Anna Lundberg
One Step Outside
Business mentor and coach
Company Details
One Step Outside is a coaching and consulting business where we help professionals around the world escape the 9 to 5 to build businesses and create a lifestyle that allows them an unimagined sense of freedom, flexibility and fulfilment. We offer a couple of different group programmes and individual coaching support, as well as a lot of free resources on the podcast and in the Facebook group.
What challenges have you overcome to reach where you are now
I never thought of myself as being ‘entrepreneurial’. When I left my job in 2013, this was a huge leap of faith and there have been many twists and turns over the years to get to where I am today. I have had to address a lot of fears and insecurities about the possibility of failing and being judged by other people, making the ‘wrong’ decision and not being able to earn a living as a result of my choices. I’ve also had to learn to ‘put myself out there’ – although I come from a branding and marketing background, doing this for yourself is very different to doing it for a large company! – as well as to learn how to confidently and authentically sell my programmes to prospective clients. Most of all, it takes a whole lot of focus and discipline to get up every morning and do the work, day in, day out, without the structure and guidance of a boss and an office environment. But I wouldn’t have it any other way!
What message you want to give for other aspiring women entrepreneurs
There are all sorts of challenges and many ups and downs that you’ll inevitably experience as you set up, run, and grow your own business. Despite this, I believe that running your own business is the absolute best way to get the freedom and flexibility that so many of us long for. But although that’s true in theory, it doesn’t always turn out that way in practice. So many people find it much more difficult than they realised and, when they don’t see results right away, they give up and head back to a corporate job; or they stick with it but they hustle away, working harder than they did before and taking on projects that they don’t really want to do. You need to get clear on why you’re doing this; surround yourself with the mentors, cheerleaders, and accountability partners you need to help you stay focused; and keep showing up, through the ups and the downs, until you get to where you want to be. Remember: “Everything you’ve ever wanted is one step outside your comfort zone!”
To what do you attribute your success
The first step, for me, has to be to define what ‘success’ means to you. It might look very different than the picture you’ve inherited from your parents, from your peers or from the society and culture around you. Once you get clear on what really matters to you, on what motivates you and what meaningful success looks like, then you can work out how you’re going to get there. My definition of success has evolved since I first left my job and started consulting, then travelled the world as a single ‘digital nomad’, and most recently fell in love, had a baby and settled down for the time being in London. It’s so important to stay focused on what you’re working towards and why if you’re ever going to achieve your goals – and for that achievement to be meaningful when you do.
Website or Social Media Page
https://onestepoutside.com/