Introduction
I met Michelle from Emmi’s Closet (Website | Instagram) through SCORE’s mentoring program. We’ve had numerous sessions since May of 2022.
I’m absolutely proud of Michelle’s progress to date. She’s crushing in having won numerous business grants and gained acceptance into top accelerator programs.
Please join me celebrating her success and support her eco-friendly fashion enterprise!
What was the most frustrating part of running your business before mentoring with Kenneth?
I was having a hard time seeing my business succeed because I didn’t know what I needed to do or what my next steps should be. It got to the point where I wasn’t implementing anything new because I wasn’t sure if they were just silly ideas or if they would actually help my business.
I was introduced to Kenneth for help with data gathering and website technical back-end specifications because I was working on launching my website on top of selling on secondhand marketplaces. I was also struggling with understanding Shopify and how to really tap into that.
What material impact did the mentoring produce?
Kenneth was very thorough even during our first meeting. My other mentor connected us and Kenneth was so kind to accept me as a mentee. I truly felt that Kenneth was honest with me about my business but always came ready with actionable tasks.
The first few meetings we had I always left feeling exhausted because we covered so much that I would have to take a long break to absorb it all :). However, I really appreciated this about him because he wanted me to work for it and really pushed me to want my business to succeed badly enough. Over the course of our mentor/mentee relationship I have gained courage and business sense that I never thought I could.
Kenneth pushed me through a business program I was enrolled in, helped me with the lessons including writing and presenting for a pitch competition. He helped me with marketing strategies for my website such as lead magnet campaign, SEO, and data collecting. All of which increased my page views when I implemented it.
Can you describe any specific benefits or features that you have found particularly helpful?
Kenneth is very encouraging, I think he sensed that I need to believe in myself first in order to believe in my business. I was not sure of myself and lacked confidence in what I was doing and that kept me from taking action. After each meeting with him I always found a new sense of purpose and clarity which pushed me to try the new strategies we discussed.
When a strategy doesn’t work out as planned, Kenneth would jump into a new strategy and not dwell on what didn’t work, seeing that really helped me think of the bigger picture.
It was more about improving and problem solving rather than finding a magic solution that would fix my problem. This is something I implement daily now from practicing public speaking to marketing/promoting my shop.
Michelle’s Recommendation
I’ve been a mentee of Kenneth for almost a year now and I can’t imagine being where I am without him. Since meeting him, I have become a completely different type of entrepreneur than I was when I started my business. I have gained a lot of confidence in myself and my business.
Kenneth pushed through the early stages of my website as I was working on gaining traffic. We worked through strategies such as lead magnet campaign and cross listing my items to piggyback off the google searches. This helped my website increased in views.
Beyond that, I’m most thankful for Kenneth because he pushed me to believe in myself and my business. Especially, when I hear from others that the route I’m taking is very difficult and not many people make it. He didn’t see it like that, he saw my passion and understand my purpose and through that worked on strategies with me to help my business grow.