We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carol Chan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Carol, thanks for joining us today. Risk 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.
In 2021, I took a big risk by quitting my job to chase a long-held dream with my partner. This dream? To travel nomadically abroad while pursuing full-time entrepreneurship. At that time, I had started a brand studio on the side dedicated to helping creative women entrepreneurs with brand strategy and design.
The idea had been brewing for a year, but the pandemic acted as a catalyst, making us reassess our life choices and timeline. Ultimately we decided to leave New York City, sell most of our belongings, and embark on a journey starting with a one-way ticket to Taipei, Taiwan. I was already juggling freelance clients in my down time, which gave me confidence in my skills and the potential of growth if I pursued it full-time.
This risk didn’t just pay off; it was transformative. We spent nine months traveling through Taipei, Madrid, Tenerife, Madeira, and Lisbon. During this time, I expanded my client base and services. This journey wasn’t just about business growth; it was a personal metamorphosis. It led me to hire my first business coach, who helped me unlock deeper levels of self-trust and belief in my abilities. This experience also inspired me to become a coach and pursue training, adding a new dimension to my career.
Throughout this journey, fear, self-doubt, and uncertainty were ever-present, like background music to my decisions. Yet, I refused to let these feelings drive my choices. Stepping out of my comfort zone unveiled a realm of possibilities I hadn’t even imagined. To those standing at the edge of a similar leap, my advice is simple: embrace the challenge. The discoveries you make about yourself and your potential might just surprise you!
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?
I am a business coach and brand consultant dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs build strategic and dreamy businesses on their own terms. As the founder of My Dearest Co, a coaching and consulting studio, I bring my unique blend of marketing and coaching skills to help guide my clients to achieve their business goals.
Prior to founding My Dearest Co, I had a decade-long career as a brand strategist and marketer with experiences in creative agencies, mission-driven organizations, and high-growth startups. In these roles, I spearheaded initiatives from launching new brand identities to orchestrating product launches and crafting marketing and social strategies. These diverse experiences have enriched my understanding of how brand can create meaningful connections with people, directly benefiting the clients I work with today.
What led me to become a coach was personally experiencing it as a client myself! The transformative impact of hiring my first coach in 2021 inspired me to pursue coaching myself, leading to training and certification. Today, I offer coaching and consulting with the goal of offering a holistic experience to my clients.
As a brand consultant, I draw upon my marketing career expertise to help women entrepreneurs develop robust brand strategies and launch marketing initiatives that resonate deeply with their audiences. As a business coach, I navigate my clients through their limiting beliefs towards a mindset of abundance. My coaching style is warm, supportive, and always focused on asking the right questions to help them get to the heart of what they really want.
At the core of why I do what I do: I want to show the world that business doesn’t have to feel so serious or cookie-cutter. It can be soul-nourishing, creative, intentional, and full of ease. Over the past two years, I have had the privilege of helping dozens of women entrepreneurs craft businesses that truly reflect who they are.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One big career lesson I had to unlearn was the notion that my self-worth was intrinsically tied to my career achievements. In the early stages of my career, I was engulfed in a relentless hustle mentality. Being a woman of color often in spaces where I felt like an outsider, I thought the key to realizing my dreams was relentless work, saying yes every opportunity, and outsourcing my power to those who seemed more confident and established.
The pivotal realization came when I finally decided to step away from the grind. I was burnt out, lacked boundaries, and constantly second-guessed whether I deserved to be in the room or not. I didn’t want to do that anymore, and I started to seek out a different way.
In stepping back, I saw how expansive a career could be – lasting 30-40 years long – and began to question the rush. The timelines I had set for myself to “succeed” started to feel arbitrary, and the external benchmarks of success became irrelevant to my life’s purpose.
Instead my career is just one facet of who I am, not my entire identity. Work is now a platform to showcase my unique talents and values, rather than a measuring stick for my value as a person. This shift allowed me to cultivate a healthier, more balanced relationship with my work.
Now, I set my own terms for my career. This includes choosing my clients, defining our working relationship, and work schedule. All these decisions are made with a focus on building a sustainable, long-lasting career, which means prioritizing moments of rest, play, and ease. Embracing this approach has not only increased my well-being but also enhanced the quality and impact of my work.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
The way to grow your cientele is to focus on being of service to your people. Do the work to show up with value before they buy, as they buy, and after they buy.
Sales feels icky when we’re focusing most of the attention on ourselves. Majority of our thoughts around ‘selling’ are focused on how we’d be perceived, what it means about us to sell, what we think our friends/family will think about us, etc. The list goes on for a while.
But instead, I encourage you to focus 100% of your thoughts on being of service to the person on the other end. Channel all of your energy towards how the person would love to have what you’re offering, and it’s exactly what they need or want.
In growing your clientele remember: sales is not the act of trying to convince someone to do something. Sales is offering an invitation. In other words, it’s extending an invite for them to consider experiencing your product or service. They have the power to RSVP: Yes, No, Maybe Later.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mydearestco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mydearestco/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cchan26/
- Other: Are you ready to create a powerful brand that resonates with your audience and drives business growth? Sign up for my free Inside-Out Brand Framework workshop here: https://bit.ly/InsideOutBrand-SignUp
Image Credits
Yarminiah Rosa