Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Dennis . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Michelle , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I launched adopting courage LLC in 2019. This was a simultaneous launch that was coupled with the release of my first book which was also entitled “Adopting Courage”. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I was in a season in my life where I prioritized healing and I was starting to benefit from doing the emotional and mental work to unpack childhood emotional injury as well as the negative impacts of navigating the foster care system and being adopted.

During my healing journey, I realized just how important it was to share my story but also provide solutions, resources and outreach support for other youth who had been neglected, abandoned and were trying to find a place where they could belong. I found that many of us grew up but we still carried the childhood wounds.

Going to therapy, working out, eating nutritious meals and connecting with friends who inspired and supported me was my catalyst for growth. As I grew, I was inspired to pave the way for those like me to grow and heal as well. The entire process and roll out was transformational. My business was launched at the right time and I’m so proud of how the “Adopting Courage” mission continues to evolve. I have recently launched the “Adopting Courage Foundation” and 501c3 non profit organization that will continue doing the work to be a resource for youth aging out of the foster care system.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In my book, I share the story of my twin brothers and I being placed in the foster care system. Our records were sealed so we had very limited knowledge of our biological parents. We were blessed to be adopted by a family who took all 3 of us in which allowed us to remain together. There were many challenges that we experienced in the foster care system, as well as with our adopted family but with healing, personal resilience and I unrelenting will to win, we persevered.

I became a teen mother and that brought upon challenges of its own, but I’ve always refused to fail, so even as a young mother raising babies, I found a way to survive.

Surviving became my thing, it wasn’t until my children became young adults when I realized that I was burned out from survival and I wanted to thrive instead. Thriving of course requires a very different mindset and operating system. This is where healing provided the greatest rewards. Healing helped me to transition from a survival mindset and I was able to then adopt a mindset that was conducive to thriving instead. I had lived so much of my life in fight or flight mode that rest, peace and flow were things that I had to learn how to invite in and embrace. Healing changed my life. This is why I’m so passionate about encouraging other women to face their issues and then adopt the courage to work through them. I no longer allow the pain of my past to hold me captive and my life’s mission is to help as many people free themselves through healing, faith and wellness.

Faith, fitness and healing have been the foundation and the fuel to my work as an author, founder and business owner. It is what I’m most proud of.

Any advice for managing a team?

Building a motivated, engaged and highly effective team is critical for company scalability, sustainability and longevity. Simply put, having the right people around you is a key to business growth and even personal fulfillment. The best advice I could give in regards to managing a team and maintaining high morale is hiring people who believe in the company vision, they understand the role they play in it and they are able to add value. It is the responsibility of the company’s leader to recognize the talents and strengths of each individual team member, and then positioning them within the company in ways that their talents are best used. Our team members bring so much to the table and while we have the overall vision, they are the ones who are working to make sure operational tasks, creative output and administrative duties are managed. In a time in the world where we are witnessing the “Great Resignation” and valuable employees are leaving the workplace in herds it’s important that business owners become more aware of what employees of this era value. Research shows that people are leaving demanding jobs that drain them, cap their creativity and limit their ability to grow. They are opting in for roles that align with their values of spending time with family, optimizing wellness through self care and rest and doing work that inspires them. In order to retain effective team members, business owners will need to get with the program and curate a work environment and company culture that fuels their team members, allows them to by into and see themselves in the companies vision plus we sensitive to their wellness needs. I allow my team to take breaks when necessary and I encourage everyone around me to invest in therapy for personal, mental and emotional wellness. Maintaining high morale boils down to caring in a world where many corporations have placed profit over people.

Have you ever had to pivot?

There is so much power in pivoting. Pivoting is not only a shift in perspective, but it’s an adjustment in your overall positioning. In life and business I’ve learned to value the redirection that often accompanies change and disruption. When you resist change, you in turn sabotage growth. Before I became a bestselling author and launched the Adopting Courage foundation I was working to support other organizations by fundraising on their behalf and providing selected grass-root initiatives with resources. This was my way of using my influence to support causes that I believed in. My platform at that time was “Enuff is Enuff Guru” it was my passion project. After releasing my first book and realizing first-hand the transformative power of storytelling, I discovered a new passion. I wanted to create a space for other women to share their stories, own their truth and give back. This personal revelation gave birth to what we now know as the Adopting Courage foundation Inc. I am excited about the impact my organization will make in the lives of women worldwide.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.adoptingcourage.com
• Instagram: @MichelleDennis_ @adoptingcourage
• Linkedin: Michelle Dennis

Image Credits
Photographer Joyanne Panton