Adriana Keefe

Adriana is a Life Strategist & Empowerment Coach from Uxbridge, Massachusetts. She’s a mom of two girls, wife, and animal lover. Adriana was an award-winning Realtor, but couldn’t overcome the feeling of being stuck and lost in her life a few years ago. After a long journey of finding herself, she now helps overwhelmed and overworked women who are in the same rut recapture their identity and find fulfillment in a life they love.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

My Life Strategy & Empowerment Coaching company is named after myself, Adriana Keefe! I’ve found that people feel personally connected to companies that are named after the owner instead of a name that doesn’t tell you who you’ll be working with. My name being the name of my company places me at the heart of my business.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My productivity has come a long way since the pandemic began and I had to work with the kids at home! Every Monday morning, I plan out my entire week in my notebook calendar (yes, I still use paper). I block time for everything, from checking my email and lunch to when I’m writing a blog post or have a scheduled meeting.

When I give myself a certain amount of time for a project, I stick to it. If it’s 11:00 and I was supposed to be done writing by then, I save my progress and move onto the next project. It’s also important to note that I have a scheduled start and end time to my workday, so I can be available for my family when it’s time to shut work off for the day.

In the mornings, I have my morning routine of reading, meditating, and journaling. Then it’s getting the kids ready for school and daycare. Once they’re off, I come back to the home office to do yoga or exercise before starting my work day. The day is filled with blocks of time for everything I need to do and ends at 5:00, when it’s time for dinner with my family.

How do you bring ideas to life?

A lot of my creativity is sparked from conversations with other entrepreneurs. It doesn’t matter if they’re in the coaching space or market wine for a living, I’ve found that networking with like-minded women sparks that fire in my soul for new ideas and ambitions.

Once I have a new idea, I analyze whether or not it’s something I can take on at the time and devote my time to. If it’s not, I put it on the back burner for when I’m ready for my next project. If it is, I roadmap what it would take to make it come to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

COACHING! The fact that our society is becoming more aware of the coaching and strategy space and what it can do for them is incredibly exciting. Think of how many lives will change and how many businesses will excel by people recognizing that a coach or strategist can help launch them into the next phase of their life. Women are becoming business owners alongside staying at home with their kids because they saw the power in a coach guiding them to finding what fulfilled them. Female CEO’s are landing in Forbes Magazine after working with a coach to expand their horizons and up level their careers.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

My morning self-care routine. I wake before the kids to drink my warm cup of lemon water while reading. Then I take time to meditate, followed by a few minutes of journaling in gratitude and what I’m looking forward to. I always prioritize self-care – if I’m not filled up, what do I have to offer others?

What advice would you give your younger self?

You don’t have to follow the path that society believes you should. I would have started a business right out of high school and not spent $120,000 on college for a degree that didn’t help pay my student debt.

Also that work CAN be something you love to do and make money with. Life is not about working for retirement. Life is about adventure and fun and loving each step you take.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I fully believe that my relationship with my marriage comes before my kids. I want my kids to see the representation of a healthy and loving marriage, and in order to do that my husband and I need to ensure that we’re spending quality time together and working on our relationship. If we’re not happy with each other, we tend to be less patient with the kids and our family dynamic is not what we want it to be. Most people I’ve met don’t believe in marriage coming first.
We cannot fill up our children’s cups if we’re not filled ourselves. As a mom of two little ones, I know firsthand how challenging this moment can be if we let it.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Revisit my goals and desires. What I want out of my business and life is very different than it was 3 months ago. Continuing to look back at what your goals are and updating them as you go is how growth will happen. It’s also a great way to recognize whether or not you’re still happy in what you’re doing.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Managing my time and priorities! I have so many things on my plate and if I don’t take control it my time, none are getting 100% of the attention they deserve. When I focus on one project at a time and learn how and when to devote my time to it, I am able to give 100% and the end result shows much more growth than if I were to be juggling 5 things at once.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

Investing in a career that didn’t make me happy. Before I was in the coaching industry, I was a Realtor. I was successful and at the peak of my success when I had what I consider to be my “quarter-life crisis”. When I recognized that I was unhappy in that career, stepping away from it felt like a giant failure. I had invested all this time and money into a career that left me exhausted, stressed, and miserable.

Overcoming that failure and growing through the pain was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I worked with life coaches and a holistic leadership coach to understand who I wanted to be and where I wanted to go. I knew that I needed guidance. If it weren’t for them, I would still be lost.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I’d love to create an online community for moms who are entrepreneurs to grow, learn, and network together, with online courses, meet-ups, partnerships, and more.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

On Christmas gifts! I LOVE gifting. My favorite part of Christmas is being on the hunt for the best gifts for my family and friends!

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Planoly. It helps me plan and keep track of my social media posts. With Planoly, I can do my posts in advance and have them alert on my phone at the time I wanted to post them. That way I don’t have to miss a day or think of content on the spot!

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo. It’s as simple as it sounds, yet most of us don’t look at the world that way. When I’m feeling a lack of inspiration or like I’ve hit a wall, Marie’s words bring me back to reality, where everything is figureoutable.

What is your favorite quote?

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

Key Learnings:

• The importance of priorities, routine, and time management
• Networking with like-minded people can catapult you forward faster than going it alone
• Failures are an important piece of finding who you are
• You don’t have to trade hours for dollars in a miserable job. Life is about adventure, fun, and freedom