Michelle Mehta is a TEDx Speaker, Confidence Expert, and International Bestselling Author, who is an expert in increasing confidence in teenagers. She speaks to teenagers all over the country about overcoming peer pressure, bullying, and low self-worth by increasing their confidence to live a life they fully love and admire themselves every single day. In this interview, Michelle Mehta shares her inspiring journey, success secrets and key actions that you can learn from.
Izdihar: How did you start your Entrepreneurship journey?
Michelle: In October 2018, I had just finished my certification with Co-Active Training Institute, and it was the same time that I had gotten laid off from Corporate America for the third time under the age of 30. On November 1, 2018, I made the decision to hire a business coach and coach full-time without having any knowledge what that would like. It was a leap of faith that I took and in 2019 after working with 19 different coaches and investing in over $50,000, I found my niche and became a successful entrepreneur.
Izdihar: Who inspired you to start your business?
Michelle: In 2019, I had the opportunity to do a presentation at a middle school in front of 100 kids, between the ages of 11 to 14; sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. I asked them this very question, “How many of you have evil voices inside of your head?” Every single hand went up. This room was filled with 100 kids. When you say every single hand, that is 100 hands going up at the same time. And I asked them a follow-up question, “What are these voices telling you?” And their response was, “I am not loved. I am not smart. I am overweight.” Hearing these responses made me realize that I needed to do something about it and wanted to brighten up their future. I knew how life was going to turn out for them if they didn’t change their thought patterns. I immediately shared with my business coach that I needed to create programs to support teenagers.
Izdihar: What type of services or products do you offer?
Michelle: I offer coaching programs focusing on building confidence and increasing motivation for teenagers. I work with teenagers one-on-one and get invited to speak at middle and high schools sharing about mental health topics related to anxiety, depression, and/or suicide ideation.
Izdihar: What is the best part of being an Entrepreneur?
Michelle: The best part of being an Entreprenuer is the ability to have flexibility and freedom to set my own hours, work at my own pace, cater to each client’s needs, create uniquely crafted product offerings, and have the ability to travel to spend time with loved ones.
Izdihar: What is the most challenging part about being an Entrepreneur?
Michelle: There is still a stigma around people investing in personal development and a fear of what will people think if I work with a professional, counselor, therapist, psychologist, coach, and/or mentor. There is a scarcity mindset around not having enough clients be committed to their growth and ability to invest themselves for a better future. They would rather let their goals be ideas instead of taking the appropriate action to move at a faster and more successful pace.
Izdihar: What are your biggest lessons about being an Entrepreneur?
Michelle: I am extremely blessed to have been on a road less traveled, gotten a chance to know and understand my strengths in my 20s, and have the mindset to keep going and never give up. Life is a journey filled with twists and turns and I never know where it is going to take me. I appreciated that I could have faith and trust as I embarked on this journey. I had to keep learning more about who I am and couldn’t be afraid to invest time, energy, or money in being the best version of myself. Over the years, I have realized that there is always room to learn and expand.
Izdihar: How are you different from other Entrepreneurs in the same industry?
Michelle: I knew that the niche of focusing on teenagers is highly needed and not many are equipped to give them the best tools. I am in my early 30s and still remember my teenage years as if they were yesterday. I have a good understanding of the struggles and pressures that are put on them on a regular basis, ranging from parental pressures, peer pressures, sports, academics, social media, and/or video games. I can connect and relate to them by sharing similar struggles of not feeling enough at school or at home.
Izdihar: What are your top 3 advice to other Entrepreneurs/your niche?
Michelle: As I invested more time, energy, and money into knowing myself and building my business, I created 3 pillars to help me move forward no matter what.
Pillar #1: Decide What You Want:
In deciding what you want, you must be specific about the details. I knew that I wanted to build a sustainable coaching business and wanted to create a lifestyle where I can have an immense amount of flexibility. I also wanted to have a foundation where it was based on heart-centered leadership focusing solely on the clients’ needs. I knew that that my strengths were aligned in this business and the tools I learned in my coaching program were in perfect alignment with I believed in for the services I wanted to offer.
Pillar #2: Believe You Can Achieve:
In achieving any goal, the most significant obstacle is our lack of belief that we can do it. Once the goal is defined make sure it is slightly bigger than you know without a doubt that you can achieve it. Then stretch your belief in yourself. Once I discovered I could empower someone to do anything, I realized that I could support clients to achieve more than they thought they could, if they just believed. I knew deep down that this was the path less travelled amongst my peers, and at the same time, it gave me an immense amount of joy as I kept moving forward learning more about myself and the clients I was working with. I knew that this was going to be my dream career and it came to life sooner than later.
Pillar #3: Create Positive Self-Talk
We all have a devil and an angel on our shoulders supporting and destroying our thoughts. It is important to neutralize your devil, and only allow your angel to talk to you. The angel will support you in having positive self-talk. When you start statements with I AM, it shapes your reality, allowing your soul to be open. I needed to create positive I AM statements to be the best coach that I could be. I AM confident, I AM strong, I AM powerful, were my statements. They helped me stay true to what I wanted, rather than what the naysayers around me thought. It gave me hope and inspiration to feel that if anybody else could do it, then I could do it too. The positive self-talk kept me going and allowed me to share my vision with many more people who gave me the confidence that I could go out and build an immense amount of credibility.
