We were lucky to catch up with Joelle Sabater recently and have shared our conversation below.

Joelle, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Reconnect & Befriend began as a life coaching business called Reconnected to Care. After experiencing burnout in the nonprofit sector, I felt unfulfilled. After working with a few life coaches, I was inspired by their freedom to have agency in their work and help people in the way they want to. I thought, “Maybe I can be a life coach too.” I wanted to coach individuals, particularly nonprofit professionals like myself, through self-care.

However, after investing over $6,000 in a coaching program, I found the coaching industry challenging to navigate, and my passion for it faded. The workplace traumas I endured were also still too raw, making it feel unfair to coach others while I was still healing.

Then I asked myself, “What am I already good at that I could teach over and over again? That I’m passionate about?” The answer was journaling. With piles of journals, countless saved videos on journaling, and questions from friends on how to start journaling, it became clear that this would be the heart of my business. My background in facilitating self-empowerment for youth in nonprofits inspired me to create journaling workshops and develop a guided journal.

Fast forward to today, I hosted six journaling workshops through collaborating with other small businesses. And I published my guided journal, “Reconnect & Befriend” – a guided journal that walks people through different ways to journal. While I’m still building this business and figuring out where to go next, I feel so proud of myself of what I accomplished so far.

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?

Reconnect & Befriend holds space for the person behind the page – to reconnect ​and befriend themselves through journaling, self-care and community building.

I started Reconnect & Befriend because I didn’t see many resources for beginners. ​While the advice of “there’s no right way to journal – you can do whatever you want!” ​rings true, it’s not helpful for people who want more guidance. There are so also many ​ways to journal; one kind of journaling can work for one person, but not for another.

I want to teach journaling as a form of self-care. I want to help people who are new or ​have tried journaling, find the journaling practice that works best for them.

I share bi-weekly posts in my Substack newsletter, where I provide journaling prompts and explore different topics. Additionally, I host “Journal with Me Live” sessions, offering participants the chance to journal alongside me based on the prompts I share.

My guided journal, “Reconnect and Befriend” features different types of journaling such as “Listing as Journaling”, “Commonplace Journaling”, “Daily Journaling”, “Journaling to Release and Reflect” and “Visual Journaling.” Each chapter has an array of exercises and activities to try. My hope is that by trying these journaling activities, people find the one that will make their journaling practice easy, fun and authentic to themselves.

My journaling workshops are done through collaborations with other small businesses and organizations, such as libraries, senior centers, churches and women’s groups. I enjoy the collaborative aspect of working together with another small business, which inspires me to think creatively about how journaling can meet the needs of different participants.

The diversity and possibilities of topics are endless. In 2024, I hosted workshops on making intentions for the new year and spring. I hosted a workshop for AAPI heritage month on identity and self-love. I hosted a workshop for job seekers and how to navigate the difficulties of job seeking. I hosted a workshop for daily journaling practices for the senior community. I also hosted a journaling and prayer workshop for a local church.

As I continue to build and expand my business, I make sure to place self-care and community building at the heart of my offerings.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

One of the most effective strategies for growing my clientele has been through networking and building partnerships. A great example of this came from a random conversation I had with someone from the LA County Library. I attended a networking workshop beforehand, which motivated me to reach out to the Community Engagement Coordinator.

When we met, I was honestly looking for career advice and didn’t expect the topic of my business to come up. However, he asked about what I do, and I shared my work with him. To my surprise, he brought up the opportunity to host a journaling workshop, specifically for job seekers.

This led me to hosting a “Conscious Job Seeking” workshop, which is a journaling workshop to help participants reflect on the pain points of job seeking, and re-asses their job seeking strategies. The workshop had over 300+ participants! And that’s not including people who watched the recording!

My advice for other small business owners is to never underestimate the power of networking. Building partnerships, especially with businesses or organizations outside your niche, can open many doors for your business and help you reach potential clientele.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One of my favorite podcasts is “The Inspire Blueprint,” mainly because it’s for a niche audience of stationery small business owners. But I remember one episode where the host, Tatiana, said something that really stuck with me: “Don’t get stuck in the research phase of your business. When you’re looking for resources, find one or two that really resonate with you and actually push you to action. If you consume too many resources, it becomes noise.”

What she said is so true. Being in the research phase feels good because you haven’t committed to the hard part, which is actually taking action for your business. You get to dream and think of the infinite possibilities for your business. The other thing is that there’s too much noise and too many people suggesting what you should do and what you shouldn’t do for your business. While there are tried-and-true pieces of advice, a lot of it comes down to personal preference—what actually works for YOU. Not just for revenue, but for consistency, for your lifestyle, and for what truly brings joy to your business. I think that advice has helped me filter out the noise and listen to my inner voice when deciding what to do next with my business.

Some other books I recommend are “In the Company of Women” by Grace Bonney. It’s a beautiful collection featuring women who are entrepreneurs, artists, and creatives, sharing their journeys. What’s inspiring is that their experiences are so diverse—there really is no one set approach to building success in your business. I also recommend “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, because in many ways, building a small business is a creative act. Sometimes you’re going to hit slumps in your business, and often you’ll find yourself slumping creatively. This book is a wonderful resource to revisit when you’re feeling those lows. Your creativity deserves to be nourished, because it can sustain and expand your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://reconnect-and-befriend.com/homepage
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reconnectandbefriendcoach/
• Other: Substack Newsletter:

  https://reconnectedtocare.substack.com/

Image Credits

All photos by Joelle Sabater and Joy Sabater (my mom!)