Melissa Jirovec – Featured Coach

Last updated on November 21, 2022

Melissa Jirovec is the host of the Thoughts Disrupted podcast and a life coach who specializes in helping women design and embody their ideal lives. We hope you enjoy this interview!

Coaching Focus: Lifestyle coaching to liberate women from the ‘should’ life, heal disconnection, and add *oomph* to the everyday, to move towards a vision of abundance and thriving.

Location: North Bay, Ontario, Canada

Connect: You can find Melissa online at her website, as well as on Instagram, Facebook, and Apple Podcasts.

Tell us about your journey as a coach.

I started my business in 2020. After a 3.5-year absence from my nursing career to care for my husband after an accident, it was time for a change. 

I had NO IDEA where to start. So I did a personal development deep dive—I started listening to content from Bob Proctor on Youtube and read personal development books like it was my job. The more I learned about ‘mindset’ and ‘potential,’ the more I was intrigued. 

When an opportunity to work as a consultant for Bob Proctor’s company was offered to me by a colleague, I took it. I worked as a consultant for a year. The program was fantastic, and I truly believed it offered much value. 

But after a while, I felt like something was missing—while mindset work is fantastic and impactful, there’s also a toxic side that says: “Just do it.” “Do it or you don’t want it.” There are coaches canceling people who don’t take action, and I think this is an issue in the industry. There are reasons why people don’t act—and I believe it’s our job as coaches to guide people through that discovery process. 

I decided in 2021 to start creating my own programs and business. I primarily did this through Instagram and by starting my podcast. I wanted to help women thrive—and I realized that mindset work was only a small part of this.

I now help women—entrepreneurs, go-getters, goal-setters, and those desiring big shifts in their personal lives—to go after their dreams, while also overcoming the obstacles that face many women as they get out of their comfort zone: nervous system activation, depletion, insecurity and imposter syndrome, and making moves that they think they ‘should’ do, rather than what feels right. 

As my business has evolved, I’ve learned how important it is to be a space-holder in this field, and the importance of being able to reflect on what’s your stuff and what’s their stuff, because it can get quite messy that way when you’re coaching.

For example, you want your client to get results, but sometimes it’s less for them and more for you—because you want to feel validated, you want to feel like the expert, you want the testimonial, you want them to feel good about their investment with you, etc.

Deep reflection is a necessity, and there are difficult edges to meet at times. Currently, I’m very much interested in the work of Amy Rushworth, Africa Brooke, and Ava Johanna, to name a few.

What courses, programs, or certifications have you done? Would you recommend them, and for whom?

I’m a certified Life Coach with the Certified Coaches Federation. I did both the coaching certification and the master coaching certification and attended their conference. I would definitely recommend it, especially for someone needing online flexibility while they learn. 

I’m a certified Breathwork & Meditation Facilitator as well and did this with the Academy of Breath. I highly recommend the program if Breathwork resonates with you. It’s a great service to offer and this is a very in-depth program. 

I’m currently in the process of going through a marketing program that is really good if you’re building on Instagram and having a hard time being clear, authentic, and engaging. It’s called Marketing Miracle with Rebecca Ives. 

I’d also like to share that it’s really impactful to find a great mastermind that’s a good fit. I’ve been in several, and it has helped me tremendously.

What advice or perspective might you give to a new coach trying to get their first clients? Any advice they should ignore?

Don’t underestimate the value of your lived experience, the obstacles you’ve overcome, and the personal development work you’ve done. It’s not just about certifications, degrees, and accolades. 

This career requires humanity, and an ability to recognize other people as humans who can do amazing things AND feel/carry heavy stuff. 

Any advice that doesn’t feel right to you should be ignored (but know there’s a difference between something challenging you, and something not being a right fit). 

Take in a lot of different teachings, learn about many different strategies, and then take what’s best for you and leave the rest. There’s no one way of doing things, so don’t look for it.

What are your thoughts on “choosing a niche” as a coach?

Niching down can be beneficial, but ONLY if those are your ‘soul people,’ AKA those you actually want to work with. If you choose a niche because it’s easier to sell, when that’s not who you truly want to work with, it will hurt your business and results.

On the other side of that coin—you have to understand who you’re speaking to. If you’ve decided you’re just speaking to ‘everyone,’ people will have a hard time relating to what you’re saying/offering.

When you speak to the people who will benefit from what you offer, you’ll connect more authentically, and your people will feel that and they’ll want to learn more.

Get specific about the needs you’re meeting, the problems you’re solving, the solutions you’re providing, and why, and then identify—who has these problems? These needs? Who needs these solutions? Who would I love to work with? Who would be my perfect client? Why? What are they thinking/wondering/looking for? These are your people.

What books have significantly influenced your life? What are your key takeaways from these books?

These are my favourites:

• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – This one was a big aha! for me when it came to human potential and creating change.
• Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz – This one is incredibly powerful for boosting your self-image and confidence. I’ve read it a few times now.
• Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker – My favourite money book, it teaches how to work through limiting beliefs, money management, etc. He gives some excellent practical tips on setting yourself up for financial abundance.
• What Happened to You? by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry – This one’s on understanding human behaviour. I highly recommend it for boosting compassion and empathy, and being able to meet edges as a coach (even if you don’t work in trauma).
• A New Earth by Ekhart Tolle – If you’re a mindset coach, this one is a must. A deep dive into separating the Ego and the Higher Self.
• You 2: A High Velocity Formula for Multiplying Your Personal Effectiveness in Quantum Leaps by Price Pritchett – This looks like a little pamphlet, but it’s one powerful little book. It goes into personal effectiveness and quantum leaps. A quick, simple, and impactful read.

If you received an extra $10,000 to spend on your business, how would you spend it and why?

Great question.

5k would go towards coaching for myself. I’m always working with a coach to expand myself, and therefore expand the service I can offer to my clients. (In saying that, though, don’t go broke to get coaching. This might go against what’s typically said in the industry, but there are so many free offerings and resources out there. You don’t want to spend every single month wondering if you’re going to be able to buy groceries because you got a coach—it’ll negatively affect your business.)

2k would go towards taxes. (Gotta save that nest egg.)

2k would go towards expenses. (Hiring help becomes necessary as you grow.)

1k would go towards embodiment and raising the bar. (If you say anything is possible as a coach, you have to live by example.)

What are some of your favorite affirmations, mantras, and journal prompts currently? Why?

My favourite mantra is “Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo” (which in Sanskrit means “I bow to the Divine wisdom of All That Is”). I use this to ground, and when I’m starting to stress in my business. It helps to remind me that there’s a bigger picture and a bigger purpose at play.

My favorite affirmations: 

• I believe in my ability to honour my needs AND honour my intention to be effective. 
• I surrender to uncertainty and stand rooted in faith that it’s all working out in my favour. 
• I am in control of my time and energy.

Current journal prompt that has me going ‘whoa’: 

• How can I accept radical responsibility in my life, and support myself as I let myself be seen on a greater scale? (working through new levels of imposter syndrome as I become more involved with media promotion)

When you feel overwhelmed, stressed, or have lost your focus or motivation, what do you do?

• Breathwork and meditation help me move through a lot of that uncomfortable energy.
• Saging my workspace helps me relax.
• In spring/summer I go for ‘mental health walks’ to regulate.
• If I’m not focused, I’ll go and get a snack and some water. Sometimes you just need a snack and to hydrate, you know?
• If I find myself avoiding something, journalling is my go-to. ‘Why does this activity feel sticky?’ ‘Do I need something right now that I’m avoiding?’ ‘Am I feeling insecure about this task?’ ‘Do I need to change my energy?’
• The back-end stuff isn’t as fun for me as the creative aspects of my work. So I’ll do something creative to break up the energy, and then once I’ve done something lighter, I’ll go back to what I was doing and often find it’s easier to do.
• If I’ve been going too hard for too long (I’m a projector in Human Design, so that doesn’t work for me), I’ll rearrange my schedule a bit to rest and replenish.
• Music while I’m working can be a huge help.
• I send voice notes in the DM’s rather than messages a lot of the time. It helps me feel connected, and that keeps me engaged.

Do you have any examples of how a “failure” set you up for later success?

Failure is a business owner’s best friend. I’ve failed many times as I’ve worked to create the business I desired.

I’ve had launches that didn’t get me one client—but I had rushed the process, didn’t have a proper strategy in place, wasn’t marketing to the right people…and every ‘failed’ launch taught me to do things differently the next time. Reflecting on why something didn’t work is really important.

I’ve hosted masterclasses and lives where no one came. But I’ve learned to show up and follow through with what I said I was going to do (even if no one is there).

Not only did I have video content for later, but sometimes people reached out weeks later because they saw a promo for the masterclass no one showed up for, and they decided to work with me. Even if no one shows, it’s still working for you.

Do you have any embarrassing (at the time) stories from your work as a coach? Or a time when putting yourself out there paid off?

Embarrassing (at the time) stories:

• Times when I’ve had to shuffle my schedule around (especially last minute) always felt really embarrassing to me. But life comes up, and people have always been understanding.
• Messing up time zone conversions.
• My kids walked into a few zoom calls, and that felt so embarrassing! Work from home life.
• Booking podcast guests, and then having construction start up in our neighbourhood or my cat starts meowing loudly for NO reason.

Times I’ve put myself out there and it paid off:

• Showing up consistently on social media (Instagram) got me my first 5 clients. It wasn’t an instant gratification thing, and it felt uneasy at first to let myself be seen/heard there. But it was worth it.
• I joined a mastermind where several of the women were 6-figure earners, and I was really intimidated…but hearing their discussions and what was alive in their world expanded me so much!
  
  I learned a lot about business and also a lot about the mindset and experiences of the ‘successful’ business owner. Aside from being more effective, it led me to change how I operate my business, what I delegated, and helped me set up better systems to deal with issues that might come up in the future.

If you could put a message on a huge billboard—getting a message out to millions—what would it say and why?

“Life is nuanced, being a human is messy, AND you can do incredible things. You are your greatest asset—invest wisely.”

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Coaching is an impactful career and a sacred responsibility.

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