Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jessica Crowley, Founder & Author of Aspire Winning Edge, located in Wheaton, IL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Aspire Winning Edge works with high school athletes preparing to play collegiate sports and current collegiate athletes whose performance is impacted by the mental pressures of athletic demands. Areas such as perfectionism, acceptance, trust, self-doubt, confidence, performance pressure, expectations, social comparison, and athlete advocacy are a few that are addressed. Because one size doesn't fit all, it is where the athlete is and where they want to be that drives the session. Sports trauma and injury recovery, such as muscle guarding, provides opportunities to work on consistency, speed, and strength through mind-body-based processing. The tagline, The Mind is the Body's Coach is, in its entirety, a full explanation of finding individual success in the process and allowing the outcome/results to happen.
Tell us about yourself
I was a 3-sport 4-year athlete in High School and played two years of basketball at a junior college. My skills were great; however, my character on the court did not support the schools looking for an athlete of my caliber. I played with too much intensity, argued with refs, and got angry at my teammates. Later in life, as a police officer, and a tactical athlete, I played in the Police v. Fire charity basketball game and got into a fight with the opponent in front of the community watching. I realized the mental side of the game impacted my play and was why I never earned a scholarship. I immersed myself in courses, became a hypnotist, Brainspotting practitioner, and neuroscience enthusiast, and learned tools and skills to maximize potential, get rid of influencers, and use the resources I already had. I began working with gymnasts, and soon it was any athlete and teams needing tools, knowledge, and skills to find a balance within, to perform under pressure, how use anxiousness and fear to their advantage, etc. Athletes walk in feeling one way and leave changed.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
When clients leave, accomplishing what they walked thinking wasn't a possibility For athletes, my biggest accomplishment can be the smallest shift that creates personal success for an athlete. When the athlete can honor and know who they are, that how they feel is normal, that there isn't something wrong with them, and that they leave with several tools that allow them to create their daily successes by trusting the process will produce the outcome.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Marketing, I deal with the mental side of sports. Mental health and wellness are hugely important in the overall health, mindset, and performance of the athlete. When I work with clients, we make it fun, do interactive exercises, develop tools, and in doing so, they create successes, internally and externally. Unfortunately, they don't share their experience with other athletes who can benefit from the same services and experiences. That is the hardest thing that comes with owning a business such as this; no one will share it with others due to the stigma attached or not wanting to provide a possible advantage to someone else.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- If it could be done wrong, I've done it. But it grows my business IQ.
- Being a great practitioner doesn't mean you'll be a great business owner, be open to learning the hard way at times.
- Stick with it.
- Word of mouth is powerful.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://aspirewinningedge.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aspirewinningedge
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspirewinningedge/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anchorgreatnes1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicarkcrowley/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.