Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Blake Miles, CEO of Blake Miles Coaching, located in Brampton, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am an abundance coach, and I help people to "Put Dreaming on Their To-Do List" by guiding them through the process of reducing their huge, overwhelming goals to small manageable steps that can be programmed into a day-by-day schedule of success. It allows people to take "Little Steps to BIG Success" and create the life they've always dreamed of but never thought they could achieve.

Tell us about yourself

In the fall of 2010, I became a grandfather - unexpectedly - at the age of 44. At the time, I weighed over 300 pounds, had high blood pressure, and worked a dead-end job trying to pay down more than $60,000 in debt. Within the next year and a half, using the exact process I now teach to others, I lost the weight, wiped out the debt, and reclaimed my health, so that I would have the financial means and energy to help raise my granddaughter, and could live long enough to watch her grow up! It wasn't long before people wanted to know how I had accomplished it, and Blake Miles Coaching was born.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

During the COVID lockdown, I finished the training required to obtain my counseling certification. Since June 2020, I have been helping people cope with the stress and trauma of the pandemic, and subsequent isolation. In November of this year, a former counseling recipient informed me that she had been contemplating suicide just prior to seeing me on social media and reaching out. It is hard to describe the feeling it gives me to think that I may have helped prevent someone from taking their own life.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Convincing people, amid all the scams and profiteers, that I truly want to help people achieve their best life. We live in a very untrusting time. There is a rapidly escalating number of incidents of fraud and sketchy business practices. It gets harder each day to reach the people that could really benefit from my services.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Get comfortable with giving it away. There are a lot of gurus out there telling us to put a price on everything, but people need to get to know you before they're going to purchase your products or services. Let them try it on for size - if you're confident about what you offer, there shouldn't be a problem giving people a sample.
  2. People want to do business with people. If you're a small business owner, don't try to pump yourself up to look like a big shot. Showcase your humanity, so people can get to know who you REALLY are.
  3. Be "social" and use social media. Whether we like it or not, this is the way of the future, and it affords us the opportunity to really share how authentic and likable we can be!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I host a Relax and Recharge Retreat every year in the Dutch Caribbean, called ARUBAbundance. It is open to anyone, but it is especially appealing to business owners as an affordable getaway where they can reset themselves and focus on creating a less stressful and more abundant lifestyle for themselves. Our last two events were canceled due to the pandemic, but we are back at it next April. We have three spots available for the 2022 event. Details are available on the ARUBAbundance Facebook Page.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.n2lblake.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachBlakeMiles
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blakemilescoaching/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/N2LCoach
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blake-miles-coaching/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.