client somewhere that I haven’t been myself. My experience and my story are my strengths, so I knew instantly that I could help women who were starting out on the same path that I walked, and that they would resonate with my signature style of coaching.
What part has mindset played in your success?
A huge part! Creating and nurturing a positive mindset is everything, it’s absolutely crucial to success. Simply put – our thoughts create our reality. My awareness around this has opened up my life to possibility and success. I have this little mantra that I live by…
What is it? Plan it. Achieve it. Celebrate!
I would repeat this to myself often when faced with a challenge, as I had a habit of chunking things up too big, which resulted in me not taking action. It was a bit like standing at the bottom of a mountain and looking up and thinking… HOW am I possibly going to climb THAT? So I developed this mantra to switch my mindset from doubt to possibility. It helps me break down the task, plan what I have to do, take the steps to achieve it, celebrate my win, and then move onto the next thing. That’s how I’ve learnt to get things done, one step at a time.
So what would you tell that woman to take her from rock-bottom to empowerment?
First, I would start by defining ‘rock-bottom’ as it has many interpretations for different women. For me it was divorce. For others it could be losing a job, a loved one, perhaps re-entering the workforce after having children and experiencing feelings of inadequacy. Maybe they have been stuck in the same job for many years, and want to take that leap of faith and start their own business. There are many shades of rock-bottom, however they all have one common denominator, and that is a feeling of wanting ‘more’.
What type of women do you work with?
My signature programme Design your Dream Business is a 3-month coaching intensive for entrepreneurial women who want to bring their business vision to life, and be ready to launch with clarity and confidence.
Typically, these women have:
- A desire to create their dream business
- Are at a stage in their life or job where they feel they want more
- They may be lacking the confidence and direction on where to start
- They have launched their new business and need confidence, structure and clarity to move to the next level.
What outcomes can these women expect from your coaching intensive?
Firstly, and most importantly my clients gain clarity around who they are, what they want, what they value and where their strengths lie. From this point, they are in a position to design their business vision around their established goals. Through the coaching process, my clients develop a 7-step plan to design their unique business offering. This includes identifying their ideal client or customer, how to market and sell their services in a way that feels comfortable to them, along with how to package and brand their services professionally. My clients have a definable outcome at the end of our coaching intensive: they are ready to launch their business with clarity and confidence.
And lastly, what do you want to be known for?
Oh! That’s a great question. In my personal life… a Mum that nurtures and inspires her children, a wife that loves and supports, and a friend that is dependable and a little bit crazy! In my business, I would like to be known for my ability to stand with confidence and serve women from a place of experience, passion and tangibility. I want my clients to walk away with more than inspiration – I want them to engage with my coaching services and workshops, and be clear around the steps needed to start or grow their business. I want to be known for achieving amazing results for each and every one of my clients… consider it done!
julieswancoaching.com.au
