Michelle Harris Collins became a literary coach organically.
For 30 years, Collins has worked as a spiritual leader. She currently serves as department head of the associate program for Kingdom Impact Bible College at Culver City-based Kingdom Leaders Institute, where she is a professor.
The mother of three has been active in authoring a variety self-help books. In 2014, Collins released the self-published “Be That Mom: Parenting From a Place of Wholeness,” a parenting guide for mothers raising daughters. She followed it up with “Spirit Check: Practical Solutions for Emotional Mastery,” a publication that helps readers assess how toxic emotions can derail spiritual success and personal growth. That book won the 2018 Indie Author Legacy Award. Last summer, she released “Reboot: Operate on a Whole New Level,” described on her website as providing “healthy practices for wellness to forestall breakdown mentally, emotionally and spiritually.”
Now Collins has parlayed her experience as an author of self-help guides into guiding others to create their own personal development, memoirs and children’s books. While she does not act as an agent for the book, she collects an upfront fee for her services and does not take a cut from profits of the books she helps nurture.
“My clients rely on me for clarity, confidence and creativity to publish and establish their literary work,” she said.
Tell us how you got your business started.
Once I realized that those in my network sought out my opinion on their literary work, from reviewing their manuscript to assisting them with deciding a title, I began offering what I called at the time “author consultations.” Shortly thereafter, I made it official by adding to my genre of work the title of book coach.
Do you like being your own boss? Do you ever think of trading it in for a steady paycheck?
I like the freedom to create, but it takes a team to make you great. I enjoy working with the designers for marketing (my client’s) book.
What’s the best aspect of running your own business?
The best aspect of running my own business is the discipline that I have developed to accomplish each task with my busy schedule.
And the worst?
There is no worst part of running a business. All of it is necessary, and even the least favorite parts create learning opportunities for growth.
What advice would you give someone who’s about to start their own business?
The best advice I would give someone who’s about to start their own business is to pace themselves and not try to compete with others or rush the process.
What’s the biggest challenge your business has faced? And how did you deal with it?
The biggest challenge is you don’t know what you don’t know. So, I have found that with each learning curve implementing change right away is necessary.
Has the pandemic affected your business?
The pandemic allowed my business to flourish, as more and more people desired–––– to share their stories and their journey with the world.
Do you think you’ll ever start another business?
Never say never. As a creative, there are no limits as to what you can do to meet the needs of those who are waiting on you.