Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Austin Mangelson and Monica Mangelson N/A. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Austin Mangelson and Monica Mangelson, appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
In 2020, we were bright eyed college graduates ready for our next big adventure. Monica and I were about to spend the next 2+ years serving the people in Mozambique, Africa through the Peace Corps, a US government organization that sends citizens across the globe to carry out public service and citizen diplomacy. We were approved to work in the health sector, educating the youth about HIV and Malaria prevention and awareness.
Humanitarian organizations and service wasn’t new to either one of us. In 2015 Monica had spent 19 months in Peru and I had spent 23 months in Paraguay serving families and individuals in these developing countries. Together in 2018 and 2019 we served as Spanish interpreters in a medical clinic in the highlands of Guatemala. It was something we loved to do, and we were excited to be dedicating the next few years of our lives to it again.
Our plans were set. Our suitcases were packed and we were ready to walk out the door, until we got the news that, due to Covid-19, our plans were delayed. Then delayed again.
Then canceled altogether.
We weren’t sure what to do at first. We figured we’d keep waiting to see if the situation changed with time. We moved in with my parents and got jobs to tie us over. Jobs we both dreaded because we were expecting it to only be temporary. Weeks turned into months, and nothing changed except our mental health, which was quickly declining. While Monica got more and more stir crazy with Covid shut downs and restrictions, I become more and more depressed, although I wouldn’t admit it, nor did I fully realize it was even happening to me.
It was Monica’s tenacity that suggested we begin working online. She had had it with sitting around waiting for the world to return to normal and for someone else to tell us it was time to start our lives again. I, to put it mildly, was extremely apprehensive. I didn’t know anything about working online! I had no idea what we would do or how we would do it, and that fear was enough to hold me down. After lots of long, heartfelt talks, and only a few strategically planned interventions on Monica’s part, I began slowly warming up to the idea.
I still remember the specific day we decided officially that something was going to change. We were on a date in San Francisco, floating in kayaks in the bay. We had spend most of that day already discussing our situation and our future. What were we going to do? Spend the rest of our lives living at my parents working dead-end jobs we both hated? If it wasn’t Mozambique, which by this point was way out of the picture, it needed to be something. And starting an online business at the time was our best option.
I had absolutely no idea how it was going to work out. We had literally zero training or education in online businesses and absolutely no clue what lay ahead of us. Honestly, we didn’t even have a business idea. But we had each other, and we had a need to take back control of our lives. So we decided right then and there, on kayaks in the San Franciscan bay, that we were going to start a business.
It’s been anything but a smooth ride since then. Alongside excitement and hope, we’ve also experienced lots of uncertainty and fear. We’ve felt filled with self-doubt, worrying about our ability to succeed and make ends meet financially. But I can honestly say the ride has been 100% worth it. The freedom, flexibility, sense of pride and accomplishment, and personal development that has come from this decision has been worth the risk.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Monica and I are digital nomad and start-up coaches. After finally making the decision to take the leap into online entrepreneurship, we decided to begin with being virtual assistants. This was a great start for us, and gave us an incredible foundation into how businesses operate and what runs behind the scenes. But it still wasn’t what we were looking for, because we were still essentially only working within others’ businesses.
That’s why we shifted to web design and branding. We wanted to step more into the creative space, and so we quickly became trained in all things website related.
Throughout this process of growing our web design and branding business, an interesting thing happened… we noticed that us stepping into this space was permission giving for the people in our lives to chase after their own dreams and goals. Within a few short months, 7 of our close friends and family members started seriously developing their own business ideas and taking the leap into entrepreneurship. And they all started coming to us asking us for advice and help!
We started with brainstorming sessions, simply helping them work through some initial questions about the start up phase and how to set things up. But those eventually turned into full fledged consultations, and we discovered we loved it! We were thrilled to have them coming to us for help getting started, and elated to see their businesses taking off! That’s when we knew that’s what we want to be doing.
So, combining our passion for small business start-ups and our insatiable hunger for travel, we stepped into the roles of digital nomad and start-up coaches. We now work with individuals in 2 different ways: one-on-one coaching and group coaching, where we work closely with each person to become a successful and empowered business owner and, if they share our love for the travel lifestyle, become location independent. We work with individuals to overcome the hurdles to these goals, such as career advice and development so they can find and create a profitable business that’s aligned with them, overcoming fear and self-doubt, finding balance between work and travel, and ultimately helping them live life intentionally.
We’re extremely proud of the lives we’ve created for ourselves, for taking risks and living with intentionality, and encouraging others to do the same. We’re proud of the heart-centered community we’ve build that connects individuals working toward similar goals. It’s become our online family, and we love engaging in this space where others have found their community and the support they need to chase after their dreams.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
In our second major business pivot, Monica and I became website and brand designers. We immediately began taking online courses and certifications to learn everything we could about the industry, to improve our skills, and to help us expand the business.
One of the major repeated themes of our business training in this era, coming from books, podcasts, and courses, was the idea of automation and creating systems. From every point of the customer journey, starting with interest and awareness all the way to being a repeat client, there was advice on how to set up processes so we could eventually take a step back and let the business essentially run itself. We were even explicitly told by a mentor that if our clients could wave a magic wand and have their desired outcome appear, without any interaction or intervention from us as the service provider, they absolutely would.
And we took this as gospel truth.
Now this isn’t bad advice in and of itself. There’s definite value in creating systems and processes in order to scale and grow your business. But it’s not the best advice for a brand new entrepreneur who’s still learning the ins and outs of their industry. And it might even be downright harmful to anyone who wants to create a relationship-centered business.
During that time period of our business we struggled getting clients. We streamlined, optimized, and automated every process we could, doing our best to give out clients a clean and smooth experience. The only problem was there were no clients to give that experience to. Rather than continually optimizing a client process, the more important thing at the start was getting those clients. And with those initial clients, we could then learn and adapt and start polishing.
They say business is all about relationships. And we believe that. We struggled getting clients when we tried to automate the process. So we decided to break that down and try a new approach, a relationship centered, person-to-person approach. We started getting on more and longer calls with our clients, spending time to better understand their needs and their problems. We began running discovery calls, rather than trying to automate the qualification process. We were more available for communication with our clients. In short, we began involving ourselves more in the process. And against the automation advice we had received, this is the moment our business shifted and we began signing on more clients more regularly.
We carried this new philosophy with us through our following pivot into digital nomad and start-up coaching. It’s this philosophy that’s allowed us to build our incredible online community, one of our assets that we’re most proud of and that our members continually thank us for.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
One of the most impactful business books I’ve ever read was the EntreSpirit by Matt Law. It’s a bit different than your normal business book because it’s written as an allegory, beautifully illustrating what makes up a successful entrepreneur with a story that sticks.
Entrepreneurs are the movers and shakers of the world. We’re fueled by endless passion and ideas, and seem to have an unstoppable energy to get things done. And there’s something special inside every entrepreneur, a spirit or DNA code that makes us powerful. That’s the EntreSpirit.
This book teaches us that the EntreSpirit M.O.V.E.S. It serves a Mission, a purpose greater than financial success, power, or success. It Overcomes, considering setbacks and failures as part of the journey. The EntreSpirit has Vision, constantly thinking and daydreaming about the future, taking what seems invisible to others and turning it into a reality. It continually Educates itself, continually learning throughout its lifetime. And it finds great Satisfaction in it’s work, internally driving us to succeed.
This book taught me that everyone, entrepreneur or not, can embody the Entrespirit. That gave me more courage to explore my entrepreneurial side, something I previously hadn’t believed I had. It bolstered me up and empowered me to grow into the absolute best version of myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://austinandmonica.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austinandmonica/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/austinandmonica
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-mangelson/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@austinandmonica
Image Credits
Natalie Edmondson