Mindset and Sales coach Amanda Joyce Weber sits down with us to chat about why she left her fashion design job to help others scale their business, the struggles of first landing clients, and how changing your mindset can change your business.
Describe your business in a few words?
I’m a mindset and sales coach. I help online business owners who are struggling to make sales and grow their business to cultivate the mindset they need to land dream clients and make money on repeat. Through one-on-one coaching and my signature Sincere Sales method, I support women who feel like “nothing is working” to shift their mindset so they can own their expertise, gain visibility, and close sales on repeat to thrive in both life and biz.
What made you take the leap to start your own business?
Something switched inside me one night when I was hauling my groceries home on the subway late after work. I was living a life that looked successful on the outside—working a dreamy design job at a big fashion brand in NYC—but knew deep down it didn’t FEEL successful on the inside. I craved something more than the life I was living: more than my tiny apartment, my annoying commute, and my long-distance relationship. I longed for open space and fresh air.
I dug deep and questioned what it would take to live a life that didn’t just look successful on the outside, but FELT successful on the inside too. These powerful mindset shifts were a catalyst for change, inspiring me to take action aligned with what I actually wanted—launching my own design studio in the mountains just outside Denver, Colorado. Ultimately, it was running that business successfully for 3+ years that gave me the confidence and experience to pivot to coaching, where I now help women dealing with the exact same feelings—knowing they're meant for more but needing to know how to make that happen with their business.
What was your background prior to starting your own business?
I have a background in branding and website design. I started my career designing for some of the biggest brand names in New York City before moving out west to Denver, Colorado and starting my own design studio. I spent years honing my process and working with creatives and entrepreneurs that struggled to cultivate the mindset they needed to take the RIGHT actions behind the scenes and ultimately get the big results (despite their absolutely beautiful branding because even the best design can't make your sales FOR you!) which led to the mindset and sales coaching practice I have today.
Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
Perhaps I should have known—my first entrepreneurial endeavor was a greeting card company I started in high school, so the desire goes way back. I always think it’s easier to connect the dots in hindsight, but it was more of a gut feeling than something that I knew all along. Creativity and freedom are really important values of mine, so the entrepreneurial path is well suited to those. I remember sitting at my desk at my first real job thinking, “So I do this every week, apart from the one week of vacation I get a year? There HAS to be a different way to do life,” and I'm so grateful I found it.
Take us back to when you first launched your business, what was your marketing strategy to get the word out and did it go as planned?
When I first started my coaching business I barely knew how to market it. My design business was largely built on referrals, and as amazing as that was, it also left me feeling at the whim of everyone else to make money in my business. I felt like all of my results were something that happened outside of me rather than something I had control over. It was a very disempowering place to be and I experienced the feast or famine cycle BIG TIME.
That’s honestly why I’m so passionate about helping online business owners create a marketing plan they can use to get consistent clients in their business—because learning how to market and sell effectively was a game-changer for me. My marketing strategy is very similar to what it was in the early days, and that is the magic of it. I learned to stick with one strategy and hone it over time, rather than jumping from thing to thing.
To sum it up, I write valuable content that I share on Instagram and Facebook, I produce a weekly episode for the One Simple Shift podcast, and I offer a free Sincere Sales coaching call where people can get a taste of what coaching with me is like. It really is that simple and it's what filled my coaching practice.
We always learn the most from our mistakes, share a time with us that you made a mistake or had a challenging time in business and what you learned from it?
I think the most challenging time in my business was when I finally started to market the coaching business consistently and still wasn’t landing clients. It took me five months of marketing to get my first coaching client and I share that because I don’t think this is talked about in the coaching industry nearly enough. So much of the industry gives the impression that pivoting your business happens overnight but I think it’s important to know that even if that’s not your experience of it (it certainly wasn’t mine!) you can still reach your goals.
What I now know is that this was largely because my mindset was so focused on what wasn’t working rather than what was. My energy was so tied up in thoughts of “what if this doesn’t work out” or “what if my clients don’t get the results they want” or “what if I overwork myself in this business” and all of that held me back from taking the actions that would bring me closer to my goals, SO I was marketing but I wasn't really putting the right energy, thoughts, efforts, and actions behind it. That’s why I’m so passionate about supporting my clients in cultivating the mindset they need to take more of the RIGHT actions in their business so they can see more results.
What is the accomplishment you are the most proud of to date?
Ultimately, I’m most proud of supporting my clients in creating the income and impact they desire. I have a client I started working with early on in their business when they were sending invoices around $500 per month and have since scaled to $15k months, all while living a life of alignment and ease. Results like that are why I LOVE mindset and sales coaching. I believe EVERYTHING goes back to mindset and that creating a beautiful, balanced life AND a successful, thriving business has a beautiful ripple effect, encouraging others to do the same.
When hiring for your team, what is your go-to interview question? Please share any hiring tips you can share from your experience?
I don’t believe that there is a “go-to” interview question. Ultimately, I believe that it’s more about connecting with the human you’re speaking with and learning more about how they can support you in your business (much the same way I think about coaching and how there is no one perfect coaching question). Many of my hires, like my virtual assistant and social media manager, have come from referrals in my personal network, which I always believe is the best place to start. However, I found my podcast editor in a Facebook group where I posted about the position so that is always a great place to look for people as well. Ultimately, I remember that everyone will need to be trained to some extent, so I focus more on if this is a person I trust and want to invest that energy in.
How has your business or industry been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yes, honestly I experienced a boom in my business in 2020 and had several of my best months in business. I think this was partly because my business was already structured in a way that was suited to working from home—so while everyone else was downloading Zoom for the first time and learning how to work from home, I had been doing it for years. Not having any major business or lifestyle changes helped a lot in that. I also think that with everything that this pandemic threw at us, mindset and business growth support is needed now, more than ever. Many of my clients also experienced their best months in business during this time and I credit that to having the support they needed to move through challenges with more ease and continue working toward their goals.
What's next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?
I’m working on creating more resources for online business owners around my signature Sincere Sales method so they can sell in a way that actually feels good and converts with more ease. So many of my clients come to me with mindset challenges around how they don’t want to come across as too salesy or that they feel icky talking about their business for fear of what others are going to think. Ultimately, these are the exact thoughts that hold them back from making the income and impact they desire and it’s in shifting them that they experience massive transformations in their business. I want those very same mindset shifts around sales to be more accessible than ever before so more entrepreneurs can create the income and impact they desire. I know it's exactly what I needed so my focus is on giving that to others.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned in 2020?
This year has taught me that taking care of ME is the most important thing. There was a time when “focusing on feeling good” would have been something that I brushed off because I believed the hard work and struggle was a requirement for a successful business.
I used to worry that if it felt good to be in my business and I was choosing better-feeling thoughts all the time that I simply wouldn’t get anything done. I was convinced that I actually relied on the pressure and the struggle to be the driving force. But I’ve actually found the opposite to be true.
This year has shown me again and again how it’s actually the MOST important thing when it comes to running my business. Because the more I take care of myself, the better able I am to take care of clients. The more I take care of myself, the more I bring that energy to sales calls, and the better they convert. The more I take care of myself, the more I enjoy the process of building the business instead of feeling like I need to be further ahead. The more I take care of myself, the more capacity I have when challenges DO arise and can handle them with grace. You get the idea.
I could go on and on because I’ve just seen so much evidence that prioritizing feeling good is the MOST important thing. I’ve seen far more results because of it, not less, and it's what I'm obsessed with helping my clients do too.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting your business?
I wish I had known that the Universe would meet me halfway. This is the single most powerful belief that I’ve cultivated in my business and it’s served me beautifully. Results aren’t always linear and it’s so easy to let that wreak havoc on your mindset. Early on, you’re often marketing far more than you ever were before and seeing far less results than you will later on. Honestly, I think continuing to show up and take action EVEN WHEN you aren’t seeing results yet is one of the hardest times in business (both from a mindset and practical perspective) but it’s how momentum is built. The way I see it, keeping your mindset in check and continuing to take action toward your goals is how you show the Universe that you’re committed to making it happen and allowing it to meet you halfway. When you do that, it’s amazing how the right people, opportunities, and what seem like absolute miracles present themselves.
How have you managed to stay grounded this year?
One word: support. I can say for certain that I would not have grown the business this year to the extent that I did if it was not for the support that I have. I am so incredibly grateful for my team but more than that I’m grateful for trusting myself to build the team and rely on the support of my team. Because in all honesty? Leaning into that support can be scary as hell.
Team has been EVERYTHING for me this year in allowing me to work roughly 25 hours per week, have a business I actually enjoy, and because of that—one that’s sustainable long-term. For the business that includes my amazing business coach, social media manager, virtual assistant, podcast editor, bookkeeping team, and PR team. And on the home front I’m eternally grateful for my extremely supportive hubby and house cleaner. I really believe that businesses aren’t built in a bubble and investing in support is one of the best investments you can make that always returns tenfold.
Do you believe in work/life balance? What are some of your best tips?
Absolutely. I believe in creating the beautiful, balanced life AND the successful, thriving business (and that you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other!). I think that knowing your priorities is key—most people aren’t getting what they want in life and business because they don’t even KNOW what they want. Getting clear on that is so important because it can act as a filter for future decisions.
The other mindset shift I’d offer here is that almost everything in life and business involves tradeoffs. For example, I only work about 25 hours a week but the tradeoff of that is slower growth (like how it took me a while to get clients but now was completely worth it as I'm booked out). Ultimately, I’m ok with that because it means that I get to live the life and have the business I want NOW, rather than waiting until some arbitrary financial milestone to allow myself to experience that. Where we can get stuck is in constantly looking for the decision that doesn’t involve any trade offs rather than deciding what’s most important to us and the tradeoffs that we’re willing to accept in that decision.
What's something our audience would be surprised to learn about you?
They’d probably be surprised that I hardly ever journaled or meditated prior to my pivot to mindset coaching. Now they’re practices that I absolutely love and among the reasons my clients and I get such incredible results.
What are your top 3 tips to stay productive each day?
- Get enough sleep. Seriously.
- Work on your mindset daily (whether that be through journaling, meditation, visualization, reading, or I have a Simplified Mindset Practice worksheet you can download!).
- Focus on the uncomfortable actions that will move your business forward the MOST rather than the busy work that feels safe and comfortable.
What does being an Entreprenista mean to you?
Cultivating the mindset you need to own your expertise, gain visibility, and close sales on repeat so you can create the beautiful, balanced life and successful, thriving business you desire.
About the Author
Entreprenista Team
