Meet Women’s Midlife Coach Christina Smith
“Working more doesn’t equate to a better business.”
Christina Smith
Okay, let’s get started on the interview!
Tell us who you are in 50 words or less.
I am a life coach who has the pleasure of leading women in midlife to an amazing second half. I’ve created tools to help women self-validate to hear their inner wisdom and be more confident in how they show up for themselves and their relationships.
How and why did you start your business?
I began my journey as a health coach while attempting to solve my own health issues. Through this process, I discovered that I excelled at guiding women through the challenging parts of their health journeys, but I was less interested in coaching on calories or exercise.
My curiosity grew around understanding why these women, despite knowing what they needed to do, struggled to make lasting changes. This led me to shift my focus to tools centered around mindset, perspective, and facilitating significant transformations.
I even wrote the book Inviting Shift to help women implement their desired changes without the struggle of forcefully pushing through them.
What services do you offer in your business?
I coach in small groups of four or less mostly. While I can offer private sessions, these groups help women feel more connected which is a big desire in midlife when women are usually seeking these connections out.
I also have the Modern Midlife Mentorship for women who needs a space to connect and check-in with a mentor without a full-time coach.
What makes your business or services unique?
Several elements set my coaching apart. From the beginning, I work closely with my clients to uncover what they truly want, beyond their initial goals. We identify the emotions behind their desires, which then guide our entire journey together.
My clients also greatly benefit from the small group sessions, learning as much from the experiences of other women as from their own.
Having a functional website is an important aspect of running a business. How was the process for you to get your website up and running? For example: Did you create it on your own or did you hire a web designer? Which platform is your website hosted on?
In my previous corporate life, I worked in marketing and had experience building websites. When I left my job, I developed websites for others to support myself.
For my own website, I did everything myself, including learning the platform. I host my website on Siteground. However, if I needed updates or a refresh now, I would likely hire someone, as technology evolves faster than I can keep up with.
What resources are you finding helpful in your business right now?
While this might be controversial, I find the artificial intelligence writing tools like ChatGPT to be truly helpful. They don’t write my content but they certainly can give me ideas and structure so I’m not starting a topic or outline from scratch because sometimes getting started is the hardest part – at least for me.
I also love Grammarly. I tend to be really direct in my communication. I can often forget the niceties like: How are you? or I look forward to hearing your feedback. Grammarly makes suggestions to make it sweeter and more professional for those people who really appreciate the extras. It saves me time and relationships.
What is the one thing you wished you had known before starting your entrepreneurial journey?
I wish I knew how much was involved in running a simple coaching business. I learned real quick that no matter what the business is, it’s not simply about finding new clients – which can already be a challenge in itself.
It also required learning enough about how businesses run, accounting, and taxes to know I was hiring the right professionals for my business.
Also, it’s no joke how long it can take to build a business without a huge amount of starting capital. It took even longer because I just thought if I worked 60-70 hour weeks, I would get it there faster. It actually turns out it just exhausted me and made me ask myself if I should just get a job.
When I limited my hours to 35 to 40, I actually was a lot more profitable and found the right clients.
MORE WORK DOESN’T MEAN MORE IMPACTFUL WORK…THIS WAS A BIG LESSON.
Tell us about a time when life threw you a serious curveball in your business and what you did to overcome that curveball?
I didn’t realize I would be a nomad when I started my business and was starting a local community when we chose to move across the country (then several moves since then).
During that time, the pandemic also happened as I was starting to run retreats. So all my plans were bashed and I had to start reimagining my business to be online.
To try to make back all the lost deposits on retreats, I ran two months of pay-what-you-want classes. I learned that just about anything (except an in-person retreat) could happen online.
MY BUSINESS ACTUALLY BOOMED DURING THAT TIME BECAUSE I ADAPTED QUICKLY AT A REALLY CHALLENGING TIME.
How have you grown personally from becoming an entrepreneur?
I realized that the high expectations I believed my bosses had, which made me feel like I could never accomplish enough, were actually my own.
I tend to expect things to progress faster than they do and believe that pushing hard is the most productive approach. However, I discovered that all that pushing was exhausting and that I thrive better when I embrace my feminine energy rather than my aggressive masculine side.
The feminine energy encouraged me to allow and receive rather than forcefully push myself to the finish line. Creating this balance has made me a much happier and more trusting entrepreneur.
What one misconception about the entrepreneurial journey would you like to clarify for us today?
WORKING MORE DOESN’T EQUATE TO A BETTER BUSINESS.
It doesn’t necessarily lead to more profit, more clients, or the freedom we seek from running our own businesses. Instead, it often results in increased stress, imposter syndrome, and doubts about whether to continue.
To avoid this, focus on doing the right things for your business rather than trying to manage doing everything, which only leaves you exhausted and unable to attract new opportunities.
One question I’m always asking myself, “What’s the (or one) next right thing?”
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about starting their own business?
Take your time and enjoy each stage. We can be in such a rush to move forward that we skip some essential steps like what we stand for, what’s most important for us in this venture, and how we translate that to a brand.
I ignored the whole niche conversation for a long time and I realized that the more specific I am means that the right people are being attracted and they more deeply engaged with my message.
What are some fun facts you would like to share about yourself?
I love animals and nature and when I’m feeling stuck in my business I take a walk among the trees to be grounded and out of my head.
I’ve recently picked up crochet and that’s become more of a meditation for me than perhaps an actual art.
Nature heals me.
I am always in my happy place when I am outside with Mother Nature.
What is one thing you’re grateful for right now?
I’m grateful for so much. Authentically right now though, I’m really grateful for the resilient spirit and self-trust my journey has brought me.
What are you looking forward to in the next month?
Vacation! We’ve just moved across the country again and it’s been a really challenging time for many reasons. My husband and I are really excited about getting away to have some fun together.
