Mary Bicknell
We sat down with Women to Women Network member Mary Bicknell of Bold Life & Biz, and here's what she had to say…
Who are your clients/customers?
My ideal client is a seasoned service provider, business owner, or entrepreneur who has hit an income ceiling or time plateau. She can’t see how to leverage her business or double her income while being truly in charge of her calendar. That’s where I come in.
How do you help your clients/customers?
All of my clients are go-getters, high-achievers, and successful, and yet, they are also the bottleneck within their business, keeping them from the next big goal or level. Inside every type of business, there are things one must master. Inside my Method, The Big, Bold Life & Biz Plan, I work with my clients to see where they need to improve inside the 7 Pillar Success System™.
These pillars are required of every successful business person, whether a massive corporation like Starbucks or a solopreneur service provider. My job is to take their business and find the simplest path to bigger success. All without the drama, the stress, or the burn-out. The goal here is she is in love with her business, she is ready for the next level of success, and she recognizes what got her to where she is will not get her to the next mountaintop.
We all started our businesses to have more time, and then invariably, if we don't understand what is causing the "stuckness" or the ceiling, we end up creating more of it. Often, my clients can't see the forest for the trees. We work together to simplify their entire business by evaluating what they've done and where they're going.
What brought you to this line of work?
I didn’t always have the financial freedom I have today. And I want more women to have money. Cash pays for dreams, period. And there’s more than enough money out there for every woman to have everything she desires. And what I learned is, it’s all learnable. Success and business are simply learned skills. I always knew I wanted more than what I had growing up.
I moved out before I graduated high school, so I've been scrappy from day one.
I’ve been an entrepreneur since then. Scrappy. Put myself through graduate school, I’ve had various businesses, but my current business, which is over nine years old, has woven together my sales training background, my work as a psychotherapist, and my mastery of mindset and strategy with my clients. Marketing, sales, and personal development are woven into my business model because our businesses are the #1 best personal development course on the planet.
I believe that you can only grow your business to the level you're willing to grow personally.
It's atypical for women to stand and promote ourselves, so we're challenged as the faces of our businesses to do so. I’ve learned we must rise up and promote ourselves via effective marketing and share the value of our offer. I love when clients have success, and I enjoy sharing The Method I’ve used to live a 7-figure life being 100% in control of my time.
What brings you joy?
It's the simple things. Personally, I’m a bird-watching, nurture-loving geek. We have a second house on the Columbia River, and I could sit all day watching the bald eagles right out on my deck. Of course, hiking with my sexy hubby and shopping with my beautiful daughter are the joys of my life.
Professionally, when one of my clients began working with me, she was up late every night and unable to enjoy her daughter's wedding season. She had a small team, and I told her, we're putting a pin in everything, and you're going to be the mom to the bride for the next five weeks. We established her plan, and I reminded her that a month of enjoying the wedding activities would not make or break her business. She enjoyed the feeling of relief and joy and was really proud of herself for being present.
Another one of my clients called me crying, wishing she had found me earlier because she worked through the Thanksgiving holiday instead of enjoying it with her four kids. She's not a brain surgeon; she's a consultant! We retooled her business, fired the misfits, she learned how to interview, set boundaries with clients, and more. The first year after, she increased her business by 33% and worked 12 hours less per week.
Money is important. I love making money, but the quality of somebody's life is the real priority. When my clients talk about getting their life back, that's everything.
What defines you and your business?
I give my clients a kick in the ass while I'm giving them a hug.
Because time is a core tenet of my business, I'm very candid and don't want to waste it. So if somebody's doing the wrong thing, making a poor investment, or getting distracted, it's a "no." I'm about sticking with a plan. I like to teach clients to make a decision and know it's the right decision until they know otherwise. That way, they're all in. There is no confusion; the direction is clear. There are so many cool things that all of us could do as entrepreneurs and businesswomen, but deciding to be 100% focused makes the difference. Frankly, you get a lot of time back just from that.
What's the most important thing you want people to know about you and your business?
I believe that every woman who desires to create a Big, Bold Life in Biz can do it. BOLD is an acronym that I use that stands for Brave Outgoing Leader Deciding. Deciding to have more time. Deciding to make more money.
Deciding to show up as her genuine self unapologetically. That is everything. Every woman is just ONE BREAKTHROUGH away from Leading a Life Uncommon™ and from leaning into the belief that she will, of course, have BOLD INEVITABLE SUCCESS. Your gift of a lifetime is to show up sharing who you are with the world. That is, I believe, what we're designed to do. We talk more about this in our B.O.L.D. Inevitable Success FB group and on my podcast Lead a Life Uncommon™ where I recently interviewed Liz Hatcher in episode #114, come listen.
Bold Life & Biz