We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandi Holder a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brandi, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
My path to purpose has been an unexpected journey.
I’ve always been driven by a rebellious curiosity – a desire to reduce friction, work smarter, serve clients better, and question the status quo. After a lengthy career in multifamily management exposed me to the reality of housing affordability, I returned for my master’s degree.
I was hellbent on shaking things up at the federal level. So, I grabbed every hands-on experience I could in journalism, intergovernmental economic development, civic engagement, program design, and small business counseling.
Then, life threw me a curveball. When my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, I became his full-time caregiver. At the time, I had just begun freelance writing for tech founders and CEOs. These people had bet their time, talent, and savings on an idea that may or may not work. Their courage showed me that you can accomplish extraordinary things, even in hardship, with the right mindset and community.
Soon after, I went all in on my business. Since then, I’ve worked with dozens of founders, CEOs, and change-makers across the US to refine their messaging and evolve their brands.
My atypical path gifted me empathy, resilience, and a blend of skills that make me uniquely qualified to work with solopreneurs and encorepreneurs.
Hardships and unexpected detours often reveal our purpose. By embracing each challenge as an opportunity to learn, I found my calling – a big-picture goal to help 100 women create legacies, forever transforming how they show up in their relationships, communities, and work.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I founded my consulting and coaching business to help people transform their lives through purposeful action.
As a brand strategist and empowerment coach, I work 1-on-1 with ambitious professionals to amplify their gifts, refine their positioning, and infuse their marketing with authenticity. My specialty is guiding experienced solopreneurs and encore entrepreneurs (encorepreneurs!) through reinvention that builds stronger businesses and peace in their lives.
What lights me up most is watching clients astonish themselves. Together, we cultivate the clarity, confidence, and tools needed to bring bold dreams to life, no matter how unconventional. And no matter the starting point.
I’m thrilled to be working on my first book about creating space for joy and achieving your heart’s desires even amidst hardship. In it, I share mindset shifts, planning tools, and rituals that help you get your literal and figurative house in order so you can go on to build the life you dream about.
I also recently launched an online book club and community for professionals interested in personal growth and empowerment. It will be a space to connect and help each other become better authors of our own stories. Please connect with me on LinkedIn if you would like more information!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
This journey will test your mettle in ways you can’t yet imagine. But with curiosity, grit, and flexibility, you can accomplish anything!
Exploration is oxygen for entrepreneurship. You must ask questions, poke holes, and fearlessly explore new directions. Never stop looking under rocks—the best opportunities hide there, waiting to be uncovered.
But exploration without action is useless.
That’s where grit comes in. Grit is that deep persistence and willingness to persevere through the slog, mistakes, and, yes, even failure. Knocks are part of the deal. Gritty entrepreneurs have the courage and resilience to get back up even when embarrassed. They just don’t quit.
Finally, flexibility is a must. The world moves fast, and opportunities are all around. Be ready to pivot, adapt, and embrace change quickly. View failures as data and feedback. Stay open, creative, and experimental so you can capitalize on opportunities. But also be sure to evaluate opportunities. Not everything that shows up is the right path for where you want to go—so flexibility, but with a true north.
At the root of all of it is curiosity. You stay curious, and you will accomplish the extraordinary.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
My ideal clients are 1-2 person businesses experienced in their craft but need support and guidance to grow and create stability.
Specifically, I specialize in working with established coaches, consultants, and service providers who have been in business for a while but feel stuck, drained, or adrift in their messaging and positioning. Together, we reinvigorate their brands and offerings so they can unlock new growth.
Another cohort I love supporting is encorepreneurs – those later in life who are courageously pivoting to self-employment or launching passion projects as second acts. I provide the strategy, marketing support, mindset coaching, and accountability to help bring their dreams to life.
My best-fit clients have domain expertise but need that outside perspective and mentorship to reinvent themselves or make a change. They are willing to invest in themselves, do self-reflection, and take imperfect action. We work together to amplify their talents, refine their positioning, and infuse their marketing with authenticity.
Whether an established solopreneur or encorepreneur seeking renewal, my specialty is guiding professionals to rediscover their magic and build toward their dream lifestyle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brandiholder.com/work-with-me
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bh_explains_it_all/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bholder1/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandi_holder
- Other: https://medium.com/@reluctantsolopreneur
