Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Phoebe Leona, founder and owner of The nOMad Collective, located in Beacon, NY, USA.

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

The nOMad Collective offers transformational experiences worldwide to guide our community on a deeper journey to live a fuller life with more joy, gratitude, confidence, and connection. The in-person and online experiences include retreats, online programs, facilitator and yoga teacher training, and other curated unique events. Our community is diverse, and we love that we can connect with a wide range of people seeking a place to feel safe and be themselves as they make their way through the world's challenges.

Tell us about yourself

I have always been a mover. I was a professional dancer in New York City and found my way to teaching Pilates and yoga as a way to maintain balance in my body, mind, and soul. I was quickly guided to teach in the early 2000s to help others receive the same benefits, and I have been teaching ever since. In 2013, I ran my own yoga program for about a year in the Hudson Valley when I was hit with a tremendous loss, so I decided to take a major break to heal and reassess what mattered most to me in my life. That is when I founded nOMad.

I found through my healing journey that I wanted to provide a safe space for others to come together. I created spaces for people to learn new tools and resources in a community that allowed them to feel seen and heard while they made discoveries about who they were becoming. They might be going through a great loss too, divorce, loss of job, death of some kind, or just making the big choices to experience their own rebirth, a new move, a new career, or ready to show the world a new version of themselves.

I am grateful that I was given an opportunity of such great loss to provide spaces for so many new beginnings. That is easily the biggest reason I get up every morning to continue creating these types of experiences for our nOMads.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I am quite lucky to have many accomplishments. The biggest one at this moment is publishing my book this spring. I believe my story will help others in so many different ways within their own story, and I can reach more people than I might otherwise be able to.

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

I am primarily a solopreneur, which can be hard sometimes doing all the work alone. Over the last two years, I have committed to having a team, even if it's having a VA for a few hours a week and/or recruiting colleagues to co-create with me. Since I made that commitment, I have been much happier as a business owner.

However, I see my fellow colleagues still struggle alone or have trouble committing to anything else outside of their solopreneur business bubble, and I keep saying to myself that there has to be another way for all of us to find a way to thrive. That is what I am currently working on at The nOMad Collective. I am so excited to see the developments in the coming year!

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

There are so many tips, but I will stick to three.

  1. LOVE What you do because it will be with you every moment of your day (and in your sleep too!)
  2. Know your WHY. Know why you are being called to start this business, why you want to provide the service or product, and why you want to make a change in our world. Your WHY will anchor you when the love for what you do feels like it's fading during challenging times.
  3. Listen to your intuition. Yes, knowing your facts and figures are super important for running your business, but you also have to listen to your heart about making those big decisions that might be with you for a long time (good, bad, ugly) so learn practices (like yoga and meditation!) that will help tap into your intuition and guide you through running the show with the alignment of our highest good.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I am very grateful that I love what I do and know that many people out there don't. That breaks my heart, especially when the world is quite chaotic these days. The last thing I want to share is that don't let fear, stress, or anxiety get in your way of being the best version of yourself and living your dream. It may sound cliche, but I am absolutely proof that living and running a business in alignment with my heart is completely worth it. There are so many challenges (no, they never go away!), but I have way more space for joy to come in when I am loving what I do and come from a more grounded and centered place in how I respond to the challenges.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thenomadcollective.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/762253688031528/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenomadcollective_/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoebe-leona-02a55578/

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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