Friend, meet Pam Kriangkum, a fabulous photographer who after facing some burn out found herself at a crossroads: to continue to photography career, or to let go of what felt comfortable to find a new passion and purpose in life.
After feeling overwhelmed and a bit confused as to what she wanted her career to look like, Pam decided to have 100 coffee business dates to hear about other people’s journeys. What she didn’t know is that she was going to rediscover her purpose by listening to others’ stories.
In this chat, Pam shares with us how did she connect with 100 strangers and the lessons these chats taught her.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Here are Pam’s notes from the 50th date mark:
Learnings by day 50 of 100 coffee dates in 100 days:
I made a post over 50 days ago inviting people to join me for 100 business coffee dates in 100 days, and now that I’m over the halfway mark, I wanted to share with you what I’ve learned so far and the action steps I’m taking
These coffee dates have been the best thing I’ve done for my business and for my self-growth because it’s given me so much clarity.
My first coffee date was with a friend and she said she wanted to support me but wasn’t sure how to do it. It made me realize that because I didn’t feel clear about myself, it was being projected onto everyone around me.
I observed that the people I met who were in the middle of or far into their careers that were very successful all had 1 thing in common: they worked mostly in their zone of genius and the business they built revolved around a skillset that came naturally to them.
I realized within the first week that my current business (commercial photography with some marketing in the past) was my zone of excellence not my zone of genius and that's why after 9 years running a successful business, I felt like I had hit a wall and resented everything.
I pulled up my Strengthsfinder results: I have 0 execution skills in my top 5 — my work in photography and marketing is mostly execution based. Yes, I used some of my top strengths, but not to the level I could be.
My top strengths are futuristic, strategic thinking, and communication so I knew whatever came next, leaning into these would be my best bet
Every conversation became a mirror as I changed and refined how I introduced myself and shared my story
During weeks 1-2, I would say I didn’t know what would come next but I felt like I was taking a big leap into something new and was terrified to let go of the business I’d built
Week 3-4 I leaned into my strengths and explored the idea of business consulting and strategy work. When I introduced myself during this time, this is what I brought up
If people hit the right nerve while we talked, I would eventually say, what I really want to do is create a membership for historically marginalized creatives to come into a community and learn foundational business skills needed specifically for creative businesses. I would continue to say that I would do that later in my life.
I took a break between days 26 and 33 since I was traveling and that space allowed my brain to download and process what I’d learned up to this point
By day 30, I woke up and thought to myself: instead of trying to pivot into consulting and strategy, what if I start building my business based around the membership and community my soul feels called to create? Why delay it any further?
Once I made my decision, there was a big energetic shift!
My language in how I introduced myself shifted without conscious effort. I began to separate my identity from my business and I went from saying “I am a commercial photographer” to “I own a photography business that does…” — I shocked myself the first time I heard myself say it.
Between days 33 to 48, I told people my next step was to build my membership
On day 49 I soft-launched my offer into the world and on one of my coffee dates that day, the words “I have now created a membership…” came out of my mouth and I began to cry (lol) because I realized how much had changed in under 50 days
So what I'm building going forwards: a community-based membership for historically marginalized creatives that celebrates our diverse stories and backgrounds while supporting each other to build heart-centered businesses
This was a LONG ONE. But if you made it this far, thank you! It has been such a joy to connect and grow. Also if you’re ever thinking about doing coffee chats, do it! It’s the best thing ever but maybe start with 5 or 10. 100 is well, a lot!
You can find more about Pam Kriangkum here:
Her Website: Bloom the Creative Membership
Connect on Instagram
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