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Michelle Akin of Michelle Akin Coaching: Coaching the Creatives

“I was in a field I excelled in and had a ton of success, but something was missing. I wanted to make more of a direct difference for people. I didn’t just want to provide a service, I wanted to effect massive change.”

96Victoria Flexner
By Victoria Flexner

This story is part of our 1,000 stories campaign. What’s your story?

Name: Michelle Akin

Business: Michelle Akin Coaching

Industry: Coaching & Consulting

Location: New York, New York, U.S.

Reason for starting: I was in a field I excelled in and had a ton of success, but something was missing. I wanted to make more of a direct difference for people. I didn’t just want to provide a service, I wanted to effect massive change.

Related: Read about another entrepreneur who wanted to create change. 

How do you define success? Loving every day. My goal is to double my income by the end of the year, and then double it again by the end of 2015. I want to have 6 amazing people working with me and systems in place so that I don’t need to touch anything on the administrative end of things. I want to be known as the coach for creatives.

Biggest Success: Giving up my video production gig overnight to become a coach, selling my first ebook to 200 people, and getting 7 paying clients in my first month.

What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it? My top challenge is my own self-sabotage. I’ve addressed it by being extremely transparent with my own coach and my husband and friends about what I do to get in my own way and have invited all of them to point it out to me and interrupt it, even if it means pissing me off.

Related: Inspiration Minute: Get Out of Your Own Way

Just before becoming a coach, my Mom passed away from brain cancer. I was only 26 years old and it made me realize that I wanted to LIVE and to have a massive impact on the world in her honor. She gave me the courage to throw my video production business out the window and change careers overnight. And that’s big, because I was very successful. I was Marie Forleo’s video producer, there with her from day one of her video creation, and the future with her was promising, but I knew I wanted to be in front of the camera, not behind it. Marie was incredibly supportive, she even came to visit my Mom with me in New Jersey, and she was at the funeral. She could see that I was meant for more than video production and supported me completely in changing careers. I owe her so much for all of her wisdom and inspiration.

Who is your most important role model? My Mom.

[box_light]Website   http://michelleakin.nyc/
Twitter  @MichelleAkin
Tumblr   michelleakin.tumblr.com[/box_light]

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Edited by The Story Exchange