Today we’d like to introduce you to Hanneke Antonelli

Hi Hanneke , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I delivered my first inspirational speech to our high school when I was 18, so I’ve always been interested in self-development. It wasn’t until my early twenties, after suffering from depression and being in a very low place, that I decided that no matter what, I was going to overcome life’s hurdles and create a meaningful and fulfilled life and career for myself.

A few years later, after completing my business degree, moving from South Africa to the UK and then the US, and hiring my first life coach while working on Wall Street, I decided to quit and start my own Pilates business. It quickly grew into an award-winning brand. A few years later, I decided to get my life coaching certification. I then combined my business degree, Wall Street experience, entrepreneurial and coaching skills to niche into helping service businesses scale up while creating more freedom and satisfaction.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Oh, there have been lots of struggles, as I’m sure all my fellow entrepreneurs know too well.

Some of my biggest hurdles have been:
1 – Getting comfortable with being more visible without feeling like I’m constantly boasting. (I come from a culture that highly values humility, so this took a while.)

2 – Trusting myself and my abilities to grow a flourishing company. Today I’ve grown my coaching practice into an award-winning business that supports the life I want to lead, and I’m a best-selling author. When we as entrepreneurs believe in ourselves, anything is possible.

3 – Releasing hustle culture as it stunts growth. (Something I now help clients do as well.)

4 – Hiring the wrong folks. (Another very common growing pain my clients struggle with as well.)

5 – Living my message of creating more freedom and joy in my business. As business owners, we think doing more will grow our companies, but that only gets you that far. More space and downtime are needed to get to the next level, and I love helping my clients make this shift and seeing their companies soar from there.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

I help multiple-six to seven-figure service-based entrepreneurs scale their companies in a way that delivers both higher profits and more freedom. Being a sassy South African and Wall Street veteran with a degree in finance, my clients often lovingly refer to me as their no-BS business fairy godmother. Of course, I know it’s not magic – it’s simply hardcore business strategy coupled with extensive coaching experience and skills.

What makes you happy?

Gardening and Pickleball.

I love growing flowers and messing about in the dirt. I think it’s because gardening makes me feel closer to my dad, who passed away some years back and loved gardening too. I also love how growing flowers serve as a reminder that we can trust that our efforts will produce a result and that we don’t have to push or make that result happen. When you plant the seed and keep tending to it by giving it enough water, weeding it, and ensuring it gets enough sunlight, it will naturally grow by itself; you’re not the one making the leaves or the blooms. The plant does that all by itself. Growing a business is like this as well; give it the right conditions, and it will thrive.

Pickleball is a wonderful escape where you have no choice but to be in the moment. You can’t think of anything else, and as a result, you have the best fun!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hannekeantonelli.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannekeantonelli