We had the good fortune of connecting with Michele Holiday and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michele, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process for starting my own business was the knowledge and understanding that there was a particular need in the education field that was not being met by very many people. I had developed a skill set that could be of service as well as provide a solution for what teachers and schools were struggling with. So through faith and the willingness to take a risk, I decided to go out on my own and start my own business.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am the Founder of Feed Their Needs LLC, a consulting and professional development training company that provides teachers and schools with behavior and classroom management strategies and systems for effective student management. With over 15 years of experience as a former Teacher, School Behavior Specialist and district Program Specialist for Behavior, the information and application tools I provide my clients are classroom and school-tested. I am unique in that the strategies and systems I offer have been implemented or monitored by me and others in my team. I am not sharing something I only read in a book or studied through coursework, I have faced what many teachers and schools have and are currently facing. You can say that I have the necklace, t-shirt and bumper sticker. When I look back, I am inspired by the fact that I started as someone with a passion for behavior and classroom management to actually grew to coaching teachers online, consulting schools and providing professional development workshops at various schools across Florida. I didn’t know about things like websites, marketing, accounts payable and other business related tasks. I did not realize how important these tasks would be in running my business. At first, I focused mainly on my expertise in student management. That was the easier, more comfortable part. But I had to learn the business aspects of entrepreneurship rather quickly in order to survive. That is when things got hard. Step by step, I had to educate myself through research, courses, mentors and a lot of trial and error on how to build and maintain a business. Frankly, I am still learning. I was able to overcome by connecting with like minded entrepreneurs like Kingdom Driven Entrepreneurs, the support of my family and friends and my faith in God. The top three lessons I learned from my entrepreneurship journey is: 1. It starts in your mind- what you tell yourself and believe about your business really matters. It affects your business actions and progress. 2. Show up consistently- even when you don’t know exactly what you are doing, continue putting in the effort to do what you know. 3. Grace over grind- hustle and grind is not the only tempo required to be successful, their is grace for what are meant to do. The core message I want to share about Feed Their Needs is that student management does not have to be full stress and struggle. Instead of focusing only on the behaviors, learn how to feed the needs hidden behind them!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So if my good friend was visiting my Miami, I would probably start at the Wynwood Walls. I have really been into art lately. I am even trying my hand at watercolor painting. It’s terrific way to get inspired by the beautiful art of the community. Next, I would visit the Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum for some historical enrichment. Fun fact: the museum guide is a retired police officer. To continue on that historical lane, I would visit the Historic Hampton House for some cultural activities. For a tasty lunch, I would take my friend to The Licking for some soul food that will make you make you forget your napkin and Lobster Bar Sea Grille in Miami Beach for a nice seafood dinner. For some outside activities, we would definitely have to ride an airboat in the Everglades. Hopefully we would be able to get a quick peek at some alligators. Then of course, we take a few strolls at South Beach, In addition to the rolling waves, we would have a variety of restaurants to enjoy. In the evening, we can get tickets for a show at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shout out to Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur. It’s movement that inspires, teaches, and mentors entrepreneurs to be led by God in their business, so they can experience His best and have greater Kingdom impact in the marketplace. They have been an amazing community that has encouraged and supported me throughout my entrepreneurial journey.

Website: www.feedtheirneeds.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/feedtheirneeds
Facebook: www.facebook.com/feedtheirneeds/
Youtube: https://bit.ly/39ozaed

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