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

Hi Courtney, 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?

First of all, I’d like to define success. At least my version of it, because I get it – it’s different for everyone. I think this is important, because each of us are different humans having different human experiences and we have got to stop trying to fit in a box that someone, somewhere (ahem, society!) has drawn for us. For me, success is freedom. Both financial and time, but really in all forms. To be able to do what I want, when I want, how I want with who I want and when and where I want. No restrictions and no rules. Simply living fully each and everyday as I ebb and flow with the seasons of my life.

Okay, now that we’ve got that semantic out of the way, let’s talk about what it takes to be successful. :)

Ultimately, it comes down to courage. Courage to be yourself. Courage to show up. Courage to try. Courage to fail. Courage to adapt, pivot, change, grow. Courage to admit you’re wrong. Courage to not be afraid to admit that you’re right. Courage to step into, own and accept your power, to trust it’s working and to keep going, even when everyone and everything tells you that it isn’t. Courage to be considered crazy. Courage to actually be crazy. Courage to embrace the journey. Courage to not stop, not quit, not give up.

With courage, you can truly do anything.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi hi hi hi hi! I’m Courtney. A corporate America Fortune 500 top 1% of the sales force MBA girlie turned wedding planner turned coach and consultant for creative entreprenuers. Phew, it’s been a journey!

In my current work, I help creative and entreprenuerial women get what they want. Essentially, it’s me supporting creative small business owners in very specific and tangible ways that enable them to build sustainable and thriving brands by bolding stepping into the fullest version of themselves combined with me identifying and calling out their blind spots, so they can embrace, and enjoy who they are truly called to be. And if you didn’t already know, it’s pure magic!

What sets me apart is my heart as well as my own smarty pants. I genuinely care about my clients, my work and my mission. And while I don’t take myself too seriously, I definitely take my clients and work VERY seriously – I am an energy, strategy and money mindset maven who is a whiz with words and a marketing and sales genius. I’m the perfect fit for creative entreprenuers who are passionate about their craft and want to learn how to take care of business (both strategically and energetically), a skillset I find most creatives are lacking and/or are generally clueless about.

I believe when you change your business, you change your life and I’m most proud of the impact my work has had on so many creative women, specifically. To own their voices, their gifts and come into who they are at a core being level and then show up and live their best lives as their boldest selves.

Ultimately, I’m known for my warm, infectious “contagious confidence” energy and my tell-it-like-it-is no-fluff allowed approach. Like, I’ll be your biggest cheerleader and make you part of the “get it done!” crew – and FAST!

I have a healthy breadth and depth when it comes to my “Zone of Genius” and the kinda stuff I help my clients win at spans from marketing strategy, sales strategy, messaging strategy, pricing strategy, brand strategy, financial empowerment, money mindset, energetics, taking action, relationships, to making sh*t happen and then some.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Oh, this is a fun one! It’s the best meet cute ever and we’re going on 12 years together this year. Having been voted “Most Likely To Be My Own Boss” in high school, I ultimately got the entrepreurial urge and in 2017 left my full time sales career to pursue wedding planning. However, if we back up to 2012, that was the year I got married and the year I met Julie Bunkley, Owner and Creative Director of Invision Events and a co-founder alongside me in Educate | Empower | Encourage.

At the time, I was a fresh newlywed who knew she wanted to go into wedding planning. I just had no clue how. After hearing my own wedding vendors tell me I needed to “get into the industry” because I was “that good” I volunteered to work a wedding with my wedding photographer to get a birds eye view of what in the heck even goes on behind the scenes. It was about six weeks after my own wedding and it was thrilling. She asked me if I knew who Julie was, because she had seen on her blog that she was growing her team and thought it could be a great opportunity for me. She even offered to reach out to Julie and personally put in a good word, since they had worked together on several occasion and had a great working relationship.

So while she stuck her neck out for me, I read Julie’s blog and sent her an email. The overacheiving corporate America girlie in me attached both a fresh resume and a thoughtful cover letter. I still giggle about that!

Julie then responded and we set up a time to chat on the phone briefly. From there, she wanted to meet in person and asked when I would be in her neck of the woods (we lived in seperate cities about 2ish hours from each other) and a blind business date was set at Panera for a couple of weeks from then.

At our blind business date, we chatted and connected for several hours. It ended with her mentioning she had an upcoming wedding (a couple weeks out) that she could use an assistant at and asking if I was interested. Of course, I was. So I worked that event with her on December 4th, 2012 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivots are inevitable and I feel as though I’m constantly experiencing them. Ha! The cool thing though, is I always end up exactly where I’m suppose to be and typically through the path of least resistance. I think the more we can embrace and honor pivots for what they are (stepping stones and nudges to follow and carve out our best paths) that we can actually play friendly and cozy up to them, rather than shy away and be afraid or nervous about that.

In 2010 I was fired from my first corporate job. I pivoted and found a better one.

In 2017 I closed the door to my corporate career. I then walked through a more fufilling one to find my entreprenuerial career.

In 2020 the pandemic impacted my wedding business at its core. I followed my gut and my heart and leaned into my other gifts and strengths to launch Educate | Empower | Encourage, which as of this interview, has since crossed the 2 million in sales threshold.

In late 2021 I became a mom. I got super clear on my own boundaries and desires and in 2022 had my personal biggest revenue year EVER as a newly postpartum mama.

In 2023 I introduced my personal brand (phew, another risky “putting myself out there” kinda vibe!) and pivoted away from an in-person networking/mastermind focus in the business to a more scaleable digital online courses/programs focus.

In 2024 I did more than a quarter of a million in first time launches after hacking at it behind the scenes for more than two years.

Pivots are on purpose. Pivots are our friend. And it’s time to stop acting otherwise. ‘Cause at the end of the day, pivots are the bridge that takes us from where we are to where we want to go. Pivots close the gap.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://courtneycoveywolf.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneycoveywolf/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/courtneycoveywolf
• Other: https://www.educateempowerencouragelibrary.com and www.invision.events

Image Credits

Demi Mabry Photography