Please tell us what
is a typical business day for you?
I don’t really have one day that’s the same! Some
days are filled with coaching client calls, others I designate fully to writing
new content – such as new inspirational talks, new articles, new online courses
or my next book. Then there are the days when I’m delivering workshops or talks
to clients so I’m fully focused on them. I always also fit in some social media
interaction so that I continue to inspire people daily. Then of course there is
all the other things that come with running a business – like PR, marketing,
administrative tasks and finances. I tend to also designate half days or full
days for them. I try to multitask as little as possible as I find I’m most
productive when I fully immerse myself in one or two things.
What made you start
the business and how did you get started?
I was in the corporate marketing world originally
but I didn’t feel it was right for me. I didn’t feel fulfilled and felt like
there was a values mismatch with the company I used to work for. I also knew I
wanted to do something more meaningful. When I read Shawn Achor’s book, The Happiness Advantage, I knew that’s
exactly what I wanted to do: to help people to become happier. That epiphany,
combined with a very transformative coaching session, helped me to realise I
wanted to combine positive psychology, the science of happiness and human
performance, with coaching to help people to achieve that.
After that, I took little steps forward to test the
waters and with each step I felt surer that this was exactly what I wanted to
do. After 18 months of researching, planning and educating myself on the side,
I left my corporate job to go do a Masters of Science in Applied Positive
Psychology. I took the intensive one-year route and started to build my
business on the side. Once I completed my Masters, I had already built a
following and started a clientele list. This enabled me to go straight into my
business full-time after I finished my studies. That’s how I became the
Happyologist.
What would you say
has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?
This is tough – there are so many I’m
proud of! I’m going to be cheeky and I’m going to have to share three.
1.
My book Screw Finding Your Passion: It’s
Within You, Let’s Unlock It.
I’m so proud of sharing this important message that you don’t need to find and
follow one passion in order to be happy. Instead, you can learn to live your
whole life with passion and find a much more fulfilling type of happiness like
this.
2. Doing the ‘Art of Happiness’ talk at
TEDxBrighton for an audience of 1250 people. I was so in my element I
absolutely loved it. I was so humbled by the positive feedback I received afterwards
about the way I bridged my multi-cultural upbringing with practical happiness
lessons.
3.
Being a bestselling guest speaker at
The School of Life London and The School of Life Antwerp. I love delivering my
habits, happiness and passion workshops to their audiences and get such a high
from working with people who are so driven to create positive change in their
lives.
What
has been your biggest challenge in business so far?
Figuring out how to do it all! When I
set up my business, I naively got super excited about all the fun work I would
be able to do through my coaching, workshops, talks and writing – yet I
slightly forgot to think about all the other things that comes with running a
business! To say the least it has been a long learning process (and still is)
when it comes to prioritising effectively and getting everything done without
working around the clock. In fact, the more I started to restrict the hours I
worked, the more I started to achieve in those hours. Funny that, isn’t it?
What
are your future plans for the business?
I have three big priorities right now:
create and sell more online courses as I only have my habits one on offer right
now; write my second book as I’m about to sell it to a publisher; and, last but
not least, to deliver more inspirational talks as they are not only fun to do
but also enable me to help a lot of people in one go whilst also being great
publicity for me.
If you
had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Oh boy where do I start! There have
been so many massive learnings throughout the years – and some I do believe I
had to learn in person. I wouldn’t change things massively because I do believe
everything happens for a reason, but I suppose these four things would be on
the top of my mind as my best learnings:
·
Have a signed contract with every
talk/workshop/coaching client. That means everyone is clear on the Terms and
Conditions, cancellation policy and payment terms. I did struggle with some of
these things in the beginning so I would recommend newcomers to have this in
place right from Day 1.
·
Make anything you can automatic. For
example, people can see all the details about my coaching packages on my
website, and if they decide to buy they immediately pay, view and accept the
T&Cs, and then get access to my calendar to book their first session in.
This is all done with zero effort from me and it enables me to focus my energy
on what truly matters: delivering the transformative coaching sessions.
·
Learn to say no. Again and again. There
are going to be so many tempting offers and so many people telling you what to
do and how to do it. In the end, however, you know what you’d rather not do so
don’t. It’s your business so you should run it how you want to run it. That way
you will also clear your calendar to the things you actually want to say yes
to.
Why
is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?
I think it’s important to inspire
everyone to follow their dreams! In today’s world it’s hard for us to go after
what we want because we lose sight of our own dreams. We get strongly
influenced by what we think the society tells us we should do, and also by the
desire to please people. We don’t want to let our partners, family or friends
down, and sometimes going after our dreams makes us feel that way. Which is
bonkers!
In the end your loved ones want you to
be happy. They want you to go after your dreams, not theirs. Sometimes we just
need to remind ourselves of that.
What
advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your
industry?
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re
in, take a step-by-step approach to starting a business. Rather than diving in
head first into the deep end, take small steps forward in the shallow water.
That way you keep your security net whilst also starting to explore this new
idea you have. Then, once you’re sure you want it, and you want to make the
switch, make a plan and stick to it.
Start by reading everything you can
about the industry you’re curious about. Connect with people in it and invite
them for coffee. Take weekend training courses in it. Go to industry events.
Then, when you feel sure, commit to making the switch. For me, after doing
introductory training days for both coaching and positive psychology, I signed
on to do them fully. I did a six month coaching accreditation to gain the
skills to coach and I did a 12-month full-time Masters of Science in Applied
Positive Psychology. I also signed-up to an incredible online business school
called B-School (by Marie Forleo), which really helped me to get my head around
the business side of things.
What
or who inspires you in business and why?
I’m most inspired by people who have worked
hard to make their businesses succeed sustainably (rather than overnight
success stories). Marie Forleo is definitely a big inspiration when it comes to
the business side of things. On the other hand, I love Shawn Achor for his
beautiful, positive energy and how he uses that to share his happiness message
in the corporate world. After all, he is the one who inspired me to get into
the field!
What is
your favourite inspirational quote?
This is a quote I found somewhere online but it
wasn’t attributed to anyone so not sure whose it is. But I love it so much I
got it printed on my Oyster card holder so whenever I take the tube in London
I’m reminded of it. Here it is:
“And every
day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, “ This is important! And
this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And
this! And this!” And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on
your heart and say, “No. This is what’s important.”
Sign-up to free
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Passion for free.
For daily doses of
inspiration, follow on twitter @SuskyH, instagram @SuskyH, and Facebook.com/Happyologist.uk.
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