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Women Branching Out: Emmanuelle Lambert
Life coach and yoga instructor Emmanuelle Lambert is our Women Branching Out interviewee today!
Emma trained to become a yoga teacher and coach while working a full-time corporate job. Then, she left her corporate gig to devote herself full time to her own business.
Emma helps new and aspiring women solopreneurs – yoga teachers, coaches, healers, creatives – get started in their own conscious businesses. Her business motto is “Where the Be meets the Biz.”
Emma’s group coaching program Ignite Your Life!, starts March 4.
Here’s Emma …
Tell us about you and your business. Where do you live? What do you do and who do you love to serve?
Bonjour! I am a yoga teacher and life coach living in Brussels, Belgium, but originally from Dijon (yeah that’s an actual city), France.
I am passionate about helping women find what they’re truly capable of so they can design the life they want, without guilt or overwhelm.
I teach live yoga classes and coach either face-to-face or online (thank guru for the internet!).
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What does having a conscious business and life mean to you?
It means having a wholehearted/minded/spirited life and being in total alignment with one’s values, it means being aware of our stories and fears and dealing with them, it means finding one’s power and using it for the greater good, it means having a business as a means to full self expression and service. Oh, and having fun too!
How does being a yoga teacher influence your coaching business?
I believe yoga and coaching are complementary and can work really well together for a holistic approach to self development. I sometimes resort to yogic philosophy in my coaching.
I found that the philosophy sustaining the coaching methodologies I use is somewhat very similar to what I would broadly call yogic philosophy, but expressed in a different way, in different words. Depending on who my client is and what they need, I will use one of the other.
Actually, several clients told me they chose to work with me because I had this yoga background. They felt they would be seen and heard without judgement. Basically it means that if someone tells me they feel a lot of energy in their third chakra, I won’t cringe or start laughing!
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Why did you decide to start your own business?
I think that somehow, I’ve always known I would be working for myself someday.
It boils down to one word which is one of my core values: freedom.
Working my own schedule, choosing who I want to work with and what I want to do, that was a big deal for me.
Of course, I also couldn’t imagine doing what I do in a fixed structure. I am very good at having my own structure, and again, I get to decide what it is.
There is another reason: I do believe that it IS possible to create the life you want to live, and I want to be a living example of this. How could I teach and coach about empowerment if I’m not walking my talk? I would feel like a fraud.
I am not saying you have to have your own business absolutely and that you should quit your job tomorrow. I am just saying that this was how I always envisioned things for me, and I needed to have my own business, but that’s my choice.
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How has running your own business empowered you?
Oh man, it has empowered me in ways I could never imagine!
It has forced me to accept that deep down, I am a leader. See, I used to be shy and I certainly didn’t want to disturb, so I kept quiet for a long time – not to be seen, not to be heard, not to stand out. But deep down, I was not happy. Deep down, I knew I was not fitting in, and that there was more to life than this.
Running my own business had me digging deep inside to accept that I had to be seen and heard, if I ever wanted to be in business and have people come to me.
Whoever said that running your own business is the best self development tool ever was right!
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Why did you decided to create Ignite Your Life, your group coaching program?
I’ve always known I wanted to do something special, that I wasn’t really made for corporate life, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.
So I settled in, got a job, and was unhappy for years. It was a fight between reason and heart, really: “Who do you think you are? Consider yourself happy. You have a job, a boyfriend, a roof above your head, what else could you possibly want?” (we’ve all heard that one, right ) “But I am NOT happy and I don’t know what to do!”
After years of soul searching I found out. It helped that I started practicing yoga, too. But it took me ages. Years of waking up crying in the middle of the night because I wanted to quit my job but I didn’t know what to do, and feeling so lonely!
And I know there are women out there who feel the same, who are suffering, who don’t know what to do with their lives but knowing they can do so much more! So everything I have learned and used is here, in that program, so they don’t spend that long in that painful state of confusion.
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Finish this sentence. I believe…
I believe that we all have the potential and power to do whatever we want and create the life we want to live – so screw excuses and go kick ass!
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When Emmanuelle Lambert tried yoga for the first time, she was a frustrated corporate employee and it wasn’t love at first downward dog. Fast forward six years, Emmanuelle is a fully self-employed yoga teacher and life coach. When she is not goofing around on her yoga mat, Emmanuelle can be found playing with her Krazy Kitty and her Lovely Boyfriend, jumping around to loud indie rock or eating dark chocolate – sometimes all these things at the same time. You can find Emmanuelle on Facebook and Twitter. Her group coaching program Ignite Your Life! starts March 4.
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Freedom is one of Emmanuelle’s core values. What are your core values and how does your business support them? Comment below!
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Women Branching Out: Amy Scott
I’m very happy to have Amy Scott of Nomadtopia on the blog today. Amy’s been location independent, living and working all over the world, for the last nine years. She inspires the nomad in me to dream of Airstreams and beaches.
Amy’s combined all her experience into an online course: Create Your Nomadtopia. This course will help other nomadic souls figure out what their version of an ideal life looks like and support them as they take steps toward that life. The course starts February 25.
This Wednesday, February 20, Amy is holding a free Q&A call to answer all of your burning questions about creating and living your own Nomadtopia. Click here to sign up.
Here’s Amy …
Tell us about Nomadtopia. What do you do and who do you love to serve?
Nomadtopia is all about helping people create their ideal life, anywhere in the world—their “Nomadtopia,” as I like to call it. This means being location independent or otherwise creating a lifestyle that gives you the freedom to live and work from anywhere, travel long-term, move abroad, and more.
My goal with Nomadtopia is to show people that it is possible to live this lifestyle, and to give them the tools, inspiration, and confidence to make it happen. I don’t espouse a cookie-cutter approach or tell people they should live their life the way I live mine; I give them the resources and information to find their ideal life.
Nomadtopia is for men and women who have this nagging feeling that they want more out of life. They love to travel and are inspired by others who are living a life of freedom and adventure. They’re looking for a way to do things differently, but aren’t sure how to put it into practice.
There are many websites and programs out there that focus on how to build an online business, and while that’s useful and important for many people, I’m more interested in the rest of it: What lifestyle is best for you? How much money do you really need? What should you do with your house? What’s the best way to set up online/international banking? How do you stay happy and healthy on the road?
What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about living a location-independent lifestyle?
Probably the biggest one is that you need a lot of money. But when you start to break it down, and consider all the costs you have in your “normal” life that you won’t have on the road (housing, cable, cell phone, commute…), you start to realize you could very well save money with this lifestyle. If you don’t move around too much, and you seek out destinations with a lower cost of living, it’s possible to live very cheaply. For example, when I quit my job in 2004 to travel around the world, I had saved about $12,000, and that lasted me for almost a year without working. And, for much of the time I’ve lived in Argentina, my expenses have averaged about US $1,000 a month.
Another misconception is that it’s too difficult or complicated to create this lifestyle. I’m not saying it isn’t complicated, but it’s not any more complicated than the things we often put up with in “normal” life. For me and many others, it’s absolutely worth dealing with the challenges of international taxes and banking, visas, insurance costs, and more, to live this lifestyle—just like other people choose to handle the challenges of long days at the office, raising children, or owning a car because of the benefits and joys those things also bring them.
What’s the first bit of advice you give someone who knows they want to shake up their current lifestyle, but doesn’t know how to get started?
Identify what you want to change in your life and why, and what kind of lifestyle will help you achieve your goals. (Do you want to spend more time with your family? Explore exotic destinations? Work less?) Focus on what you really want, and don’t just follow what everyone else is doing. I always tell people, there’s no right way to live your life, as long as it’s what you really want.
Then, break it all down into manageable pieces to identify what you really need to have in place to make it happen, and just get started. It can seem like a lot at the beginning, but by starting small and taking action, eventually you’ll get there.
What does your own personal Nomadtopia look like?
My Nomadtopia has taken lots of different forms over the years. It began in 2004, when I traveled solo around the world for nine months. I came back from that trip determined not to go back to an office, and since then I’ve started several successful businesses, moved around within the U.S., moved abroad, and continued to travel. I’m now married, and my husband and I keep a home base in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but spend much of the year traveling.
How has running your own business while living around the world empowered you?
It’s made me much more confident in general; I’m amazed when I think back on everything I’ve managed to do in the last nine years. In particular, this lifestyle has made me more comfortable with uncertainty. No matter how much you research and plan, there will always be things that don’t go as planned, and over the years of traveling and running businesses on the road I’ve learned that I can handle anything that comes my way. This allows me to go with the flow and not get stressed out by unexpected events, and it also encourages me to take more risks.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced during your travels and what did it teach you about yourself or the world?
Perhaps you were looking for something a little deeper, but truly, finding a reliable Internet connection is one of the biggest challenges of life on the road! It’s taught me the importance of having backup methods to communicate with people, and how to keep my businesses afloat even when I’m offline. But it’s also highlighted the importance of unplugging now and then, and of being present so I can fully experience my surroundings wherever I am in the world.
Finish this sentence. I believe…
If you embrace your dream, and focus on doing everything you can to make it happen, virtually anything is possible.
Where in the world will we find Amy next?
My husband and I are in Buenos Aires until April or so, then off to Peru (where I’m co-leading a retreat!) and possibly Ecuador or Colombia until we head to World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon, in July. Then, we’re talking about spending the rest of the year in Southeast Asia.
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Amy Scott left her office job to travel the world in 2004 and never looked back. She’s created a life that allows her to live and work from anywhere and now keeps a home base in Buenos Aires while she travels the world with her Argentine husband. Through her various online businesses she empowers people to reach their dreams, whether it’s becoming location independent or finally writing that book. Instead of prescribing “proven methods,” she offers tips, inspiration, and resources so you can choose the path that works for you—and then gives you the support and accountability you need to actually follow through. Amy is the author of Destination Nomadtopia: Discover the Ideal Lifestyle for Your Nomadic Soul and creator of the online program Create Your Nomadtopia. You can follow Amy’s adventures on Twitter and Facebook.
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Where would you love to take your nomadic soul? What can you do now to start heading that way?
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Women Branching Out: Bianca Filoteo
Today we’re welcoming online video marketing coach Bianca Filoteo of Video for Shy People to the blog.
Bianca combines her experiences as an actor, screenwriter, video editor, producer, and filmmaker into her programs and coaching services to help video-hesitant entrepreneurs fall in love with online video.
She also collaborates with entrepreneurs to produce videos for their businesses.
Her 30-day group program Courage for the Camera runs February 11, 2013 – March 12, 2013. It’s designed to help entrepreneurs overcome their fears of being on-camera.
Here’s Bianca …
Tell us about your business. What do you do and who do you love to serve?
I’m an online video marketing mentor. I primarily work with entrepreneurs who want to start using video to market their business but they’re shy, hesitant and intimated with video. Besides coaching them with their on-camera presence, I also develop video scripts and content marketing strategy for their them so that they can attract their ideal clients and grow their audience.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions entrepreneurs have about making videos for their businesses?
There are a few:
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1. That you need expensive, professional equipment to make videos: for certain types of videos, you may, but you can definitely create your own professional-looking videos on your own on a budget.
2. You can “wing it” and just start recording yourself: the problem with this is that you risk the quality of your content. You want your viewers to watch your videos from beginning to end. If you start your videos with a few points that aren’t that important or interesting, you’re viewers will stop watching. You’re dealing with people’s attention spans and their time so you need to make every second of your video count. Creating an outline of what you plan to talk about can really help with that.
3. That only certain types of personalities or faces can be on video: absolutely not! It’s not so much about looking good or having a larger-than-life personality. You can look gorgeous and still not have your viewers watch your videos. If you have a message or a story to tell, you can make videos. You can be on-camera, or you can just have your voice-over. Anyone can do it.
What’s the first bit of advice you give someone who knows they want to market their business with video, but can’t seem to get started?
The first step is to start from where they are and what they have. Find a camera that records video (whether it’s your iPhone, flip cam, web cam, etc.) then find a room where you have good lighting and it’s quiet. Start filming.
Don’t put pressure on yourself to make it perfect on the first few takes. The best thing you can do at the beginning is to discover and explore – get to know your camera and how different amounts of light would look on video, do a few practice takes where you’re just talking to the camera.
Once you got your feet wet with that, you can start creating simple videos that can market your business and two types I recommend are a Welcome video or a video blog post. To think of the content for these videos, just imaging having a conversation with your ideal audience: What do you want to tell them? What do they need to know about?
How has teaching online video impacted your life?
It has strengthened my being as a storyteller. Through teaching, I’ve been able to connect with really awesome entrepreneurs who are up to amazing things and who also have their own story to share. I loved playing some part (no matter how small or big) in getting them and their work out to the world for everyone to discover and get excited about.
My biggest reward with teaching is being there to witness my clients’ evolution from starting from step 1 with little experience with video … to taking big, bold steps and embodying their true selves, shining on-camera, trusting their abilities to create their own videos.
What life experiences influence your approach to online video?
My work as an actor, writer and filmmaker influence my approach. My actor training for me is an on-going basis – it’s like a gym for me where I get to work out my on-camera presence so I can continue to be natural on-camera (I used to be terrified of cameras, by the way).
When I created a web series with a few of my actor friends a few years ago, that was also quite the learning experience. It was a complete DIY project: we wrote the scripts, we starred in it, we filmed it all ourselves. I was also in charge of the tech stuff as it was my equipment we used and I edited the episodes.
Having to learn how to set-up a set, film yourself with a camera, and how to edit videos in a matter of a few months was quite the learning experience. I, too, was starting from scratch. The very beginning of video editing was frustrating and it finally got easier when I had someone teach me the shortcuts with the editing program – it saved me so much time and mental energy! It’s moments like that where you learn the value of having someone mentor or guide you through a process. I also discovered that “winging it” with your videos isn’t the best solution – you’ll end up spending a lot more time getting that video done without having a plan or an outline.
My overall approach to video is to not be afraid of getting creative. Explore, create and play. Make it fun. Video is such a creative medium that I think that there’s an infinite amount of ways to create your videos. You don’t need to make your videos look like other people’s – do what works best for you.
How has running your own business empowered you?
Running my own business gives me a sense of freedom, it constantly fuels my creativity, and I’m always learning something new everyday (whether it’s about myself, other people, or life in general). It also challenges me to be more courageous, assertive and bold.
What did 7 year old Bianca says she wanted to be when she grew up?
I think I wanted to be a pediatrician, which was something my parents suggested for me growing up. But as time went on and I discovered many other jobs that existed out there, my imagination made me want to be a lot of things! I wanted to be a fashion designer, interior designer, professor, a detective, the owner of a coffee shop or bakery, the list went on…
Finish this sentence. I believe…
Everyone has a story to tell that someone is just waiting to hear. Being seen and heard can be terrifying, but once we put ourselves out there, it actually creates positive effects: it creates human connection, which is something we all yearn for in our lives, and it creates an impact on others.
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Bianca Filoteo is the founder of Video For Shy People, where she helps video-hesitant entrepreneurs fall in love with online video. As a shy and introverted person herself, Bianca combines her experiences as an actor, screenwriter, video editor, producer, and filmmaker as she works with her clients with their online video marketing. She collaborates with entrepreneurs to produce videos for their businesses while also helping them gain confidence to share their stories on camera. Check out her group program Courage for the Camera or follow Bianca on Twitter and Facebook.
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