Episode #208: Mastering the Inner Game with Adrienne Shnier

Nov 17, 2022

Sometimes, taking the leap into entrepreneurship means COMPLETELY shifting your self-identity. Dr. Adrienne Shnier is the founder of not one, but two incredible businesses: Shnier Mackenzie Law & Policy Consulting and Apply Yourself: The Advancement Spot Inc. Through Shnier Mackenzie, Adrienne provides professional legal services, and through Apply Yourself she helps students master the skills that get them accepted into — and thriving in — their dream programs and schools… and she’s managed to grow both businesses alongside teaching classes at York University and Osgoode Hall Law School!

As a lifelong academic, Adrienne struggled with her move from the public sphere to the private sphere. In this conversation, we dive into Adrienne’s initial goals when launching her businesses, why hiring a business coach was an absolute game-changer, and why husbands don’t often make great business coaches (but can sometimes make excellent business partners)!

In‌ ‌this‌ ‌episode,‌ ‌you’ll discover:‌ ‌

Adrienne’s biggest ‘A-ha!’ moments — and why she turned down a prestigious six-figure tenure position in her academic field
How she worked through her professional identity crisis — and why discomfort is her secret ally
How she moved from selling 1:1 services into launching her first group program (and why she was so successful!)

Guest bio: Dr. Adrienne Shnier is the CEO, founder, and Advancement Coach & Strategist at Apply Yourself: The Advancement Spot Inc. since 2015. She is a lawyer and founder of Shnier Mackenzie Law & Policy Consulting, PC. She is also a Toronto-based Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Faculty of Health (School of Health Policy & Management and School of Global Health) at York University, and Health Law Faculty at Osgoode Hall Law School in the Professional LLM in Health Law program.

Timestamps:‌ ‌

00:33 Intro

00:58 Meet Adrienne

02:40 Why hire a business coach?

05:50 Your craft v. business skills

06:44 The missing pieces

11:21 Tenure offer & big shift

18:50 People-pleasing

22:32 Universe sending tests

24:10 Identity shift

29:29 Experience v. title

31:53 Program launch