Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sarah Khan, CEO of Corporate Rehab Strategic Consulting, located in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a business operations strategist and leadership development coach. My mission is to liberate women who've left or are leaving the traditional workplace from the rampant BS of the online business space and the Imposter Identity they've internalized after years of disempowering messaging. Using the Corporate Rehab Method (TM), we tap into your long-overlooked expertise to grow an online business without starting from scratch and free of BS advice. The result is a business that provides the freedom, security, and income you deserve... lead by the REAL you, we unleash in the process. In working with clients, we walk through a three-step process:
- Define and develop the structure needed to grow your business operationally.
- Uncover and refine your growth needs as a business owner/leader/entrepreneur.
- Develop and systematize your strategic plan with action steps that honour your vision and capacity.
In short, figure out where you are now and where you want to be and then the shortest number of steps that will get you there without fluff and nonsense and in a way that aligns with your truest self. I work primarily with women entrepreneurs in the online space.
Tell us about yourself
I'm a 20-year corporate and higher education veteran. I'm a certified Online Business Manager and Director of Operations and have been a Certified Executive Coach since 2004, but mostly I'm a woman who got tired of being told I could only show up in any space in a way that made me palatable to the other people in the room. And because of that, I spent way too long playing small and thinking my Imposter Identity was who I really am.
When I started in the online space as an entrepreneur, I originally came for the freedom to really be and do what felt right for me and that honoured my values. But what I found was more of what I'd escaped -- a lot of messaging and philosophies that encouraged "my way is the only way" and that in order to be successful or belong to certain communities, you have to show up in this way vs. that way. I couldn't understand why, despite having SOOOO much more experience and expertise in the business than most, I wasn't seeing the success I desired.
So, I finally walked myself through my own bullshit belief system recovery journey and developed a process that allowed me to combat all of that status quo nonsense. I have intentionally built a business that feels right for me, allows me to stand in my expertise and authority, and the byproduct has been a business that allows for what is really important to me.
I don't want women to continue wasting their precious gifts trying to fit into boxes that don't serve them and that they have to cut off pieces and parts of themselves to fit in -- especially when designing a business that is supposed to allow them the freedom to really be who they are. What motivates me is seeing the relief on a woman's face when I tell her it can be very different -- it can be how SHE desires it to be...and that it can still be successful in whatever way success is defined by HER.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My podcast. Haha! It's been on my heart for 3 years, and I finally did it, and it's been GLORIOUS.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Honouring your capacity -- especially as women, we are constantly made to feel like we have to do it all or we have to do it like everyone else is doing it. The whole "everyone has the same 24 hours" BS. We don't. And it is HARD to acknowledge, embrace, and let be okay.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Honestly, the VERY first tip is to get REALLY clear on WHO YOU ARE. Take the time to define what success means to you. Take the time to get clear on what you're willing to sacrifice and what you're not in order to achieve that success. Build your foundation BEFORE you start getting too successful and busy so that you don't inadvertently end up building a house of cards that can topple at any moment because you neglected your foundation.
Second, let go of the idea that you're going to be sipping mimosas by the pool in the first few years of your business. Those first few years WILL require effort -- especially if you want it to be a sustainable, repeatable success.
Third -- find a coach. And make sure you both share similar values. You don't have to do it alone. You're allowed to get support.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://getcorporaterehab.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.sarah.khan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corporate.rehab/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahikhan/
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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