Petra grew up in foster care since the age of 2 and have overcome many challenges despite the odds. She always believes in finding a dream that can have her life fulfilled according to her own rules. She started her own crochet shop in 2005, and her creativity leads her to build her second business which is all about social media management. Her life experience as a single parent, also makes her to run the third business which is transformational life coaching. Her adversities didn’t prevent her to give up and Petra shows us how persistence can make your own dream comes true.
Hi Petra, can you tell us about yourself and your business?
I grew up in foster care since the age of 2 and have overcome many challenges and adversities despite the odds, always believing in finding a dream that leaves me fulfilled by living my life according to her own rules.
I am very much a DIY person and I opened my own crochet shop in 2005 which is called Hippie’s Creations. That’s where I learned how to set up a blog and manage my social media, letting out my geeky side and so I created my second business, Unusual Bits. But after my son was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder at the age of 4, and life became a 24-hour crisis, leaving his life in limbo until he underwent his third liver transplant.
I realized that life is too short and I needed to stop talking about my dream of helping others and start taking action. I became trained in mental health counseling but realized that in order to be present for my son’s medical needs and my own dream, that helping transform the life of others was my passion. I use what I learned through life and my training to take a dream and turn it into reality and do this with my third business, Petra Monaco – Transformational Life Coach.
What motivated you to start up your own business?
I have always had the free and wild and craved to create life according to my own rules. In 2007, my youngest was diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder and his medical needs were quite extensive. After a year of learning to manage his disorder, he was recommended for a liver transplant. His recovery was really like an up and down roller coaster and he required 3 liver transplants. Entering into business allows me to create the freedom I craved while meeting the demands of my family as well as my son’s medical care.
What do you think is your special quality that makes you different from the similar businesses around?
I think I am an agent of change! I have a vast amount of experiences and challenges that I survived. Transformational coaching is more than just getting an education and training although it is super helpful and needed. Having lived in foster care, having been homeless, married/divorced and single parenting for most of my 24 years, those real life experiences and making the change myself, helps me help others.
It can be challenging when you are focused on everything that is not working rather than on the things you could be doing to make a change. Additionally, the stories we tell ourselves have a huge impact on the actions that we take.
Coaching isn’t therapy and really more about taking action and moving forward.
What have you found to be your most effective way in finding new clients?
The best way to find new clients is to be yourself, be vulnerable and share your story. For the longest time I either hid my story or played the victim instead of embracing my own strength. Being able to connect with people on real life events I have experienced brings something human to the relationship. For me coaching is so much about connecting with the person and I am driven so deeply to being of service because I want people to succeed.
What is a day in the life of you like?
My day starts with getting my kids up and ready for school and then spending some time journaling for reflection and growth. My day is filled with activities until about 4:30 p.m. when I start winding down from working with clients or behind the scenes work and get ready to make dinner as the kids return from school. My evening hours are often spend on crocheting or game night on the weekends with my family.
I work with clients three days a week and have dedicated days for those and the rest of the week I focus on content creation, social media preparation as well as volunteer work and freelance work that I take on.
How did you handle the challenges that may come along your entrepreneurial life? Can you share with us an example/incident?
My go to activity is journaling. The process of writing what is working and what isn’t working allows me to review on what course of actions I need to take. Reflecting on what I am telling myself about a situation I also use a big white board in my office and when I am stuck I will list the problem and allow ideas to overcome the challenge. Seeing in written takes off the pressure and really allows the ideas to flow on what to do next.
How do you keep yourself motivated during the difficult times?
For me personally is about remembering where I come from and what I am here to do. It is also remembering everything my youngest son has been through and he teaches me every day that I have a choice on how I want to act and react to events that are happening in my life.
As an entrepreneur, how do you see the “work-life” balance?
I think we tend to focus too much on balance. I like the idea of going with what feels good and have a flow. Of course, I create things to work on every day but I am also aware that things come up and I have to change. By focusing on three priority things a day this removes a lot of pressure but also creates space for being more motivated to check things on my list.
If people are interested to get in touch with you? Where should I send them to?
Certainly, here you go:
Email: contact@petramonaco.com
Website: www.petramonaco.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/petramonaco
Twitter: https://twitter.com/petramonaco
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petramonaco
