Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Wendy Pilcher, Founder of Identify & Conquer, located in Geneva, IL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a keynote speaker, thought leader, workshop facilitator, and mindset shifter. I am on a mission to get people to stop thinking, to get out of their heads and out of their own way. I empower leaders and emerging leaders one decision at a time. In my keynote, I speak about the bullies and saboteurs in our brains and how they take control and can cause us to lose focus on our wants, needs, and desires. I provide actionable tools that can be implemented immediately to change the neural pathways in the brain. So many people don’t realize it's possible to change your brain. No one has to listen to the negative things our own brains tell us. We just need to be shown how, have a desire for change, and be willing to do the work.
My job is to get you to believe that change is possible and show you how to do it. I speak about, run workshops on, and coach my clients in identifying the bullies that live inside them, learn how to see them coming, and implement tools and techniques to stop any limiting beliefs they try to get them to believe in their tracks. I teach how to live life according to my 5 Guiding Principles to get unstuck, make lasting change, and take back control of your life. These are:
- Be 100% present, always.
- We are all different for a reason. Discover, nurture, and share your uniqueness with the world. That is where your confidence lives.
- There is good and bad in everything we do. When we recognize and acknowledge this, we can seek out the good and let it pull us through.
- Always be aware of the ripple effect.
- We reveal ourselves more than we think we do.
Tell us about yourself
In the aftermath of seeing a man get killed when I was 18, I became obsessed with the human brain and how unreliable it is. How sometimes it’s for us, and sometimes it’s against us. Yet we give it the power to control our lives. It’s counterproductive to allow the same part of us that sabotages, taunts and bullies us the power to make or change our decisions. But so many people do it every day. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an observer of people and fascinated by human nature. For what feels like my entire life, I have been a student of psychology both formally and informally.
I watch people who instinctively and intuitively know what is right or wrong for them do the complete opposite. They’ve allowed themselves to get their brain involved and let the fears that live there to talk them into something they don’t want to do or out of something they do want to do. What motivates me is helping people separate these thoughts and voices that live inside their heads from their true selves so they can go for what they really want out of life. I help people stop being impacted by the expectations of others or society in general. I especially want people to stop moving through life being people pleasers.
My mission is especially rewarding when I help people stop allowing mistakes and failures from their past to become the roadblocks to their future. My goal is to help people be more decisive, live a life with confidence, stop feeling overwhelmed, and take back control of their brains before they experience burnout. I believe our lives are meant to be amazing adventures filled with both ups and downs. Life is about accepting that that’s the ride and that we can’t live it any other way. The key to this is to stop getting our brains involved. Treat our brain like the processing center it is and not a decision-maker. I want to stop people from living a small life because they fear living bigger.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is how often I run into or get a call or email from someone who heard me speak a long time ago. Hearing them tell me the story of how something I said changed their life for the better after years have passed is an amazing gift and my greatest accomplishment.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The hardest thing about being a business owner is having to wear all the hats. Being the salesperson, the marketing person, the recordkeeper, and the product can take its toll. The quicker you find people to help you with these roles, the better. I want to keep my focus on making an impact on the lives of others. Getting in front of as many audiences as I can is my goal. It can get frustrating when I move out of the role of being the product and being on a stage, running workshops, or working with a client to having to do the parts of the business I enjoy less. Finding people to help me get to my goal makes the journey a lot less stressful and more fun.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Find a mentor or coach, someone to guide you while also holding you accountable. They will help you get outside your friends and family circle quickly. The faster your business isn’t relying on friends and family, the better because they won’t/can’t help you as much as you think they will.
- Stop listening to the negative voices in your head that tell you you’re not good enough, not prepared, not worthy, not smart enough, etc. The list of negative things our own brain can tell us goes on and on. Don’t listen. The saboteurs and bullies that live inside us are liars.
- Have a plan and people to help you along the way, especially with the parts of running a business that you are not good at or don’t enjoy. We are not meant to go on this journey of life alone. We are supposed to rely on the strengths of others, especially where we are weak. Honor your strengths; let your strengths be what you focus on. Your weaknesses are someone else’s strengths, find them and go on this journey together. That makes it so much more rewarding and less stressful.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://identifyandconquer.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/identifyandconquer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendypilcher_/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypilcher/
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.