We recently connected with Jo Knight Dutkewich and have shared our conversation below.
Jo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
I’m Jo, short for Joanna, long for J..
I’ve been fortunate to have a really successful corporate, consulting & coaching career.
I laugh at my own jokes & my spelling is a D minus at best.
I’ve advised major players like Rolls Royce plc, Land Rover Jaguar & the Government of Canada. I’ve unlocked millions of dollars with my leadership.
I’ve worked across many industries including civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine, automotive, legal, not for profits, universities, training & employment services, food manufacturers and with indigenous and first nation groups.
I have coached 1000’s of people across 3 continents.
I am also highly introverted & sensitive.
Despite being a high performer – for the first 35 years of my life I struggled with anxiety & self doubt.
Learning to partner with my nervous system & the extra capacity for thought that we introverts are born with has allowed me to minimize self doubt, stop over thinking & take action on my highest career goals from a place of self compassion.
I fought hard to learn how to take up space in this extroverted world without compromising who I really am. I specialize in creating safe harbors for those around me to unlearn everything that is getting in the way of them of thriving in their innate badassery.
My skills in active listening, human behavior, helping people to stand out, win trust & improve credibility authentically, simplifying & solving complex situations, make me your perfect guide.
Being an ambitious introvert is tough! Extroverts have it sooo much easier! If you have introversion energy you may well have a higher IQ and EQ than your extrovert colleagues. You also have superior leadership skills. It doesn’t matter. Introverts earn over 20% less than extroverts & highly extroverted people are 25% more likely to land top jobs.
Time & time again less capable, less qualified extroverts will beat us in career & business success. This is despite study after study proving introverts make better leaders, perform more highly & exceed the expectations of investors more often than extroverts.
It is OUR responsibility to fix this! Transforming how introverts see themselves is literally what makes me get out of bed each day; I’m obsessed!
The world needs our leadership, intelligence, creativity, calm & problem solving. We have to learn how to quieten the self doubt & overthinking. We must speak up, speak out & showcase the value we bring.
We have to show up. And show up on our terms. We must recharge how & when we need to. We are far more likely to burn out than extroverts through a combination of diligence & the social currency of work & commerce.
When I reflect on how difficult it felt to be me in a world not designed for people like me I am overcome with relief & gratitude that it’s not like that anymore.
I am so grateful that by doing the work of leveraging my introvert advantage I am aligned with my values, passions & my business is thriving. My whole business and coaching practice is designed to let me help you skip some of the misery I went through & show you how to jump ahead to the good stuff!
Jo, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
How you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc
In 2016 I resigned from my high paying corporate job to go it alone for all the usual reasons; more flexibility, more choice, more alignment, more impact and more money.
Even though I have always been driven to do big things and I can show up quite flamboyantly I am 90% powered by introversion energy. I’m also pretty sensitive and if I’m not careful really hard on myself and tend to overthink and underact. That procrastination and perfectionism can be hidden when you are in corporate but when you work for yourself it is a dream crusher and revenue repeller.
The first few years of my business were tougher than any of my senior corporate roles. I was the master of ideas and dreadful at implementing them. Every rejection felt like a knife to the kidneys. Life also threw in some curve balls (just for fun) covid, my husband had a stroke, my son tried to end his life and one of my closest friends and supporters died. Nothing brings you face to face with yourself, your unhealed trauma, imposter syndrome and anxieties like being self employed. You are omnipresent.
The income, flexibly and impact that I had left corporate for was evading me and I was are working far too hard for the money I was making. My financial reserves were drying up and I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to cut it as a solopreneur. I would rather eat glass (hyperbolically) than get another job but at times I thought I was going to have to,
Just before I thought my entrepreneurial dream was over it all came together. 7 years, one Pandemic, several life curveballs and 4 pivots later I live by the ocean, am debt free, work 3 days a week, about 40 weeks a year and make 6 figures.
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What problems you solve for your clients
I coach solopreneurs to remove the barriers to consistent $10k months (hint; it’s likely perfectionism & overthinking).
I run a 12 week Mastermind called the $1ok club which supports solopreneurs in creating businesses that feel peaceful, joyous, impactful & profitable that worked FOR them.
HELLO 3 DAY WORK WEEKS, WORKING FROM ANYWHERE AND BUSINESS GROWTH!
Goodbye procrastination, goodbye perfectionism & overthinking!
Hello taking massive action on your goals!
Hello financial freedom!
I also host free monthly masterclasses: How to hit $10k months as a solopreneur : the 3 things I changed in my business that actually worked.
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what you think sets you apart from others. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/
What set’s me apart from others is that I have been in the same position as my clients and overcome it. After my husbands stroke (at 38) I became the primary wage earner with 3 kids and a massive mortgage. I know how much is on the line when we work for ourselves and how overwhelming that feels. I understand what it’s like to have big dreams and big anxieties and struggle with action and self doubt. I help my clients to understand themselves deeply, how they’re wired, how their brain works, what’s at the root of there thinking, feeling, actions and results and how to change it to serve them, I believe in lashings and lashings of self compassion alongside proven business strategies and tactics.
I am the most proud of my optimism and sense of humor and joy. Life is tough enough – we need to find the light and be the light.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
What I used to think I wanted:
A fancy title
A solid career path
To be able to retire at 55
To be responsible for an important piece of the business
What I now know I want:
To call myself boss.
To be able to work with who I want, when I want and on what I want.
To have consistent minimum $10k months without working too hard.
To sit and look across the ocean in the middle of a Monday.
When I focused on what I KNEW I wanted and not what I THOUGHT I should want my life changed completely.
Yours can too, don’t give up!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The secret to having a successful solo business isn’t remotely sexy;
It’s actually pretty rubbish.
It’s not cash flow.
It’s not going viral.
It’s not your expertise.
It’s rejection.
I know, I know – hear me out.
To quote Matt Damon in The Martian; making money as a solopreneur is “a math’s problem”.
Say you have a 5% conversation rate of people that have shown significant interest in your offering (some folks call them leads; I prefer the term “people”).
To get one client you will need to be able to absorb a 95% rejection rate.
That means that for every 100 offers you make directly to an interested buyer you will hear “no” (or more likely be ghosted) 95 times.
Being able to stomach that level of rejection without it having any impact on your psyche, energy and self worth is what determines whether you will have a successful business or not.
How many times are you prepared to be rejected to get your business running successfully?
Contact Info:
- Website: I am just finishing the final touches to my new website. Depending on when this is published I would like to include it
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joknightdutkewichcertifiedmastercoach/
