I recently went one one one with Amy Klein, co-founder of the Courageous Brand.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. ​How did you get here? ​What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Amy: I co-founded the Courageous Brand to instill courage, confidence, and entrepreneurial leadership skills in the girls and children of our future. 

Coming from corporate America, neither myself or my co-founder had any women mentors. It seemed like the higher we went up the ladder, the less women there were and the less likely they were to help us. 

So we knew that we wanted to send the elevator back down and be instrumental in creating change for the next generation

The other part of what led us to start the Courageous Brand was realizing that there are really no resources for children to learn soft skills, like courage, confidence, positive risk taking, mental toughness, resilience.

We want to teach these skills to kids earlier, so they can realize their own potential and develop the tools that will help them go into the world and achieve their dreams.

Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?

Amy: For Kelly and I, our passion was teaching courage, confidence, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills so that all girls and all kids could make their dreams come true by believing in themselves and the power of “just being you”. 

That became our mission, which then became our brand. From there we dove into the educational and retail side of business.

So I would say that the first thing to ask yourself is, what is your mission? What is your purpose in life? What is a problem you see in the world that you want to solve? 

Next, ask yourself, what are you passionate about? What do you love to do? What are your strengths? What are your values? Where do you want to go?

Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?

Amy: From the very beginning, we let our audience tell us what they wanted to see. All of our content was focused on our mission, and we would reach out to people who engaged with our posts and ask what they wanted to hear, what they wanted to see. 

We were having conversations every day with people who told us they needed what we were talking about, so that is we knew the Courageous Brand was worth pursuing.

So my advice to others on how to test your business idea is to start talking about it and putting it out there. Your audience will tell you if it's worth pursuing. 

Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?

Amy: I would say the key step to growing our business was allowing ourselves to take imperfect action. We started our social media, we put out all our topics, and then we sat back, watched, and went where the demand took us.

We’ve pivoted and tweaked a lot along the path to becoming what we are today, and a big part of that was allowing our business to go where we saw the need was.

For example, when COVID hit it became clear that the educational system is not teaching kids what they need to be successful in the world we live in today. So we focused our energy on the educational side of the business, creating programs to help people find freedom through entrepreneurship.

A lot of people make a plan for their business and want to stay on that one track, no matter what happens in the world or their audience tells them. For entrepreneurs wanting to take their business to the next level, I really recommend talking with and listening to your community, and letting that information guide you.

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Amy: The defining qualities of an effective leader are somebody who is trustworthy, has an open door policy, and is a collaborator. 

When you allow people to share their ideas, when you show people that they can trust you, that they aren’t going to be spoken down to or reprimanded, that is when your business is going to grow.

It's also important to recognize people's individual strengths and not to blanket-coach. Everybody is made differently and when you focus on somebody and you grow their strengths and you play to that, they'll become stronger, more confident, and they will do and perform better. 

And to answer your second question, leaders can take their skills to the next level by consistently reading and keeping your eyes open for different ways you can help your team to perform better. 

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams?

Amy: The first thing is knowing that who you hire is going to be what makes or breaks you. Your team is the defining factor of how successful you will be. 

There are a lot of ups and downs when you're building a business, so resilience and mental toughness are essential qualities that I look for.

I ask a lot of questions to see if they have those types of skills, or if they are coachable and willing to learn. Do they have a high sense of urgency to win? Are they a team player? Are they passionate? Did they do their research and are they passionate about the company? Are they able to think outside the box? 

Another important thing to remember is that you’re never managing a team, you're leading them. You have a big vision, and you need to hire the best people and lead them to pull it through. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Amy: Number one, take imperfect action every day. You'll either win, or you’ll learn from your mistakes and grow. 

Number two, be flexible and willing to adapt to change. 

Number three, listen and ask a lot of questions. Many times, the boots on the ground in your company know far more than you do. 

Adam: What are your key messages for women interested in the worlds of business and entrepreneurship? And what are your key messages for men on how to be the best allies possible?

Amy: It’s the same to both, really. We're all in this together, and we should only be competing with ourselves — never anyone else. So look for mentors. Find somebody who's gotten where you want to be and get their advice. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received? 

Amy: It's not what you say, it's how you say it. I learned that in sales a long time ago. Most of the time, people are paying more attention to your body language and how you speak than what you’re saying.

In my experience, how you say something is going to determine whether or not you get the deal, whether or not you have a relationship with the person, whether or not you get the job.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Amy: Just one thing — when you believe in the power of you, your dreams will come true. So take imperfect action and keep trying. You'll get there.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.