Jason Harris
Midori Verity helps driven professionals break through the mental challenges that have slowed them down, and unlock their potential. She’s a best-selling author, speaker, and show host.
She has a degree in Communications and Sociology from the University of California, Davis. Midori is also a Certified Behavioral Specialist. She’s proud to be an Advisor for the global organization, Women Network, and an active board member for Child Parent Institute in Santa Rosa, CA. Midori’s been featured on FoxNews, CBS, Martha Stewart Weddings, Thrive Global, and many other media.
StarCentral Magazine recently caught up with Midori to discuss her journey in the industry and here’s what went down:
When did your entrepreneurial flair first reveal itself?
My mom had a flower-arranging business. She was incredibly gifted, but she was more focused on giving her products away. I remember wanting her to become successful. However, she was happier doing beautiful flower arrangements and sharing them with the world.
This experience probably was the igniter to my entrepreneurial path. I so greatly wanted to see her receive the financial value of what she produced.
How did your life look before being an entrepreneur?
I started working at around 14 years old. I always had the drive to learn all I could at every job I had. One of my first jobs was at Heller’s Baby News. I made the manager train me on closing out the books at night. I also soaked in all he told me about merchandising, pricing, and Mr. Heller’s business success.
As an entrepreneur, what is it that motivates and drives you?
I love the adrenaline of creating something of value and raising it to success. It’s really my only hobby and what I’m good at (laughs)!
I’ve learned to align my core values, motivations, and Zone of Genius (natural gifts) with my businesses. That has been a huge game-changer in my success.
In one word, describe your life as an entrepreneur and explain why.
Exhilarating.
As an entrepreneur, my brain never shuts down. I’ve learned to think bigger and push myself past boundaries. The thrill of the journey is what makes my life exhilarating.
What were your top three motivations for starting your business?
I’ll talk about my Mindset Coaching business because it was the first business I made sure was in complete alignment with my Personal Mission Statement, which states “My journey through life is uplifting and fun while using my optimism and skills to inspire others to achieve their potential.”
Core values: I help people breakthrough mental challenges and rewire their mindsets to unlock their potential
Passion: There’s nothing I love more than watching people who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or even depressed step into a more empowered and happier version of themselves.
Zone of Genius (natural talents): Inspiring others and showing them how to transform their minds and therefore transform their lives is a second sense for me.
What would you say are the key elements for starting and running a successful business?
Test, test, test! Make sure your concept is something that’s needed before launching. You can test it by simply going to where you think your clients hang out and ask them.
Make sure you factor in confirmation bias, which means that we often twist things around to confirm what we want to believe.
The second most important element is to get professional help in creating the foundation of your business. You can waste a ton of time, money, and sleep if you don’t have a solid business plan.
What are the three biggest challenges you have faced growing the business and how did you overcome them?
Finding clients. I had to do a lot of trial and error before I found what worked. Once again, learning my Zone of Genius was of incredible value because it taught me to focus on what I’m good at and avoid what I stink at!
Closing sales. I had sales scripts and went to expensive classes. All it did was stress me out. Once I threw the scripts out and started listening only with my heart did everything change.
Shiny objects. I’ve disciplined myself to stay uber-focused on my 90-day goals. I even use a system that Google, Intuit, and Bill Gates Foundation uses called OKR’s – objectives and key results, which has been a massive game changer!
What form of marketing has worked well for your business throughout the years?
Word of mouth and live interviews. People get to see my authentic personality when I’m speaking on camera or a podcast. Then they know if they want to work with me, or they can’t stand me.
As you grew the business, what have been some of the most important leadership lessons you have learned?
Have a clear mission and vision statement that your entire organization knows and lives by. I train my leaders to consistently question if new ideas are in alignment with our vision and mission.
Big Fat Hair Goals. This creates excitement for my team. We implement the OKR system to make this all work.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Delegate all that you are not gifted at or slows you down. Spend 80% of your time working on the most important elements of your business that you love doing.
What advice would you give to a newbie Entrepreneur setting up their first business?
This goes back to my earlier answer of test your concept and get a mentor.
Jason Harris
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