Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Katherine Metzger, Founder and CEO of eLovated life, located in Meriden, CT, USA.

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

I'm the founder and CEO of eLovated life, Certified High-Performance Coach, Elite Mentorship Trainer, and published author of Unapologetically You - Empower Your Authentic Self and Get Excited About Your Life. My mission is to empower every person to have a deep understanding, a grounded knowing, of who they are, so they can embrace their unique gifts, share them fearlessly with others, and lead a fulfilling life of engagement, joy, and courage. To help them unpack what's been holding them back so they can free themselves to answer with confidence, who am I?

Why is it so important to answer the question, 'who am I?' Most people answer with superficial labels assigned by society - I am a daughter, a teacher, an employee, I am good with my hands, bad at math. But this question is really one of the most important questions we can ever answer because who we think we are and how we see ourselves determines how we live our lives, solve our problems, perform at work, choose our relationships, and even how to heal our bodies. Consider - what jobs do you believe you can get, and who do you invite into your life? Your most intimate relationships. Who do you admire, and who are your friends? They're all based on the way you feel about yourself. Based upon your self-worth, your self-esteem.

It's the people who are lost, the ones who don't have that rock-solid foundation of who they are, that don't know any better, and who believe what the world is telling them to the degree that can be devastating. But when we are conscious enough to understand who we are at our core, we become almost immune to the external circumstances around us. When we have a rock solid understanding, a deep knowing, of who we are, then when we're confronted with challenges, we either rise to meet them, or they roll right off because we don't buy into them. We become unshakable, unbreakable, and all together unstoppable!

Tell us about yourself

Whether it was in a job or relationship, I'd always considered myself a chameleon, proud that I could adapt to my surroundings and fit in anywhere with anyone. It took me as far as people-pleasing can take someone. But when you tie your identity to external experiences, expectations, relationships, and what my peer Peter Sage calls GOOP (the good opinion of other people), then your identity is really just as transient as that fleeting moment. You are unsure of yourself, your strengths, your choices, and your actions. You live in a perpetual state of self-doubt. And after years of trying to mold myself to what I thought everyone around me wanted, I realized I'd lost sight of who I was and what I stood for.

Here are a few things I realized on my journey to find myself:

  • Everything is temporary, and the only person guaranteed to be with me my entire life is me. So I needed to start loving myself & paying attention to my needs. I needed to start living to make myself proud!
  • We are all on a unique journey, and the answers on how to proceed are within. I needed to trust myself & start listening to my own voice. I needed to start looking internally for validation!
  • If I spend my whole life following others, my life will be limited by their restrictions. I needed to learn from others but then step up as a leader, outside my comfort zone, and own my mission for growth & contribution!
  • So many people have self-doubt in figuring out how to do that, and they get their wires crossed. They think that self-doubt is a signal to stop. Successful people feel self-doubt, and it's a signal to learn, to invest in themselves, to try, to experiment, to test, and to find their way because self-doubt will always be there. The question is, do you stop when you feel it? Or do you experiment when you feel it? That's the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people. You can have self-doubt, but if it stops you, then life doesn't progress. If you have self-doubt and you can move through it, that's where the growth and magic happen!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Developing an innate understanding of how to meet my clients where they are and lovingly challenge them to their unique next level! Not allowing my insecurities and esteem issues to prevent me from stepping into this new identity of entrepreneur and business owner so that I may now have the privilege and honor to facilitate incredible life-transforming breakthroughs, freeing my clients from hidden patterns and beliefs that were installed in childhood!

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

Wearing all of the different hats and learning all the different skills before you can hire a team is definitely a challenge. Graphic Designer, Website Builder, Copywriter, Customer Service, Tech Support, and Financial & Tax Accountant... to name a few. It's important to give yourself grace and patience as these challenges help you grow into the person you need to become in order to achieve your dream. One lesson I've learned is that sometimes it's less about resources and more about resourcefulness!

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

  1. Find or build yourself a solid support system, whether that's a mentor, coach, local resources, networking group, etc.
  2. Get comfortable with uncertainty; you can have your whole business plan mapped out and have it all go off course within the first two minutes.
  3. Just get started, don't wait for things to be perfect clarity will come in the process of doing, and it's okay to adjust and readjust things as you go. '80% of something is better than 100% of nothing!'

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.elovatedlife.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/elovatedlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elitecoachkate/


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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