CHANGE AGENT CONTEST WINNER: PAMELA WILLS
Winning Photo
Pamela Wills, a Speak with Confidence Coach, was the winner of our March Change Agents Instagram Contest! Join CEO/Founder of Holistic Fashionista, Angel Quintana, in an exclusive interview with Pamela Wills, the creator of The Creative Revolution!
1) What’s the strangest thing you’ve done in business that paid off?
Between May 2011 and Sept 2012, I choreographed three musicals in a row for my local edgy community theater house. Three challenging shows. One was Cabaret, it was the darkest dirtiest version we could muster, no smiles or jazz hands allowed!
At the same time, I got laid off from my day job, fought an intense 3-year federal/international custody battle for my daughter and oh yeah, started my coaching business.
Pay offs:
a) No more yucky day job, no jerky day job bossman, no stiff back from sitting all day. Snap.
b) Custody battle won, across the board. Snap.
c) Three sold out amazingtastic hit shows in a row. Snap.
d) Found my sweet spot where onstage confidence meets creative business sales and marketing expert status and success. Snap!
Kinda weird and cool how it all worked out so awesometastically.
2) What piece of advice would you give your fellow HFs who are thinking about starting their own businesses?
Running your own business will test and strengthen and grow you in ways nothing else can. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish. DO IT NOW! Do not wait for the conditions to become perfect, they never will! If you have a burning desire to serve or create, go for it. Share it with the world. Put your best Self out there. You were given gifts so that you could share them and enhance other people’s lives. Don’t hold back! We need what you have to offer right now, don’t keep us waiting!
“Put your best Self out there. You were given gifts so that you could share them and enhance other people’s lives. Don’t hold back! We need what you have to offer right now, don’t keep us waiting!”
3) What are you hoping to achieve in your business in the next 3 years?
It’s important to me to make a big positive impact and function as a role model for lots of people who need what I teach. For that reason, I want to write and publish at least one book that hits the sweet spot and finds its way to a ton of readers. Also for that reason, I want to host and speak at lots of live events. Live events also give me the chance to hug more peeps! Hugs rock.
Continuously creating more and better ways to reach and serve my clients is really where it’s at for me right now. Sure I’m interested in greater financial freedom but I know that is the happy bonus side effect when I serve people effectively.
4) What was the hardest lesson you had to learn as a woman in business?
Not very many people believe you can actually succeed! Sad but true. “You’re a life coach? Can you actually make money doing that??” was something I heard pretty frequently at first. It’s not your typical local business model in this resort area where I live. Now, my Dad likes to tell people proudly that I created my career and business out of thin air, like a magician. Rad.
What I realized early on is that trying to run a business alone, in a vacuum not only sucks but it’s also harder and you’re less likely to succeed. We all need a team in order to build a tribe. Once I realized this uber important fact, networking, both online and in person became a huge part of my weekly business efforts and now constitutes part of what I teach, how to Turn on the Charm!
Also, growing your girl network and collaborating with others provides you with support, creative energy, sounding boards, beta testers...It’s the Dynamic Duo model and it totally rocks. Additionally, I’ve found that mentoring young women in business is super rewarding and helps me to pay it forward.
5) What is your favorite social media outlet and why?
Facebook gives me the most BAM factor, probably because I feel like I can express myself fairly closely to how I talk and converse in reality (vs virtual!). There’s lots of room for lots of words, unlike Twitter or Pinterest. I can easily share and post/repost pics and videos, which is kinda like how I use my hands while talking. I can tag peeps, which is kinda like giving them a hug! I can also post as my business or personally, and/or mix it up as I like. Versatility is really vital to my style, it really works for me. And my conversion rate from FB is better than anywhere else; more people join my list and become clients from there than from any other social media outlet. So yeah, Facebook.
6) Describe your definition of what a Change Agent is.
Oh man. Change is like my middle name. I come from a long line of women who move furniture because they’re bored and it’s already been 3 weeks since last time we rearranged the living room, so get up, let’s go! My grandmother used to change her clothes 4 or 5 times a day; I’ve changed my address about 29 times (literally), including a few overseas addresses. And my career! Yeah that’s gone through a few iterations, too. And a couple of foreign languages!
Funny thing though, I don’t see change as something I do just for the fun of it. Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing theater and getting up onstage my whole life that I feel this way. Maybe it’s because I used to be a super scared shy little bunny and always felt like the only way out of that limited little corner of fear was to just bust right out of it. Change is a burning need for me, it always has been. It’s a passion for me, that need to push to the next level, to see the next horizon, to find the next reason to keep on keeping on. To learn and grow.
So if I were to define a Change Agent, I would say that it’s that mysterious element that causes a chemical reaction, that produces alchemy, that pushes the little bird out of the nest to fly for the first time. An element or person of passionate energy that creates the friction that produces new emotions, new products, new successes, new landscapes, new art, new music, new design, new experiences, new achievements and accomplishments… A Change Agent is the opposite of a fire extinguisher ~ it’s a fire igniter!
Yeah, that’s me.
Pamela Wills is a former geek and painfully shy bookworm. Cast as a Head of Lettuce in her fourth grade production of “Peter Rabbit”. Always a dancer, never a lead actress. Used to prefer speech writing over speech giving. Now a confident author, speaker, coach, radio show host and choreographer. Able to get up and speak with a smile. Pamela earned her coaching credential from Fowler-Wainwright Int'l and her BA from Georgetown University. She’s been writing and teaching for over 20 years with a unique background that includes awards and projects in New England, Washington, DC and Germany.
Helping clients beat stage fright to increase public speaking confidence is Pamela’s mission. Her articles appear in numerous newspapers, magazines and online communities as well as her own weekly blog and eZine. She is an experienced speaker on stage and radio and helps lead a women’s networking group in her area. Find out how you can Fight Your Fright, too -- schedule a call with Pamela at www.PamelaWills.com