We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paige Wilhide a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Paige, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was born with an entrepreneurial spirit, from my elementary school days hosting neighborhood art classes on my front porch to curating makeup parties for my friends and family. Little Paige was a little hustler. I come from a line of incredible entrepreneurs– I couldn’t help it!

I believe entrepreneurship is an art form in and of itself. As an entrepreneur, you are constantly finding creative solutions to problems, pivoting, trying things out, seeing what works. Low sales? Let’s come up with a fun marketing campaign. Client needs something you don’t offer? Let’s create a new package or program. Need content ideas? Let’s interview our audience and create some user-generated content.

On the side, I’ve always had this inner performer itching to break free. I started acting professionally when I was nine years old. The stage is my happy place; it truly feels like home for me.

Throughout my career, I always found ways to bring my love of performing into my work, through making videos and sharing content in my businesses. That scratched the itch for a while. But, it started feeling dull. It was like being hungry and eating fast food. I was no longer nourished by that creative channel.

Eventually, my inner performer became impossible to ignore. I had been denying her this freedom of complete self-expression for too long.

It was during a particularly dark period of my life when I was in a recovery program for love addiction that I started scripting my one-woman show, a deeply personal account of my romantic relationship blunders and the lessons gleaned from each one.

Doing it professionally didn’t seem like much of a choice. Because I have this undeniable entrepreneurial drive, I am always thinking creatively about the business side. How can I have a bigger impact on more people and how can I monetize that impact?

The show took off. I performed a few times here in Los Angeles, and before I knew it, I was heading to Edinburgh to perform Breakup Addict twenty-six times in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Now, I’m in the process of turning that show into a keynote speech and a series of workshops to help other people move through their darkest times and bring more sparkle to their lives.

Paige, 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?

Oh, you want to know the evolution of Paige? It’s quite unconventional. My trajectory is not so much a ladder, as I imagine a traditional career path might appear. My journey is more like a magical treasure map, with twists and turns and tunnels and black holes and starlight.

It wasn’t until very recently that I started embracing this dimensionality within myself.

I am an entrepreneur. I founded a video marketing agency in 2015 that worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs to help them become more visible online.

I am a writer. I wrote the script to my one-woman show Breakup Addict.

I am a coach. I work with clients to help them live their most expressed, sparkly lives. Generally, people come to me when they’ve experienced some sort of loss or heartbreak and they’re ready to do something differently.

I am a sister. I love community so deeply! I have built an incredible network of women who love and support each other fiercely.

I am a performer. I am an artist. I am a leader.

At the end of the day, my work comes down to connection and permission. I love bringing people together, letting them see that they’re not alone, and giving them full love and permission for their feelings, their purpose, their path.

I’m hoping there are other multi-faceted, multi-passionate people out there reading this, giving themselves some permission for their many gifts they have to offer this planet.

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

Get coaching! I am a huge advocate of coaches. I’ve had coaches all along my journey, and I will continue to hire coaches. This is because, left to my own devices, I can be everywhere and nowhere in a given day. The holding, accountability, and honest feedback I’ve received from my coaches over the years has absolutely shaped me to be the woman who can do what I do today.

So many people think that reading a book, taking a course, or listening to a podcast is the same as having a coach. And I will be the first to tell you, that is simply not true. I can give you an entire list of resources, videos, and trainings, and NONE of them will shift your way of being quite like putting yourself into a coaching container.

Ok, I’ll step off my soapbox now.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is an incredible book! Read that and invest in coaching.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I love love love hearing how people have been impacted by my work. When someone comes up to me after a show and tells me that they saw their story in mine or they feel less alone or that my show motivated them to work on themselves– that is the reward for me. Or when a client calls me to celebrate a huge breakthrough, I get just as excited, if not more. It’s those moments that I feel most fulfilled. I am so grateful that my work gets to have the impact that it does.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paigewilhide.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paigewilhide
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paigewilhide/