Life Coach Nesha partners with her clients to design and execute goals in every aspect of their lives including but not limited to career, relationships, school, and boosting self-confidence. Read our interview with the lovely Nesha below…
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
One day I was at home doing nothing on a Saturday strolling through Instagram and I saw there was a networking event here in Chicago. My fiancé was like, just go check it out! I have never been to one, so naturally I was hesitant. However, I got out of my comfort zone decided to go by myself. I was so intimidated to see so many successful African American women in the room who were business owners. I was scared but I talked to almost every woman in that room! That feeling of fear told me I wasn’t supposed to be there. I am not a shy individual whatsoever, so I knew this was something to pay attention to. The women were great! Especially my now friend and mentor Nikki Burnett who was co-hosting the event. I felt so empowered and motivated. I knew God was shifting me to do something different.
Tell us about your business.
The concept of Executive Behavior (EB) is based off an experience. I was interning at a substance abuse treatment center about 3 years ago. The women I met were my clients and I would do group sessions with them. In one of our conversations they were pretty much asking my permission to be great, they were scared to step back into their lives because of the fear failure and judgement. These are normal feelings. However, fear is not a sprit from God. We were born with authority to make choices, good or bad. So when you are ready to start a new chapter or step into your purpose you are the CEO of your life. A CEO makes decisions and goals for the growth of their company without permission or apologies.
The mission of Executive Behavior is to guide and empower individuals to live an executive lifestyle. When living an executive lifestyle, you are taking positive risks to enhance your current life. I partner with my clients to design and execute goals in every aspect of their lives including but not limited to career, relationships, school, or even boosting self-confidence.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
I had a journal that a former classmate of mine (Renata) gave me. It was called “living with intentions”. After I made the decision to start my business, I wrote everything down! I wrote my mission, my concept, my goals for the business, and my prayers. I then did research on how to accomplish everything I had written. Writing everything down is what gave me confidence because I became clear about my vision. I then researched other life coaches and legal paperwork then completed my life coach training from Life Purpose Institute.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Social media for sure! I have connected with so many wonderful people through social media. My clients were drawn to me by what I was posting on my social media.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
The biggest challenge is time. I am a full time employee for Illinois Department of Human Services. I am also a graduate student and will be receiving my Masters in social work this upcoming spring. On some weekends, I am a mental health counselor at a behavioral hospital working with any population I am assigned. And now, I am the CEO of Executive Behavior. I even took my life coaching certification courses for 17 weeks during all of this as well. In addition to everything else, I am soon to be married and am now a wedding planner.
How did you overcome these challenges?
I have been organizing my time much better than I did before. I have a dry erase board and calendars (haha). I have a huge calendar at home, in my office at work and of course a calendar on my phone. Thank God I have a fiancé who understands that I am following my dreams and my purpose. He helps me stay focused. I have enough time for everything. My clients get as much time as they need comfortably.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
- Prayer
- Awareness of mental health
- My family
- My friends/network of people
One thing I know for sure is God has placed some great people in my life who have kept me going! I am 26 years old. It’s important to surround yourself with the right people when you are focused. When times get hard they will understand. They understand the hustle and the sacrifices. I am surrounded by people who are working hard and are career oriented. I’m talking about RN’S, future property owners, life coaches, doctors, social workers, real estate brokers, clinical therapists, and entrepreneurs. How do you not stay motivated around people who want the best for themselves? I have a team of people who won’t let me settle for less.
How did you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
There are so many life coaches in the world! None of them are life coach Nesha. NONE of them are me. There is plenty of room for us all. The concept of competition kind of scared me early on. My mentor told me we can all come out with the same products but they will always be different no matter what. I love my brand, I just wanted to do something that stemmed from my own experience. I stand out because I do things my way. I can be inspired by others, because that’s how I learn. I would never do anything exactly like someone else because that’s not me.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
The best advice was given to me randomly. A beautiful young lady messaged me in my inbox. She told me she had a dream about me. She said the enemy wants me to act without thinking, so don’t let anyone take me off my square. She also said God had a lot in store for me. That translated to me to stay focused.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Don’t let anyone change your vision. There is a reason why you were the only one who can seen it. Either they will help your vision come to life or they have to go.
What is your favorite business tool or resource?
Right now my favorite resource is the analytics from Instagram. It tells me the age range of my followers and the best times to post my content. That’s so cool because social media is the best free resource to use!
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
· Instagram @ShadesOfNesha and @Executive_Behavior
· Twitter @SheHasLevels
· Facebook @ExecutiveBehaviorLLC
· Website www.executivebehavior.com
· Hashtags #NeshaToldYou #executivebehavior #InvestInYourself #bossbabe #Lifecoaching
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
Recent article I read was by Boriqua Chicks called “Stop Asking Entrepreneurs to Work for Free“.
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
I am learning that I cannot do everything by myself. I have a hard time constantly posting on all of my social media pages everyday because I had so much going on. To solve that I downloaded Hootsuite. You can schedule when to post your content and the app post it for you! I love it.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
My goal is to consistently have my brand out for the world to see. So I am always at a networking event showcasing who I am and my brand. I actually just got back from networking at a big event in New York. I am working on an Ebook now, hopefully I can have that completed soon. Also, there will be details out in September regarding my empowerment brunch for October.