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

Hi Amanda , thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Risk taking and my ability to regulate my nervous systems during these big moments of risk, has been vital on my journey as an entrepreneur. I am a “build the plane while I am flying it” type of woman and I always have been. I skip a lot of steps and I breeze over the planning process because things don’t typically go as planned anyway.

I have learned to take the leap that my intuition tells me to make, and to trust that I will be resourceful enough to figure it out in each moment.

When I first had the idea for The Sedona House I knew that I needed a brand and a logo. I maxed out my credit cards to pay for this without any idea where the investment capital was going to come from to fund this venture. This wasn’t a reckless leap of faith. This was a committed leap of faith. I was willing to work 4 jobs, ask everyone that I knew if I could borrow money, take out a line of credit on our home…

I didn’t actually need to do any of these things. The sale of our home ended up funding a majority of the venture but we had no idea that the housing market was going to boom the exact week we listed our house. I might say that it was a beautiful and timely coincidence but this has happened countless times on my entrepreneurial journey.

Resources that I have needed appear out of “no where” when I make a commitment to make something happen no matter what. It isn’t a risk if you are prepared to face whatever outcome that you encounter.

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

My name is Amanda Jones and I am the owner of a wellbeing studio in Baltimore, MD, The Sedona House. This business, like many small businesses, was birthed from my own need for a space like this. I began my own personal self discovery journey almost a decade ago and everything that I have learned along the way is woven into this space.

We have daily offerings and workshops to introduce our community to new healing modalities. We have classes almost everyday so our members have a place to go to to show up for themselves on a consistent basis. We have community events, because this journey is so much easier when you have others to share it with. We sell the books that got me through some of the most challenging times of my life, in hopes that they will be a guidepost for someone else on their journey.

We strive to provide our community with the resources that they need to cultivate a loving relationship with themselves, others and the planet. We believe that a better world begins in the hearts of each individual.

At the root of it, I created the Sedona House because this is what I needed, what I still need.

Every detail of this space from the aroma, colors, tone of voice I teach in, texture of hand soap, has been chosen with intention. I hope that within the walls of The Sedona House, our attendees begin to see it is possible to approach their life with the same level of intention and reverence.

We help to close the gap between this illusive empowered life and the manifestation of that into reality.

Any advice for managing a team?

Be human. A team is just a collective of individual humans with wants, desires, needs, questions, feelings ….

Create a guidebook for how you want you team to run but leave room for the humanity in it.

Have hard conversations in person or over the phone so the human on the other end can hear and feel your warmth.

Pay your team and pay them well. If you value your team, show them, with money. This does not take away from your business, it is a direct energy exchange. When you pour into them, they have the resources to pour into your business.

Talk to them. Tell them what is going on when you are struggling. Celebrate when you are doing well. Share the numbers. We all want to be a part of something and it can be really easy as an entrepreneur to isolate and take on the physical, mental and emotional weight of the business all on your own. Your team can feel your energy wether you want to clue them in or not. Transparency keeps us connected.

Let them be a part of what you are building so their purpose can be fulfilled through your purpose.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Belief has funded every business venture that I have ever explored. When I decided to open the Sedona House I had no savings left and was about to leave my job, the only source of income I had at the time, to move across the country and open a brick and mortar.

The physical reality said, this isn’t possible. My heart said, “it is”.

I don’t let the money that I have now, make decisions for future me.

Future me, knew that this dream was placed in my heart for a reason. Future me knew that if this was possible for someone out there, it was possible for me. Did I have the resources that I needed in that moment? No? Was I committed to exploring all options to secure the funding I needed? Yes.

I knew that the first thing I needed was a brand so I reached out to my best friend of 20 years and brand designer and I made a deposit that maxed out my final credit card and Sedona House was officially born.

I made a list of all of the things that I was willing to do for money to fund the venture. I would waitress again, nanny, ask to borrow money from everyone I knew, explore a small business loan…

A few weeks into make this decision the real estate market in Austin (where I was living) exploded. We were set to sell our home and break even on the sale. The week that we were supposed to list, or realtor called up and suggested a price jump. Once the listing went live, we received a full cash offer that would fund my entire business venture.

I am not a financial advisor so please run everything through your own filters before making financial decisions for your business. I am a risk taking entrepreneur. But the risks feel so much less like risks when I have evidence that every time I jump, I am supported.

The universe works fast to support you, when you follow your heart. This is just a belief, but it is a belief that has supported some unimaginable moments in my life and my career.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sedonahousebaltimore.com
• Instagram: sedonahousebaltimore

Image Credits
Cathryn Fink Photography