Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in career development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dorota Klop-Sowinska, Founder of DoSo! Coaching, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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

My company DoSo! Coaching helps international/expat professionals from all over the world to have a job that they love. At DoSo! Coaching we offer the following services: career coaching, job search coaching, executive coaching, leadership coaching, mental strengths training and coaching.

In a nutshell, this is what we do: "Do you want to take charge of your career but feel stuck and have no idea what to do next? Do you feel that in the last years, you were 'rolling' from one position into another and that you NOW want to make a conscious choice? We spent hours, days, months, and years at work. How we function at work has a great impact on our functioning in all other areas. That is why it is so important to have work that we truly enjoy. And when do we enjoy working? When the job that we do is rooted in our values, based on our talents, and represents our passion and purpose.

Our flagship Career Jump! Coaching program for career change consists of three pillars:

  1. CLARITY - the clients get clear on what their values, strengths, passions, purpose, people, and place are; as an outcome, they know what it is that they want to do professionally as a next step.
  2. ROAD MAP – together with our clients, we coach them to get an actionable step-by-step plan to make the above a reality.
  3. JUMP – we coach our clients on their mindset and also practical aspects so they DO take action and make a career change.

Tell us about yourself

I am originally from Poland but have been living for 18 years in Amsterdam, Netherlands. I also lived in Mexico and Brazil, hence my connection with internationals and expats. In my 'first' professional life, I was an internal auditor at a big international company. Although I liked my job to a certain extent, I had a great job, a good salary, a red mini cooper, a great boss, and wonderful colleagues, I also felt stuck. I felt I was missing something important, and at the same time, I felt guilty for wanting more.

In the end, I decided to follow my gut and dare to do something totally different. I quit my job, enrolled in new studies in coaching and counseling, and started my company DoSo! Coaching with the mission to help expats like me to truly enjoy their professional life and not to have any regrets. It was already more than 12 years ago that I made my career jump, and I never regretted it for a second. What keeps me motivated is my happy clients who also succeed in making a career change for themselves and the fact that I do something that I am passionate about, good at, and have a deep sense of purpose for.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

On a daily basis, my biggest accomplishments are my clients, who, through coaching, achieve their professional goals and dreams. Reflecting on the past 12 years, there are a couple of things I see as my accomplishments:

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

I think the hardest thing is the fact that you have to be a very determined and self-starting person when you are building a solopreneur business. You also have to be great in many things outside of your core skills. Like in coaching, my main skills are listening to people, motivating them, supporting them, etc., but in order to run my coaching business, I also need very different skillset such as selling, being creative when creating my content, writing skills, etc.

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

  1. Start before you are ready. There are a lot of people out there who wait for the perfect moment to start, which never comes.
  2. Get your finances together, and have a plan on how much money you need for the first year of running your business. Lack of knowledge and planning on finances often stops people from pursuing their dreams.
  3. Join a mastermind group or a community - you can spend years trying to figure out everything by yourself, or you can invest in yourself and get all the support, knowledge, and tools you need for success!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://dosocoaching.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dosocoaching
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dosocoaching/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dosocoaching
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dklopsowinska/

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.

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