Do you want to have a portable business career so you can move to (and from) Spain? This week we chat to Dominika Miernik – a Multipassionate Expat, Career and Business Strategist, Psychologist and Blogger. Originally from Poland she has lived in Rome, Milan, Manchester and London. She is now based in Rome (for the second time) and has combined her personal experience as an expat, with her background in recruitment, psychology and career counselling to create DMCoaching. Dominika is also running a free online summit with the topic ‘Effortless Success in Your Portable Career & Business” from 5th November for two weeks. Register at http://dmcoaching.eu/effortlesssuccesssummit/
The theme for these interviews is “make it happen” how did you start your ‘make it happen’ business journey Dominika?
I was working in Manchester, UK at that time. I moved there with my partner for a job opportunity. The company I was working for was sold to a bigger one and I started to think about a career change. I didn’t want to end up in another 9 to 5 job but I wanted to combine my skills, my professional background in psychology, marketing and customer service and create something around my international life.
I wasn’t thinking about creating a portable career at that time; I wanted more flexibility, satisfaction and fulfilment. An email about a 2-day coaching induction course ended up in my inbox and I decided to go and attended the training. After the event I took some time to reflect on what I wanted to do, I was still the full-time employee. I took my decision and I signed up for a Diploma in Personal Performance Coaching. I decided to focus on career and expat coaching and help other expats to create a fulfilling career around their international life.
After 6 months I started my coaching journey. I quitted my job and looked for part-time and temporary assignments so I could pay my bills while building my business. I realised that I was building something portable and I was excited about that. I am so glad that we have access to all those opportunities now and we can work from wherever we want.
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”Albert Einstein – what does that mean to you personally?
For me it means to have a goal, vision or a mission in your life. Being clear about what is your purpose or passion, it doesn’t have to be related to your career or business. You can be passionate about living in a certain country or city. When you are clear about what you want to do, everything is easier and you don’t have to push yourself to act on your ideas or tasks. You can follow your own intuition or your own wisdom.
And it is also good to remember that your goals can change through the time. So be flexible.
What has been your biggest business challenge as a foreigner and what did you learn from it?
My biggest challenge or actually it was a fear about not being good enough. I thought that I must work hard to show people how good I am. I thought that as an expat I must work harder to show my value. Fortunately, I understood that this way of thinking will only bring me to the exhaustion and I slowed down and decided to enjoy myself more.
What does career success mean for you?
It means to create a career or a business which is in alignment with your true values and your desired lifestyle. A career in which you can use skills you enjoy using and your gifts. You are passionate about. You are taking inspired action, actions not from the place of fear , but from the place of love. It is about putting structures into your business, automating things like for example creating an email sequence when someone sign up into your mailing list, so you can slowly build a relationship with that person without being in front of your computer.
It is about feeling fulfilled and satisfied about what you do and waking up every morning happy to serve your clients.
Many of us have portable careers – what would you say was the biggest challenge for this and how can we be overcomers?
The most challenging part (for most people I served as a coach) is to understand how you can serve people using your skills, gifts and talents. I recommend to take some time to reflect on your skills and make your research before launching your idea. I was quite clear about what I wanted to do but most of my clients are not.
Plus I think that now we are also so bombarded with all the information out there about how to start and grow your portable career, there are so many strategies that you can get easily overwhelmed with all of that and get confused, tired and do nothing. If you feel like that my advice is to stop and reflect, get some time off, do a digital detox, get off your computer, retreat. And after that when your mind is rested you can see things from a fresh perspective. Follow your own wisdom, and take small steps to build your portable career.
What Business Book or Blog you are currently reading, or favourite Business Book and number 1 thing you have learnt?
I love the book called ” The Science Of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles. It helps you to see money and how to manage them. I learnt that there is nothing wrong in wanting money, the desires for riches is a desire for having a richer, fuller and more abundant life.
Plus “It’s never too late to find your calling” by Dr Valerie Young, it shows you how to create a career you love around your desired lifestyle, life vision.
Best piece of advice you have ever been given as a foreigner?
My former mentor once said to me when I was a little bit scared of promoting my programme and getting visible, “Make sure that the pope knows about it”!
And also understanding that you and your services are not for everyone!
Place you found it easiest to have a portal career?
In terms of administration part I found UK easiest to settle all the admin steps. However I think that now more and more people are aware of the opportunity of having a portable career or working remotely. The most important thing is to have a good internet connection, so make sure wherever you move and you want to work online to have a good internet connection.
What next for Dominika?
I will be rebranding next year. The direction of my coaching business is changing a little bit. So it is a time for a change and a new fresh look. I will take some time off at the beginning of the next year to reflect about this new direction.
How can connect with you and find out more about DM Coaching?
You can find me at dmocahing.eu where you can also find all the social media links, and useful tools to create a fulfilling career. http://dmcoaching.eu/effortlesssuccesssummit/