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Women Wednesdays Series | Merritt Minnemeyer, CPC, ELI-MP

Our Women Wednesdays series features a woman in business, non-profit, or volunteer position the first Wednesday of every month. These women hale from diverse backgrounds and industries, but all have one thing in common, they are shining, helping others, and following their dreams! The goal of this Women Wednesdays series is to encourage, honor, and promote these women and the notable work they are doing!

Our September 2019 feature is Merritt Minnemeyer, CPC, ELI-MP, Founder & Creator of Master of One Coaching. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Merritt and interviewing her for this story. She is an amazing woman with an amazing journey and so much to share with the world. We were inspired by all we learned and know you will be too…

Tell us about what you do, who you serve, and your favorite part of it all.
I am an Executive Coach and Founder & Creator of Master of One Coaching. I help high performing professionals become exceptional leaders so that they can enjoy exponential success in all aspects of life and work.

Who makes up the majority of your clientele?
There are three prongs of my business: coaching, training, and speaking. While I work primarily work with business owners and executives looking to grow and develop into great leaders, I also provide trainings and facilitation as well as speaking for conventions and the like. In these trainings and speaking engagements, I focus on overcoming adversity, finding purpose, and the realization of strength - we often don’t know how strong we are until we are faced with major adversity and find ourselves surviving and eventually thriving, on the other side of it.

What started you on your business journey?
The short version of the story is that I have always coached in some capacity though I didn't realize that's what I was doing. After twenty plus years of working in the arts, education, and social justice - as well as significant grad level counseling training - coaching was a perfect fit. Added to that is a bit of personal history; my first husband passed away 7 years ago from brain cancer. The last message he left for me was "Choose well. Choose wisely. Choose love." I have rebuilt my life with those words as my own personal mission statement. When I found myself working in an industry about which I was no longer passionate a little while ago, I knew I had to make a real change. I looked back at all the work I had done over the years and realized that what I love most, and what enabled me to serve most effectively, is working with people to achieve their greatest dreams. So that's what I get to do now, and it has changed my whole life for the better.

"Choose well. Choose wisely. Choose love." I have rebuilt my life with those words as my own personal mission statement.

That is so powerful! What an amazing mission to carry out through your business!…

How long have you been in business and what have you learned along the way?
I have been in business for myself coming up on a year now. The most important lesson so far is that a good professional network is worth its weight in gold. My network keeps me disciplined, organized, accountable, and makes it fun to be in business.

Having a network and community is so important and as you said, motivating! A network can be extremely supportive during business hurdles…

What has been your biggest business hurdle and what did you learn/how did you grow from it?
My biggest hurdle is walking the precarious line between balance and growth. I am growing rapidly, which is wonderful! It also demands a great deal of time, energy, and resources. Keeping all of that in check is tricky, and I am not always great at it. What I am learning, though, is that my business is just that - mine. I don't have to live up to anyone's expectations but my own in terms of how much I accomplish. Sometimes that can be challenging - I have big dreams and can be a bit of a workaholic. I also am on the ground, so to speak, with a family who needs me and they are, of course, my first priority. So that's an evolving and amorphous challenge. When I entered college, the Dean offered some advice. He said, "The good news is, you can do anything you want. The bad news is, you can not do everything you want, at least not all at once." I think of that all the time. I believe that I can do just about everything I want and in order to do that, I want to make sure that I live my life each day according to my values and priorities. It comes back that mission statement I referenced earlier.

I believe that I can do just about everything I want and in order to do that, I want to make sure that I live my life each day according to my values and priorities.

What is your ultimate business goal?
Ultimately I’d like to build a center - an international think tank with coaching for individuals and groups who are working out big solutions to big problems. I see it as a hub where justice-centered social architects, policy makers, and people with means and influence can come together in an inspiring setting and contribute to creating a more beautiful world together. A lofty goal, perhaps...and I am in the business of lofty dreams so it works out for me.

What would be your biggest tip/takeaway/piece of advice to anyone starting their own business?
Ground yourself in your "why." There is a lot of chatter about purpose these days, and there is a reason for that. We are meant to live out our passions and engage our talents to better the world. Once you get clarity on your "why," everything else will flow from there. Decisions become easier, priorities jell, and there is meaning in every day. Once you experience that, you won't settle for anything less. Oh, and hire a coach ;).

Once you get clarity on your "why," everything else will flow from there. Decisions become easier, priorities jell, and there is meaning in every day. Once you experience that, you won't settle for anything less. Oh, and hire a coach ;).

And we recommend you do! Get clarity on your purpose and hire a coach that is! Reaching out for support, and getting it in the ways you need, helps you on your business (and personal!) journey in ways that are often neglected or unseen in the hustle of everyday happenings - coaching can help you gain perspective and set goals and priorities.

Connect with Merritt and get your coach on here…
Website: www.masterofonecoaching.com
Instagram: @masterofonecoaching
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/merritt-minnemeyer-mps-eli-mp-cpc-4972b22b/

Know a woman you would like to nominate for a Women Wednesdays feature? Contact us here.
Need branding, website design, photography, or social media management? You can contact us for that too ;D