Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Angie Monko, owner of Harmony Harbor Coaching, located in Maryland Heights, MO, USA.

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

I founded Harmony Harbor Coaching in 2008 and practiced part-time for three years since I was still employed full-time at my corporate job at AT&T. I had a degree in accounting and became a CPA because I liked the safety of numbers (they made sense--debits = credits). I practiced in the field of finance, accounting, and operations for 20 years before I got the courage to leave in 2011, giving up the safety of the "golden handcuffs." I am a compulsive eater, and I began going to a 12 step meeting in 2002 to learn how to manage that. I started sponsoring others five months later. Several years into the program, a woman approached me after a meeting and asked if I'd ever thought about being a life coach, and I said, "A what?" I'd never heard of it and did nothing with it.

A year later, someone else at the same meeting encouraged me to look into life coaching, and this time I did. She referred me to a coach in Canada, who then referred me to a life coach a block away from my house in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Coincidence? I don't think so. Barb came to my house and, at the end of our two-hour meeting, introduced me to Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). I fell in love, and the next day ordered all of the training DVDs on EFT and began listening every day before going into work. I got Basic and Advanced Certifications in EFT that year, 2007, and I launched Harmony Harbor Coaching on 3/8/08, guiding women to release weight using EFT. I opted not to go the traditional route of getting a Coaching Certification because I loved EFT so much and was confident how I could help others.

Over the years, clients who organically came to me had a fear of displeasing others, codependency issues, emotional eating or drinking, seeking others' approval, and the need to self-protect themselves from further frustration and disappointment. They had lost themselves in other people's agendas. My focus thus switched to helping people in the realm of relationships, to create deep connections with themselves in order to have loving, intimate relations with those around them. In late 2019, a business colleague approached me about creating a Collaborative Divorce Alliance, a partnership with attorneys, mediators, and other professionals with divorce specialties to provide a resource to those navigating the painfully difficult divorce process.

Our purpose is to minimize the suffering brought about when parents decide to divorce and maximize the potential for each person to make positive life choices based on what they want for their children, their vision, and their desired lifestyle. This collaboration helped me to narrow my specialty even more, though still in the realm of relationships, to women who are going through a divorce. I am now a Conscious Divorce Coach for women.

Tell us about yourself

My mission is to create a thriving community of women who have each other's back and show up without the metaphorical mask, where deep friendships, honest communication, true support, love, and collaborations abound. By creating this safe space of support in her workshops, retreats, private coaching, and online programs, women better communicate their needs. They manage their energy, thus creating harmony and connection within themselves.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is that I have never given up on my business. Since I lost my daughter, my motivation waned. But deep in my heart, I have a very strong desire to help people stop suffering when they are ready.

I remain passionate about the process of energy work and deep core healing that I provide. I'm committed to finding the way and the means to get my message of hope and empowerment out to thousands of women (and yes, I privately coach men, too--wink wink).

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

One of the hardest things that come with being an entrepreneur is finding our heartfelt WHY and living it, being true to it, making how we can help others MORE important than the need to self-protect ourselves when things get tough when we want to give up.

Because that time will come when we want to throw in the towel, and it's precisely at that moment that we want to persevere. A breakthrough and resourcefulness in our thinking are generally right around the corner. We can't fail if we don't give up.

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

  1. Get very clear on your WHY--what makes you passionate about doing this? That will get you up in the morning, excited to serve others. It will pull you forwards when you want to quit.
  2. Get very clear on your niche so you can speak to them clearly in your marketing--I believe subconsciously, I remained foggy and confused about my niche because I didn't feel worthy of success and because a part of me wanted to hide from others, to not be seen, to protect myself from the pain of disappointment and failure.
  3. Get the right support, especially in the area of mindset and healing your heart. In other words, mindset trumps tactics every time. Find a life coach to help you heal your heart, so you feel ready to receive the success that comes from taking action on the right tactics when you hire a business coach. I've hired coaches who didn't share my values or who didn't meet me where I'm at, and most importantly, because I felt unworthy. I felt stupid afterward because I didn't get the benefit from working with them.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Owning one's own business, and having the freedom to set my own schedule, even if I choose to work a lot at times, is priceless. I go on three vacations annually with my husband, Steve, of almost 20 years. I don't have to worry if I have enough vacation days. With the corporate culture that now intrudes upon our medical choices (you know what I'm referring to), I declare myself officially "unemployable." I will NOT go back to working for someone else.

I will do what I need to do to heal myself and get my mind healthy and strong to remain FREE and create my own company culture that is based upon respect, authenticity, and freedom to be who we want to be as Loving Self-Advocates FIRST. Only then can we truly serve others from a place of Love. I do a ton of work on Pinterest (Harmony Harbor Coaching)

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.harmonyharbor.com/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ph/harmonyharborcoaching/_created/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harmonyharbor/

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.

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