Ownr Success Story: Business & Life Coach Negar Jafari of Innervibration
Negar Jafari is a life coach, business branding consultant, and motivational influencer who registered her business Innervibration with the help of Ownr in 2019. In this interview with Ownr, Negar takes us behind her thriving virtual business and reveals her mantra for growing a loyal social media following.
Ownr: What is Innervibration?
Negar: Innervibration is a personal development brand I created to educate and inspire people to take control of their life and view their troubles in a new perspective, with gratitude, optimism and inner tools.
Ownr: What inspired you to follow this path and become a motivational influencer?
Negar: I have a background in the legal field, actually. I got a degree in Criminology and was looking to enter law school. Somewhere down that path, I was inspired by someone from my past to follow my purpose, and learn about human consciousness and the universe. I was inspired to give up a life of stress and live a life full of purpose and spiritual advancement
I decided to learn more, and eventually I switched from pursuing law school and a career in the corporate world to becoming a full-time life coach and business coach.
Ownr: What are your social media branding and growth tips for entrepreneurs and businesses looking to engage their audiences online?
Negar: This is a very complex question. To perform well on social media, you have to understand marketing psychology, which essentially is human psychology. This wave of social media is here to stay and I recommend that everyone do their businesses a favour and learn as much as they can about themselves in order to speak to their audience from a place of honesty and truth.
I see that a lot of people want to gain the fame and status because they TRULY believe that having more instagram followers validates their business and brand. That is simply not the case. I know people with 200 followers who are making seven times my income.
It’s very easy to get distracted by who’s doing what, and trying to copy that, but it defeats originality and creativity. Most business gurus I look up to are incredibly connected with themselves, their purpose, and their WHY. I think that’s the “secret”.
Be yourself. Definitely get inspired by other people’s success, but that is not a sign for you to do the exact same thing. Allow yourself enough room to be yourself. People are curious and interested in your failures, don’t hide it.
Ownr: What do you love about being your own boss?
Negar: I love waking up at 5 a.m. sometimes and asking myself, “okay where do I start?” I want to push my business a little further everyday. It’s ME making my dreams come true. There is no better high. I also really love taking my laptop everywhere, and just writing and working on my book, courses, and blogs. It’s really what fuels me.
Ownr: What do you remember about the initial days of starting Innervibration and the first few challenges you faced?
Negar: Before I talk about what my challenges were, I want to talk to the new entrepreneurs reading this. I want you to know that challenges and failures are always going to be apart of your journey. Not all failures are huge and devastating, but there will always be hiccups along the way. And I want to encourage you to NEVER stop finding solutions. THAT IS the secret to overcoming challenges and staying in business.
As for specific hurdles I faced, I remember in the earlier days, honestly everything was new and challenging. Finding someone to bring my vision to life on my website was a challenge. I had to go through many people before I built my current team. Not knowing where to start was a challenge, not knowing how to work each social media platform was a challenge, and most of all, not knowing how to monetize my business was a huge challenge.
Ownr: What has been your biggest success or earliest win with Innervibration?
Negar: My biggest success thus far has been to push through every single one of my sleepless nights, and learning to manage my stress. Learning to tell myself “I can fix this, I’ve fixed this before, I’ll fix it in the morning” and actually believing in myself and putting aside the anxieties and the doubts – these are my successes. My relationship with myself has gotten stronger as an entrepreneur.
Ownr: What has been the most difficult thing about running your business so far?
Negar: The most difficult thing for me right now is being a solo entrepreneur. I want to keep it as real as I can with you. Being the editor, the content creator, the designer, the social media expert, the photoshoot scheduler, the copywriter, and the idea machine – it’s not easy. Every Sunday I divide my tasks and assign them to specific days of the week. I am currently typing this on the treadmill at the gym because things need to get done. You learn to multitask when you’re alone, until you can outsource more as the business grows.
Ownr: What does a typical day look like for you?
Negar: I wake up around 6 to 7 a.m. and start my day with a 15 minute intent-writing exercise, which basically means that I journal my to-do’s. I start with whatever is scaring me the most. I mostly work from home, but I need to stay creative, so I’ll go to the library sometimes, or a cafe, or just in the backyard or to a park close by. I start with editing, filming, I post all my content myself. I come up with new content all the time and I just jot it all down. I try to read an hour a day, and I’m at the gym six days a week for two hours in the evening.
I honestly don’t know how, all I know is, I get it done. I have one day a month to schedule my instagram posts and write these 1500 word captions, which take a lot of time. I’m not going to downplay what it is, it’s just the life of an entrepreneur.
Ownr: Was there anything you wish you knew before launching Innervibration?
Negar: I think I was intuitively very well prepared by my inner-self. I knew what I was going to teach, but I really had no idea about the kind of support I would receive from strangers. Everyday I wake up to emails and direct messages that thank me. I’m forever grateful for them.
Ownr: Where can we find out more about Innervibration?
Negar: I am very active on Instagram and YouTube. My website is www.innervibration.net where I blog and provide free material.