The Call To Adventure

A hero’s journey often starts with a defining moment when the protagonist is called to begin a new adventure. For example, on Star Wars when Luke Skywalker meets Ben Kenobi in the desert

Early in my career, I Karen Deeming, CEO at You Revolution, worked in HR and then as Senior Policy Manager on the EU Social Inclusion Team. Initially the posts were interesting and enjoyable but the target driven nature of the organisation would eventually take its toll. Sometimes it felt like people were merely numbers, and all that mattered was the end result.

Then, one day I was chairing a recruitment board with an external Consultant who planted the idea of a career change with more emphasis on championing and bringing out the best in people.

It was at that very moment that the idea for You Revolution my personal development and coaching agency was born. I knew that I needed to be of service to people struggling with self doubt, low self esteem and anxiety and was being called to help them reclaim their confidence improve their lives, and that is how my entrepreneurial journey began.

Ordeal, Death, & Rebirth

The later phase of the hero’s journey is where things get interesting. Anything insightful or of value becomes increasingly more scarce.

In this phase, the hero faces challenges, encounters death, and then experiences a rebirth that sets them on the right track for ultimate victory.

When I first launched You Revolution, the platform was exclusive to

Senior Executives, Business Owner, CEOs,  Directors, and professionals juggling parental responsibilities or a HR & Learning & Development Professionals and it worked well for a while until covid hit.

You Revolution training and pop up masterclasses had been typically delivered person to person to corporates and StartUps in their offices or in rural locations and only a handful online.

So the previous flow of interested customers was reduced to a dribble with the introduction of the first covid lockdown in March 2020.

As an avid “bell curve of probability” supporter, this black swan event left me  totally bewildered, to say the least.

Upon delving deeper, I established that You Revolution had unintentionally now slotted into a global market which meant our competitors were not just in the UK market but USA, Australia, Europe and indeed all over the world.

Covid was an existential threat to everything we had built. At times, I considered giving up, starting afresh and abandoning You Revolution completely.

Thankfully, during a moment in my deepest pool of despair, I experienced a revelation:

You Revolution now needed to niche and to identify our ideal target audience.

So I pondered what clients made my heart sing and shared similar values to me like nature, equality, sustainability, integrity, honesty, diversity and making a difference

I went back to the drawing board and decided to focus on Introvert, Millennial, Go Getters.

It was a total rebirth, but I emerged stronger than ever. This initial set back and subsequent transformation helped me to create something better than I had ever imagined.

The Triumphant Return

One of the final stages of the hero’s journey is the return home. For You Revolution this was more a case of a new path forward rather than a return. Once I had discovered You Revolution’s niche and was beginning to gain traction, I took appropriate steps to execute and am still in the early stages of this process.

A hugely celebratory moment:

You Revolution entered into the market older, wiser, and more resilient to tackle any future challenges.

“If you never give up, you never fail”

“I can and I will watch me”

 

see my Bio here: