Interview with Elinor Moshe | Thought Leader | Mentor | Speaker | Podcast Host | Founder At The Construction Coach
We always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Elinor Moshe for an exclusive interview with us. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, her background and her advice for our growing community.
Tell us a little bit about your start-up and your journey, please.
The Construction Coach is Australia’s first construction coach, where I guide, inspire and direct future leaders and industry professionals to achieve higher compensation, faster progression and more recognition. I equip construction industry professionals with practical skills, insights and tools to construct their career from the inside out. Because construction professionals are working with outdated practices that are preventing them from achieving their potential and seeing what’s possible. I do this through exclusive mentoring opportunities, both private and masterminds, as well as workshops and events.
How did the idea for your business/startup come about?
You know, I once stood at the periphery of my own career, feeling lost, invisible, confused. I’d given away power and agency over my own trajectory, feeling dulled and limited.
I then realised diminishing myself to fit in will never work, as standing out is my prerogative. I realized there is so much more possibility than where I was.
So I took back control over my career, maintained extreme ownership and unwavering self-belief in my vision and my purpose.
This led to my founding Australia’s first ‘construction coach’, The Construction Coach. As a Thought Leader, I am also the host of the leading industry podcast, Constructing You and Author of Constructing Your Career.
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
Society will tell you that the most security you can have is from paid employment but I easily had that belief debased. The world of entrepreneurship is one which offers the most security, because I’m very much in control and can influence my time and income. But I also recognised that my zone of genius, passion and purpose, and what I love doing the most could never fit into the tiny box of a corporate career. I was fortunate to discover the Thought Leadership model of entrepreneurship, which is a perfect fit to my person. Creativity is also an important venture for me – I love generating ideas and seeing opportunities, and being able to make them come to life. There are just about no rules in the start-up land, and that freedom is what I love the most.
How did you come up with the name for your business/startup?
Through divine intervention. I had put the question out to the universe and it was late one night when I had stillness of thought that the name, The Construction Coach was downloaded into me. I quickly looked to see if the business name was available, along with the URL, and it was all systems go from there.
What service(s) or product(s) do you offer/manufacture?
Most, if not all mentoring and training services in the industry focuses on the technical and the tactical. This is what I precisely don’t do. I focus on the people behind the projects, not the projects. To truly create sustainable and lasting change for individuals comes from addressing the root cause not applying bandaids to the symptoms. This also stems from knowing precisely who your target audience is. If you don’t know the people you are serving then you’ve simply fallen in love with your own product.
How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
This is the issue, is that people start with the tactics. Tactics provide short term relief, but not long-term success. The Thought Leadership model of entrepreneurship first requires you to identify who you are serving and how. We then go into a very detailed process of constructing a magnetic and congruent personal brand, and start to position ourselves as an industry authority. Then, we start adding value. For me, content marketing through social media is my number one strategy, but it has only been effective as a result on having clarity over my problem-solution, messaging, voice, brand, and so many other elements that result in effective marketing strategies. You don’t start with the how, it never manages to truly capture your target audiences’ heart and mind.
What risks are you facing?
A big part of what I do is needing to have the ability to bring people together, and also travel so as to expand opportunities into other regions. Albeit that has been curtailed, all services went online. I certainly look forward to being able to hold live experiences again.
What are your responsibilities as the business owner?
I have a fiduciary responsibility to the business, and constantly need to act in the best interest of the business. If I don’t, it’s a failure to the stakeholders and clients who are relying on it. My primary duties that I concern myself with are creation and innovation, marketing and sales. It’s important as a business leader to invest my time in what will provide the greatest returns and move the business forward rather than in circles.
How many hours a day do you work on average & can you describe/outline your typical day?
All day every day. The first few years in business, to launch anything permanent off the ground simply requires endless hours of investment. But, putting aside the hustle mentality which I have, it’s a choice. What else would I rather consume my time with if not what brings me the most fulfilment?
What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Everytime you stand at the edge of a new growth phase, there is that pang of fear. It comes with growth and progression, but I have and still am managing to learn it. For me, I operate out of my vision, and have all faith that every aspect of my vision will come into fruition. I go back to my vision, and also practice extreme gratitude for everything that I do have, and have already achieved. It constantly works to serve as the fuel to the fire to keep on going. I am also blessed to have a very formative and supportive inner circle, and I wouldn’t be where I am without them.
What comes first for you money or emotions?
Well money is energy in motion, so emotion comes first. Money is a by-product of value, and you add the best value when you are in alignment with your passion, purpose and zone of genius. If you hate what you do, no amount of money can take away the sinking feeling of waking up each morning to do what you don’t want to.
What piece of advice would you give to college graduates who want to become entrepreneurs?
First, to shut off the naysayers and negative talkers who have negative connotations with entrepreneurship. Mostly those who have something to say about how “hard” it is are those who have either never tried, or haven’t succeeded at it. If you have a burning desire to start your own venture, then do it. It’s the universe trying to go through you, and if you block it, it’ll go through someone else. The quicker that you can implement and fail, tweak and pivot, the faster that you can move with conviction and clarity. Plus, as a graduate, you have the greatest advantage – time. What’s the worst that will happen?
Please share with us a unique challenge you faced in your early career?
When you are standing at the outset of a path never travelled, especially in the construction industry, it’s not that easy connecting the dots looking forward – only looking back. So I needed to fiercely trust the process. When you are setting out of a massive growth journey, you start to disconnect with people around you. Entrepreneurship is lonely, and that can be confronting at first. But I knew I had to remove myself from people of the past in order to allow aligned people of my future to come into my life, which is exactly what happens.
How did you discover your passion?
First it was by following my natural curiosity. Why was I turning to books and podcasts on business, wealth and success? I was conscious of where my energy went, but also what I would consciously pursue. I paid close attention to my energy and what makes me come alive. When I was in that zone, I realised there’s something there for me.
We know that you are continuously engaged in helping others achieve their goals. Why do you do that?
The wonderful part of mentoring is being able to hold up a mirror and show others what they are truly capable of. We are our own worst person to actually see our own potential, especially at the start of a growth journey. I’m duty bound to construct exceptional futures, and show people what is possible.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
First it’s to exercise a level of independent thinking. Conventional systems and education systems offer a very limited world view of what is actually possible in a career. I would encourage them to follow their natural curiosities and use their time to explore and identify their passions and what they love doing, away from societal conventions and expectations. I would also encourage them to invest in their mindset and skillset, and not rely on a simple degree to allow them to achieve exemplary heights in their career. I didn’t get to where I am by doing what most people are doing. Challenging and disrupting the status quo is encouraged! It’s also important that success has it’s own definition pertaining to the individual, otherwise most people keep on arriving at destinations and remain unfulfilled.
“At Brutnow media we tell you stories of change and those who dared to go the road less taken. Brutnow is a digital platform for your daily bite on what’s going on in your socio-economic landscape. We give you glimpses of the entrepreneurial world and highlight young thinkers and builders who may be the next big thing. We also analysis political, economical, technological header for the current scenarios. Our stories feature conversations ,helpful resources and insights from the industry that could be the motivation and push you’re looking for the company and your growth. We have interviewed and analyzed over 50+ entrepreneurs and counting , documenting their journey and struggles and their take on the future. An ecosystem of entrepreneurs”
