Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Young.
Amy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In my early 20’s I was working (and struggling) as an actor, comedian, and bartender in New York City. I was slowly falling out of love with the entertainment industry, and desperately craving a creative outlet where I could express myself and feel more in control. I loved YouTube vloggers like Jenna Marbles and Anna Akana, and had some funny ideas for videos I wanted to make.
So I started my YouTube channel, and after a year or two of uploading semi-regularly, attracted a small following of folks who were especially interested in my perspective/observations on the difficulties and lol’s of dating in the 21st century.
About 2 years into my YouTube channel I faced a dark bout of depression (fueled by standard quarter life crisis woes) and made a sort of “coming clean” style vlog about why I hadn’t been uploading videos, and talked openly about my struggles with anxiety and depression. I received more support and feedback on that video than anything I’d ever created, and realized that I wanted to have a more authentic, honest connection with my online audience about real issues that mattered to me. Looking back, that video was one of many turning-points.
A little bit after that, a handful of subscribers found my email address from my acting website, and reached out asking for my input on some challenges they were facing in their dating lives. We fell into casual email correspondence, and the light bulbs started going off…
Side note but not a side note: I grew up in a family that is very, very into human psychology and behavior, as well as personal development, consciousness, New Age philosophy, etc… I knew about the world of coaching because my dad has been a coach for 30+ years, and my mom is a social worker and clinician. The more I thought about it, the more it became clear that coaching was the most natural fit in the world for me.
So after much hemming and hawing and deliberation, I decided, “OKAY I GUESS I’M GONNA DO THIS.” I communicated to my YouTube audience that I was quitting acting and pursuing coaching, and devoted all of my online content creation to assisting women in navigating the muddy waters of dating and relationship building.
Within 18 months of that decision, I had a thriving coaching business, an ever-growing waitlist of clients who wanted to work with me, and exciting opportunities to collaborate with new coach friends and fellow entrepreneurs.
It feels like I backed into coaching, but looking back? It’s pretty clear this has been the plan all along. I was just the last person to realize it.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In some ways this journey has been exceptionally smooth. I’ve always had tremendous support from my family and friends, mentors to help me along the way, and a very clear picture of who I want to be as a coach and teacher. The clarity in my vision and purpose has been a life-saver in moments where I think crazy stupid things like, “I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN DO THIS.” (Ask any entrepreneur, because we all have those moments.)
Figuring out how to run a business, how to be my own boss, how to coach my face off and facilitate exceptionally powerful transformation for all my rad single lady clients…all of that juicy stuff has been equally awesome and struggle-bus-worthy. If you genuinely want to forge your own path, work for yourself, and have a meaningful impact? You really need to love what you do because this stuff ain’t easy. Thankfully, I absolutely love what I do! So that’s a relief.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Amy Young Coaching – what should we know?
My work is all about revolutionizing how single women approach dating and relationships. When I was seventeen I remember Googling, “How do you get over heartbreak?” and finding next to nothing (and what I did find wasn’t all that helpful). What I really needed to hear at that time was that sometimes you love people who aren’t equipped to love you back in the right way, and you have to let yourself feel how you feel but also learn from the experience. You also might need to rage and cry and potentially rebound, and yeah – go watch “The Notebook” a few times with your best girlfriends. Whatever you do, don’t drunk-text your ex begging to hang out at one o’clock in the morning. Advice like that would’ve been very helpful to teenage me!
With all of my online work (mostly my YouTube videos and on my blog) I do my best to keep it exceptionally real and not mince words. I also use a lot of humor, expletives, and ruthless honesty to encourage my viewers (and clients) to give themselves a break and have a laugh over how cuckoo this whole life-and-love thing is.
We’re all struggling with so many similar stressful questions (Wtf do I do with my life? Why doesn’t this person love me/want me/text me back? How am I going to get out of this particular mess I’m in? Why do I suck so bad at everything?) And we make it worse when we believe that we’re the only one who’s suffering, or everyone else has it all figured out. I really make efforts to showcase that even as a coach and leader devoted to empowering women all over the globe, I still have moments that are painful, confusing, and completely FUBAR’d. We all do!
My commitment to being my authentic (and sometimes messy) self has served me and my business in ways I never could have imagined. I always had this idea that to serve others or succeed in personal development you need to be some perfect, shiny, “enlightened” person. But the opposite has been true for me. So many women have shared that my openness in being myself, owning my messiness, and sharing what I’ve learned along the way is incredibly inspirational. Who would think, right?
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I’m tenacious AF. Which I didn’t actually know about myself until I started building my business, surprisingly. At this point, when I set a goal I don’t stop until I achieve it. It’s a little hilarious because I slacked off pretty hard in high school and college (despite always managing to pull my stuff off last minute!). The difference now is that I’m crazy passionate about what I do, and genuinely have fun creating online goodies and working with my amazing clients!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amyyoungcoaching.com
- Email: amy@amyyoungcoaching.com
- Instagram: @amyyoungco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amyyoungster/
- Twitter: @AMYoungster
Image Credit:
Asia Croson Photography
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
