Most everyone likes to help others and this is a win for us all!
Elizabeth Miner breathes and lives connection. When she writes, she draws on years of experience of making connections with entrepreneurs. In her first book, The Flip Side of Failure: Your Complete Goal Success System, she helps those who struggle to accomplish meaningful goals. Her most recent book The Entrepreneur Advantage: Emotional Intelligence for Building and Growing Your Business shows entrepreneurs how to anticipate pitfalls and get past roadblocks so they can fulfill their business visions.
Lyndi: You make many connections with people, not just for yourself, but also by connecting other people. Why is this important?
Elizabeth: I absolutely love meeting people, learning about what talents they have and how they show up in the world. Because I have this natural curiosity about people I can easily see how some people who may not know each other intersect. I become a conduit and I love the opportunity to help people find each other. Most everyone likes to help others and this is a win for us all!
Lyndi: Did you consider publishing with a traditional publishing house or did you always plan to self-publish? What were your reasons for going this route?
Elizabeth: The decision to self-publish has been a choice with each book. I spent a long time thinking about the choice and speaking with my editor and other authors to discuss their experiences.
In the end, for both books, it didn’t make sense to me to use a traditional publisher. I didn’t feel I would gain enough and I felt it would add extra pressure and possibly interfere with my desired content or direction. I decided the way to have full autonomy was to self-publish and I’m pretty happy I did.
Lyndi: It is said that everyone has a book in them to write and many people have a few. Do you foresee yourself writing more books?
Elizabeth: I agree with the thought that everyone has a book inside them however I don’t believe being a writer is for everyone. It’s really hard! If I had any other way to get my information to the people I believe need it, I would do that.
And yes, I have more books in me and I will continue to write but it is not an easy process for me and I really can’t say I enjoy it. I like when it’s done, mostly.
Lyndi: The Entrepreneur Advantage book addresses the common doubts, pitfalls and fatigue that entrepreneurs experience. Have you also found common positive traits among entrepreneurs?
Elizabeth: Yes, there are so many helpful traits I see in most entrepreneurial-minded people. Curiosity is one such trait. The desire to question why something is the way it is or how it could possibly be better is often found in entrepreneurs. Someone who is comfortable with uncertainty also often makes a great entrepreneur since it is basically the sandbox they live in as they build their business. Self-discipline is necessary and some people have this innately but many come to me for help with this skill.
Interestingly, most entrepreneurs I work with consider themselves ADD or ADHD and frankly, I think that can be beneficial since everything is always moving so quickly and there are so many varied tasks that are required especially for a beginning entrepreneur. I find the traits that often make people feel like they don’t fit in with society or norms are the traits that make them outstanding entrepreneurs.
Lyndi: Like the many entrepreneurs you’ve encountered, indie authors experience doubt, pitfalls, and fatigue. What is one suggestion you make in The Entrepreneur Advantage that will help self-published authors cultivate emotional intelligence?
Elizabeth: Emotional intelligence has many facets to it and many intersect with the author journey. Authors are predisposed to writing so journaling through thoughts and fears they may have while creating or sharing their work will help identify feelings. Once feelings are in writing it gives an opportunity to take a step back and discern if they are real or made up and how to deal with them.
Emotional intelligence’s foundation is self awareness and journaling or talking through what you are going through and how it makes you feel helps put things into perspective and then different tools can be used to move through the situation.
Lyndi: A common question I’m asked is how do I market my book? What methods have you used to make people aware of your recent publication?
Elizabeth: When I first decided to publish the book I knew I didn’t want to promote my books in bookstores. I put together a number of collaborative events with coworking spaces since that is where entrepreneurs gather. I also have been speaking with universities and start-up incubators to share the information in the book with the people who can use it most.
Most of my promotion is through in-person events since the topic of my book is more personal and often people need to hear stories to connect with the material.
A digital nomad for almost ten years, Elizabeth Miner brings her global knowledge of the benefits of emotional intelligence to entrepreneurs as a coach, speaker, and author. Her most recent book, The Entrepreneur Advantage: Emotional Intelligence for Building and Growing Your Business, shows founders, investors, and executives how to use emotional intelligence to succeed in business regardless of industry, market, or funding. Prior to launching her own company, Elizabeth gained 20 years of governance experience as a paralegal working with start-ups and entrepreneurs and at enterprise organizations including Thermo Fisher Scientific and Apple, Inc.
Contact Elizabeth at ElizabethMiner.net, on LinkedIn, or by email Elizabeth@ElizabethMIner.net
