Meet Anaïs, Career Strategist & Founder of HerCode

Anaïs has worked with 150+ professionals from various backgrounds & industries and towards the same objective: empowering them to live their best life through a fulfilling career.

Coming from a Procurement and Consultancy background, she has made multiple careers transitions herself and experienced the struggles associated with a career that is not fulfilling, even impacting your health and the other aspects of your life.

Anaïs’s personal mission is to empower 100,000+ women to build a career they are truly passionate about by 2035 — currently at 200 people coached 1–1 and counting.

She strongly believes that life is too short to fill unfulfilled at work and actively supports her community through various channels, including Her Career, and Her Code podcast.

You can find out more information on her website: https://www.hercode.co.uk/

Here we sit down with Anaïs, to know a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.

Q. Tell us a little more about your journey as an entrepreneur — how did you get started? What inspired you?

Anaïs: I think my journey as an entrepreneur probably started when I was 16 years old and studying for my A-levels whilst working 17 hours/week at MacDonald’s. Without necessarily realising it at the time: I was a side hustler!

Since then, I pursued my studies whilst working part-time and I think this has allowed me to understand that there were always opportunities to see things from a different perspective: in life and at work.

The biggest turning point for me has been when I experienced burn-out in my early 20s — there were no side hustles involved, I was simply over-dedicated to my work, to the extent of my physical and mental health. This quickly made me question my relationship with work and what would the next 40+ years look like career-wise.

From that experience, I learned to always take a step back and question whether a role allows me to truly thrive, both from a professional standpoint and also how it aligns with my personal life.

After that, I had different experiences within Procurement and then as a Consultant, leaning more and more towards relationship building, highly interested in the people I was meeting and working with, more than the core of the work itself.

I decided that I needed to embrace this and enrolled for an initiation weekend to learn more about… coaching! It was a revelation: I knew this was what I was meant to do with my career & life.

Fast-forwarding to where I am today, I have now been running my business full-time for the past 4+ years, working my women from all over the globe who are on a similar mission: understand what they truly want and need to truly thrive professionally as well as personally.

Q. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?

Anaïs: Great question! The biggest one for me is to have a routine that works for you and that does not involve solely productive work but also space for creativity.

The best ideas I’ve had to develop & grow my business have been when I was out for a walk, speaking with a friend, or attending a networking event.

So make sure your working days involve time where you’re not going to be disturbed (I don’t have any meetings before 11 AM for example), as well as a time where you can unwind and get these creative juices flowing (attending a networking event, going for a walk, meeting a friend for lunch, etc).

Q. How do you stay organized with such a busy schedule? What are some time management strategies, SOPS (standard operating procedures), hires or hacks that have helped you dramatically in business

Anaïs: Time-blocking: I can tell you 6 months from now what will be happening on Wednesday at 10 AM (if this does not get adjusted in the meantime!).

This also means allowing for some flexibility, especially when you’re collaborating with people so my time is pretty open in the afternoon to arrange meetings for example but overall all my mornings Monday-Friday are lined up with the specific activities I need to focus on to drive the business forward.

If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?

Anaïs: Tales of an expatriate entrepreneur.

Q. What motivates you?

Anaïs: People! Working with them, knowing what they’re passionate about, how they see the world, and seeing them thrive to their true potential: that’s what’s motivating & inspiring me daily.

They are so many fascinating human beings out there on a mission to make this world a better place!

Q. What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made

Anaïs: Coaching (and not answering this because I’m one myself). I’ve been coached for as long as I’ve been an entrepreneur on a variety of topics as this evolves as the business grows.

This has allowed me to be challenged, to truly put myself out there & follow my vision whilst learning from my coaches. There’s power in being held accountable as well.

Q. What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs invest their time in?

Anaïs: It’s worth investing in any activity that will get your creative juices and inspiration going: whether it’s working out, reading, going out with friends or attending an event you’re interested in.

The activities that have worked for me are reading, meditating, journaling, meeting people 1–1 for coffee (virtually or physically) and taking proper time off regularly (as in out of the office on type of time off, even if it’s just half a day).

Q. What is your ‘one-sentence’ piece of advice you’d like to give to someone who wants to become an entrepreneur, coach, or business owner?

Anaïs: Don’t think about what others do or how they run their business & lives: follow what you truly want to do because that’s where you’re meant to be, regardless of how the world revolves around you.

To keep up to date with Anaïs and her journey, connect with her on LinkedIn.

Go ahead and stream their podcast show on Spotify here.