We recently connected with Glasa Gottschalk and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Glasa, thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

While success can not be simply deduced to a simple equation, there are components that are foundational to every formula. Success is a blend of mindset and strategy, all underpinned by the imperative step of defining it on our own terms.

Defining success on our own terms is essential, and most often the step overlooked. As a coach, I’ve witnessed so many go after societal markers of success only to achieve it, and feel empty and discontent. This was part of my personal story as well. This is because it was never our dream in the first place. It is what we were taught to believe in our upbringing, schools, and secular media, in which we never stopped to question. What most of us are after is what we believe that success will create for us; time freedom, financial ease, travel, the ability to focus on meaningful work, etc. And when success is achieved, it’s our purpose, our why, that continues to propel us forward. Success isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept. It’s a personalized journey that involves not only achieving goals, but also finding fulfillment, personal growth, and a sense of purpose.

Also, critical to success is cultivating a growth mindset. Developing a growth mindset acts as the foundational lens through which we perceive challenges and opportunities in life, business, and career. When we embrace a growth mindset we no longer allow setbacks to derail us, and begin to view them as valuable learning experiences, which enable us to adapt, innovate, and move forward more quickly. It’s what drives our resilience, our grit, our momentum.

Strategy is equally as important. Let’s be clear, strategy is simply having a vision, breaking it down into clear goals, and supporting it by actionable steps to consistently move forward. It’s your roadmap to where you want to go. Having an overall plan, not only provides direction, but also allows you to assess when adjustments are made.

Glasa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My background has always been in leadership and business development. So after doing the corporate ladder climb for ten years, and then building a retail start up into a multi location business, I decided to start a company consulting local business owners and leaders on strategies to increase their profitability and revenues. About a year into the company, I started noticing the impact of personal growth (or lack there of) on professional and business growth. This got me curious about how to coach clients to become more self aware, so that they could experience less stress in their business, become more proactive, save time and money, and ultimately enjoy their journey more.

So in 2019 I invested in a year long coaching certification program to become a professional coach. When I did, I honestly was not ready for the world of growth it opened me up to. I quickly came to realize that coaching was way more than building self awareness skills, and that it was the foundational work that made everything else easier, more clear, and more empowering. I like to say it is thee thing that creates the ripple for creating and achieving everything we want in life. With this new found clarity, I decided to pivot my business to focus solely on coaching at the end of 2020.

I’m grateful to get to do the work I do, and to work alongside my clients to help them navigate challenges in life, business, and career with more confidence and clarity.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

What has really grown my business and clientele is focusing my marketing efforts on things I enjoy. My first year was a struggle as I focused mainly on social media. At the end of year one during my evaluation process, I came to the realization that I really love connecting in real life, and having meaningful conversations. Part of the struggle with posting online, even with engagement prompts, is that it doesn’t always create a conversation, and that felt incredibly draining. So the following year, I opted out of posting on social media and switched to online networking. This one simple shift created exponential growth as I leaned into my strengths.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the hard lessons I had to unlearn is thinking I could “do it all” myself. Building a business solo is an incredibly lonely journey, especially when those around you are all in defined career fields. Having a community of business owners around you, and better yet those in your industry, is essential.

The first few years of business I would share struggles and ideas with friends and family, which provided very little feedback of substance. It wasn’t until I started to seek and surround myself with other business owners, coaches, and creatives, that I began to fully realize the impact of community. Not only were they encouraging, they understood the entrepreneurial journey, they gave thoughtful insight, and shared valuable advice based on experience. I wish I would have spent more energy on surrounding myself with business owners early in my business journey. I know it would have saved me tons of time, money and energy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gotogii.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/go.to.gii/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoToGII
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glasagottschalk/
• Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@glasagottschalk