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WOMEN in the SPOTLIGHT
Women in the Spotlight is a series of interviews that highlight successful entrepreneurs, educators, small business owners, and online influencers with the goal to inspire, educate, and motivate other women in their personal and professional lives. I
Want to read more of my story? I was featured as part of Karen Ferguson Women In The Spotlight Series earlier this Spring,
Check out the full article here!
What inspired you to start your own business and how long did it take before it became profitable?
I was working retail management at 60+ hours a week as a single mom and felt like I was failing at life.
When I was at work, I had a ton of mom guilt for not being at home and because of the high demands of my job, when I was home I was worried about work and praying that everything was running smoothly. It was hard to find a balance between the two areas and I wasn’t sure how I could keep going at the pace I was.
Then on July 4th, 2001 my whole world was flipped upside down when I lost my mom in a tragic car accident and almost lost my then 5-year-old son that day as well. It was during that time of grieving that I realized just how short life truly was, and I knew that I had to find a better way. I started looking into other careers and as fate would have it I found a whole world of coaching and realized that I had been coaching my whole life but just didn’t know that it was a career option.
In August of 2007, a year after having my second son, I became a business coach. I went all in to get the best training I could find through a franchise and learned from the best in the business. I left training knowing that I was going to change lives and be able to finally have the freedom to create my own schedule and finally have perfect harmony between my work and family life.
I struggled with getting consistent clients early in my business. I felt so defeated and frustrated because I wasn’t able to communicate the right words and I wasn’t connecting with my audience. Just over two years into my business I almost gave up on myself and debated going back to work for someone else, but as luck would have it during that time I went inward and was able to figure out how to make it work.
I finally was able to really get clear on what my niche was and exactly who I wanted to serve, and I created a whole new strategy for growing my business. Within six months of getting clear on my brand foundation, I was able to create a profitable business that supported my family and my dreams.
What inspires your work and what sets you apart from everyone else?
I’ve made it my personal mission to empower ambitious heart-centered women service-based entrepreneurs to gain the confidence and clarity in their personal brand and business by sharing their authentic story so they can attract their ideal client and stand out online.
I learned early on that when we stand in our true power and allow ourselves to show up as our authentic true self, we’re able to make an impact in the world and create a business and life that we love.
There is a ton of competition out there in every industry. The one thing that we each have going for us that no one else has is our story. It’s critical that we share our unique life story, experiences, skills, stance, values, and purpose as part of our brand story so that others can get to know us and we can start building on the know, like, and trust factor.
When we share from our heart and our life experiences it makes it easy to attract our dream clients and repels the people that are not the right fit for our brand and business.
How do you advertise your business? What do you do to attract new clients/readers/subscribers, and what do you do to retain them?
I offer 1:1 Leadership & Business Coaching & Team Trainings! If you would like to explore what working together would look like, I invite you to submit an application.
Hey There!
I'm Darlene
A mother, wife, connector and dream builder. I'm a Personal Branding & Business Coach and the founder of DarleneHawley.com.
I have a passion for helping online entrepreneurs to create an authentic, magnetizing and profitable brand and business by tapping into their story. I support them by creating a solid brand foundation that allows them to attract their ideal clients and stand out in their industry. I've been committed to helping entrepreneurs launch and grow their business since 2007.
I now spends my time supporting women to reach their goals and live out their dream life, all while raising my family and creating memories each and every day.
