Jennie Mustafa-Julock of The Audacity Coach is inspired by Maya Angelou.
Business Name
The Audacity Coach
Business Description
I’m The Audacity Coach – Speaker/Coach/Author/Moxie Ambassador – Challenging GenY to Defy Limits and Tackle Possibilities!
Start Date
September 2006
Best thing about working for yourself?
I get to earn a living doing what I love and what I’m really great at! And I get to help my peeps become the most fabulous people they can be. Seriously, it doesn’t get much better than that!
Worst thing about working for yourself?
Spending too much time “in my head” and second guessing my business instincts. Tsk, tsk!
Why did you start your business?
After getting laid off from my cushy consulting gig, I spent the remainder of 2006 unemployed, broke, and completely freaked out. I had just turned 30, despised my chosen career, and had no idea what I really wanted to do. I reached out to my friends, classmates, PMF colleagues, and others who were all turning 30 that year, too. We had followed all the rules, done the college thing, perhaps the grad school thing, went above and beyond with fellowships and internships, all in pursuit of some fabulous career. But 9 out of 10 of my peeps were absolutely miserable! I began to search for the connection. Why were all these highly competent, super driven people so frustrated? What was it we were feeling? The conclusion: we were all STUCK!
Once I had this mini-epiphany, I went to work looking for solutions. I reached back to the coaching community that I had dipped my toe into years before. There were tons of life coaches who worked with people to get them unstuck, but I struggled to find one that “got me” because they were all my parents’ age or older. There was a huge void of coaches for my age group – people who felt stuck because of what they had chosen in college and completely clueless as to what they really wanted – people who didn’t want to wait until retirement to start answering these major life questions.
That fall, I launched my own life and career coaching practice designed with my age peeps in mind. Nearly four years into my business, I’m also a motivational speaker delivering workshops and keynotes to high schools, colleges, associations, and other organizations on Audacity – the most important quality of fabulously successful people in today’s world. The rest is history…in the making!
When did you start to think of yourself as an entrepreneur?
Immediately! I realized that my entrepreneurial spirit had always been brewing and letting it loose made me feel alive!
How do you relax?
I absolutely love attending the theater, biking in Central Park or along the Greenway, going out for brunch, and gazing at water fountains.
What is something that you are known for?
I’m known as the poster-child of Audacity! Since birth, I’ve challenged the world around me: I refuse to color within the lines, stay inside the box, or play by the rules. Instead, I’m driven to craft a career and life that suits me and only ME! But I do so in a way that not only leaves room for others to prosper along side me, but encourages them to do so. Basically, I aim to make a big, Moxie-licious splash in everything I do!
What 5 things would you never like to be without?
My bright orange Electra Townie bike, my iPhone, my cocktail shaker, my unlimited subway pass, and my Barbra Streisand record collection.
What’s a business that you think is interesting or inspiring?
Pilates instruction – I just love Pilates!
Who is a person that inspires you?
Maya Angelou – hands down!
Emily Wolper