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If your business was supernova,
you wouldn’t be here.
Pretty aggressive of me.
And you love it.
Because you and I know that calling someone “aggressive” is code for “I don’t like that you are direct.”
You’re great at deciding on boundaries… on the inside.
Where you’d love some help is setting those boundaries with the simplicity and grace of a table for four at The French Laundry.
You’ve got a degree or three and just need to bust through some mental roadblocks that keep you in the ho-hum of too many clients for too little money from too few revenue streams.
Enter, nous.
I do not in any way speak French, by the way, but I know a gal.
I’m Michelle Markwart Deveaux. I’m a strategist. A singer. A voice maven. A loyal-till-the-day-I-die soothsayer.
Pretty sure I have an MBA and a Doctorate in Voice – based on my bookshelf, continuing ed, and the humans I’ve paid to make me a more awesome me.
I do not regret my education (both formal and informal). What I regret is believing that I needed more expertise in my field just to be accepted into the field.
Often angsty and worried, I bought into the myth that if I just knew more about voice teaching, singing, and directing (on top of the years of education and experience that I already had), that would be what would make me stand out. Clients would just line up around the corner to work with me.
And this was intentionally part of my marketing plan!
While I understood the basics of being a business, I did not know that I had the moxie to own a business.
And I most certainly did not know that one day I would be daring enough to teach you how to run a business, too.
Welp, here we are.
I no longer believe in quick fixes or “more education.” They aren’t enough.
I now believe in rocket fuel.
Things on my “not rocket fuel” list (aka quick fixes):
- Piddling time away DIY-ing things I should’ve hired out for
- Undercharging just to get people in the door; pricing based on what other people charged
- Selling time, not value, and not knowing the difference.
- Piecemealing together software because I didn’t wanna spend money
- Joining countless Facebook groups
- Downloading a ridiculous amount of freebie content plans
- Smugly refusing to build out systems because high touch means bending over backward for people and setting myself on fire to keep them warm
Things on my “this is definitely rocket fuel” list (aka long term solutions):
- Accountability & Consistency
- Consulting from people who understand the arts economy
- Therapy. Not kidding. Try it!
- Time management and taking myself seriously planning skills
- Knowing alllll about the moola and how to read a P&L
- Coaching, coaching, and more coaching. In the forms of one on one, programs, and masterminds. SO. MUCH. COACHING.
- Continuing Education in things adjacent to my field out of a love of my work and an understanding that more pedagogy wasn’t the solution.
Notice something?
There came a point when doing things by myself became a liability rather than an asset.
That’s when I added rocket fuel to this little engine that could and began intentionally investing in growing myself and my business.
We believe in rocket fuel.
So we created some for you.
I got so tired of watching my fellow voice practitioners, coaches, and artists spiralling into the same shiny object syndrome. I got worn down by seeing the alone-ness and the scarcity and competition-driven tropes that are pushed by all the pushy marketers and my-way-is-the-right-way “influencers.”
I got pissed off and built out a team of extraordinary coaches and consultants that shared my passion for change in the arts economy.
Using what we’ve learned from years of working with hundreds of micro-businesses, we work toward long-term growth and sustainability that ebbs and flows WITH you while maintaining your cash flow and mental health – because WE HAVE BEEN THERE in the midst of transition after transition, change after change.
Your fears will be met with relentless compassion, addressing both the mental gymnastics you inflict upon yourself, and the tangible action items needed to press forward. Yes, that means spreadsheets.
You’ll be seen as the magical-swear-words unicorn you are. You’ll be held to that higher unicorn standard – and when you feel small and weak and broken, you’ll be invited to remember that you have been given a place to stand in order to move the world.
Every coach needs a coach and every teacher needs a teacher.
We’d like to be yours.
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where we should start