Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Marla Skibbins, founder of Level Up EQ, located in San Francisco, CA, USA.

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

At the largest level, we are a company that is here to call forth the best of humanity, cause organizational transformation, and unleash the magic of human potential. We do that through a holistic approach of working with individuals with their leadership development, teams, team effectiveness, and the whole organization with their culture and values.

Leadership development is an essential part of a successful organization, and we work at the whole org level, rather than just on one person by themselves. Our clients are companies that are anywhere from beginning startups to IPO, and we particularly love working with tech and biotech companies. These are the companies that we know the biggest changes are going to come from. We want to be a part of enabling good change for the entire world, and working with these companies lets us scale our impact.

Tell us about yourself

I have always been interested in what my potential is and what other people's potential is. I mean that in the biggest sense possible — who are we? Who can we become in this world? At one point, I was also a young adult exposed to leaders who were not living their best potential, which made me feel bad about myself and my relationship with the work. Bad leaders can really make or break an organization because they'll be the ones to chase away their employees. Early in my career, it became clear that I wanted to be a person who helps leaders be better leads so that people like my young adult self wouldn't be subjected to bad leadership.

When I work with something that has hundreds of people in their organization, with anywhere from 10 to 30 direct reports, I know that I am making long-reaching changes and that those people's lives are better because they have a leader who knows how to be good with people. That's a change I get to cause, which fuels me and makes my life feel meaningful. Could I have done this as a solo coach without starting a business? Not nearly at scale, there's only so much you can do, only so many people you can coach. But by starting Level Up EQ, I am able to create organizational change at scale, so I can accommodate any size team, organization, etc., rather than just doing it on my own. Level Up EQ brings change to tens of thousands of people, where I could only do so much on my own.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Just creating this startup to scale the impact that I know we can have in the world. It's definitely not easy. That's why I love working with startups because doing a startup and staying with it is a challenge. I've been a solopreneur for 25 years, and in the last five years, I've been the CEO and every other hat that I've had to wear, and scaling a company is truly a challenge, but it is a rewarding one. Just being here and continuing in the face of frustration, fear, or difficulties is a huge accomplishment as a business owner. We also have proof that what we do works. Level Up EQ has a successful, positive ROI, meaning that leaders really are changing, and the organization sees that change. That's a huge win for us.

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

Definitely managing the runway, managing in general, and being the change, I want others to be. We get so focused on the time crunch and getting everything done that it can be really easy to forget about each other, and that's literally what I'm training my clients NOT to do: forget relationship! So it's making sure that we prioritize relationships, which might sometimes look like it's at the expense of doing the work.

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

  1. Business development. Don't get fully sucked into the work or what you want to deliver and forget that you actually have to be a salesperson if you're doing this yourself. Even if you have a team, as the founder, you are the face of the org, and you have to be out there building your business just as much or more than when you're delivering the business.
  2. Stay with it and stay focused. If you want your business to be more than a side hustle, you need to treat it like it's more than a side hustle. You can't be on/off again. You've got to stay consistent and focused on your work. It's also a mindset thing. This isn't just fluffy talk, your mindset really matters. What you think informs how you behave and interact, which will directly create and impact your results.
  3. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Lots of solopreneurs and entrepreneurs think they need to do all of this by themselves, and that's not always the case. Reach outside of yourself, and find support in other areas. If you can't do something, it's okay to find someone else to help you.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.levelupeq.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/levelupeq/

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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