Meet Your Mentor - Stephanie Burg
This month we’ll be learning how to find balance in work & life with the help of our Mentor of the Month, Stephanie Burg. Get to know our coach and inspiring leader in this week’s Meet Your Mentor feature!
Stephanie Burg
Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl?
Early Bird
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
My morning ritual is pretty dialed in: I oil pull while making breakfast and then promptly sit in meditation.
What are you reading now?
Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. A chef with a background in creative writing, Gabrielle has a way of making you fall in love with the everyday elements of life through her words. She is the epitome of an artist and someone I'm currently obsessed with.
What's your favorite podcast or YouTube channel?
"This Wild Life" by my friends Lola & Tigre Pickett at Wild Playground
Favorite place to getaway from it all?
I love traveling period but consistently, Asheville, NC is someplace I return to again and again. My husband and I even eloped there. :)
If you could get an extra hour today, how would you use it?
I'm answering this question from a mastermind retreat in Tulum, Mexico, so I'd have to say book a Mayan Clay Spa treatment. :)
Do you consider yourself more of an Introvert or extrovert?
I'm an Introvert who loves people.
What's your favorite food?
I have to pick just one?! Ok...avocado. :)
I'm on a mission to...
Empower women leaders and healers to come into alignment with themselves—mind, body, & spirit—so they can do great work in the world. I believe that when we have a deeply connected relationship to ourselves that we can create the thriving lives and businesses of our dreams.
How did your awesome business come to be?
This business chose me, seriously! Being a coach was NEVER on my radar. (In fact, I thought Life Coaches were kind of silly to be honest.) But when I started facing my mortality as a professional ballerina with repeated injuries following my 29th birthday, I knew I had to start exploring other careers.
I started working with an organization out of NYC called Career Transition for Dancers which provides resources and funds for professional dancers to transition into careers outside of the world of dance. Through working with their career counselors, I was led by my love of nutrition, healthy eating & movement to a Holistic Nutrition school with a training program to become a Holistic Health Coach. The rest is history.
When I learned that I could make a living by supporting people to become healthier & love their lives more fully starting with food & how they care for their bodies, I thought it was too good to be true. Here I am five years later, supporting myself fully from this work while helping others thrive too. I'm in awe of the journey it's been.
Who inspired you to pursue entrepreneurship?
My mentor and soul sister, Nisha Moodley.
Have you ever had a mentor? And how did they help you?
I have ALWAYS had mentors. From my early beginnings in ballet school to this very moment. Sometimes, I have more than one depending on where I need the most support. I feel very fortunate to have had some of the best mentors in the coaching industry and it is only through their support, encouragement, hand holding and at times, tough love that I've been able to continue pursuing entrepreneurship and navigate its ups and downs. I've had support in every area of my business, from learning how to write marketing copy and structuring my finances to clearing limiting beliefs and everything else in between. I don't think we're meant to "go it alone" and I definitely do not always have the answers about everything. In my opinion, mentors are a non-negotiable and the key to success for most entrepreneurs.
photo from Stephanie Burg
How do you define success for yourself?
Success to me is following my heart, making decisions from a mindset of freedom and choice, and being able to support myself financially from this place of alignment.
We all love failure & flop stories! Tell us about something you tried in business that didn't work, and how you moved beyond it.
I don't believe in failure, but I do believe in hard-won lessons that may fucking suck along the way. :) Any time something hasn't worked out in my business, it's typically been because I wasn't fully ready for the quantum leap I was trying to take or it was coming from what I though I "should" be doing versus what was actually best/aligned for me. I've since learned to slow down before making big decisions and fully check in with myself and what is true for me before acting. Things take a little longer this way, but the results have been WAY more successful and easeful.
What is a recent success that you're super proud of accomplishing?
My husband and I just bought and renovated a beautiful house in West Ashley after 10 years of working toward it. It's taken a lot of creative energy and focus and even taken a bit of my focus away from my business over the last year, but I am very present to the fact that this home is actually creating the foundation for me to do even bigger and better work in the world.
What is your superpower?
It has been reflected that I have the ability to hold very, very deep space. Holding space essentially means that "we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgement and control." I'd say this is my gift. I've been through a lot in my life and through my own journey, I know that we're all just figuring things out one step at a time, moment to moment and it can be messy as hell or amazingly beautiful. Sometimes, we just need the support of others to remind us that we're going to be ok and that whatever it is we're facing, we can manage. I know that if I can navigate this crazy dance of life, so can you.
What is the least sexy part of your job?
Answering emails. As an introvert, this can be pretty draining and it's nonstop. I'm always learning new ways to embrace this form of communication. :)
What do you hope to learn from this community of your peers (ie. Hatch Tribe Members Circle)?
Creative & fun ways to do the mundane tasks of business.
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