Mimi Bouchard has already made the journey from TV Star to author, to podcast host and even entrepreneur. But Miss Bouchard is not stopping there. After developing her own brand Mimibee, her success has continued to grow to exponential levels. Today she tells us exactly how she got her start and her future plans.
You are such a confident person, have you always been this way?
Thank you! Truthfully, I wasn’t always this confident. Growing up I put on this “fake confidence”, but I was always deeply insecure until I started working on myself in my late teens/early 20s. Personal growth literally transformed my confidence levels.
What initially brought you to London? Did you know exactly what you wanted to do there?
It was halfway through my first year in university that I decided to drop out. I knew that this was a waste of time and money for me since I always knew I was going to be my own boss. Uni and the lifestyle that came with it wasn’t something I was interested in.. I liked to learn on my own terms and I didn’t want to waste 4 years of my life trying to be like the “average person”. I wanted to be different, and end up differently, so why was I there? When I had this realization, everything changed for me.
I had an idea of what I wanted to do and knew that I needed to follow my gut. I created my (then) fashion & lifestyle brand MIMIBEE Magazine just before I left Uni, and decided to go to London to do a short course on fashion journalism that following Fall. I didn’t know I was going to end up moving to London until I got there. I was applying for a visa after a week of arriving.
London brought out this incredible side of me that I rarely had ever experienced. I loved being on my own, far away from Toronto where I grew up, because I felt the potential. I was no longer chained to my old self that I was conditioned to be in Toronto.
Did you find it easy once you arrived to London? Did you know anyone who lived there already?
This was the first time I moved away from home. I truly believe that traveling gives you the opportunity to learn a lot about yourself. London in particular is so motivating to me… There is something about it that really stuck with me, it made me a better person. It opened my eyes to opportunity. It wasn’t really difficult moving to London since I had some family already living there, however I still recall many moments where I had never felt more alone being so far away removed from my close family and friends, especially when you are going through tougher times. I was super broke when I first moved there. Going through rough patches alone does bring up a lot of positive self-growth though, so I’m very grateful now for those harder days.
How did you climb out of this funk you were in?
Looking back at all of this, I believe that beyond the strong support of my close family and boyfriend, what really helped me get out of this funk was to stop what I was doing that made me feel anxious and unsteady. I did a full life cleanse and started to redirect my energy towards what made me happy and rolled with that. I was always focusing on personal development, however, this is truly when realized where I wanted to go in life and how I wanted to feel.
Do you think living away from home helped push you towards a more profound personal development?
I don’t necessarily think that this made my personal growth journey more profound, however living far from people you feel comfortable with does make you push yourself and go out of your comfort zone more often. Feeling uncomfortable and trying new things allows you to feel more confident in yourself and your abilities. Going through tough times alone with no one but yourself to turn to teaches you a lot and is super humbling.
MIMIBEE has really developed as a brand from where it was a few years ago. Can you tell us a bit about that?
The MIMIBEE brand has developed with me as an individual. I always want to be fully authentic towards my audience therefore my company needs to change with me if I truly want to represent this trait. It’s very exciting to develop new opportunities for expansion though! So many cool things to come, and so soon too! MIMIBEE started as an online magazine surrounding fashion and lifestyle. Now it’s a top ranked Apple podcast focused on personal development, motivation, health, and success. My new app, Mimi Method, is launching in a few months. It’s focused around body transformation.
What was the turning point towards your success?
My mentality. For sure. The moment I decided to change how I thought was the moment that my entire world transformed. New opportunities started presenting themselves to me, I was earning more money, I lost weight, I felt better in every aspect of life.
What is next for you professionally?
My app is my next big focus. My ebook the Body Reset Plan did really well last year and it’s helped transform thousands of girls bodies. I want my app, Mimi Method, to really teach the core principles of body + mind transformation. There’s so much more depth than the ebook I created, so this app will help people all over heal their relationships with themselves and food, to effortlessly achieve their dream bods.
And for Mimi personally, what have you been working on?
For the past little while, Ben and I have been talking about where we want to be living and what makes the most sense for us personally and professionally. We both have online businesses so we’re able to work from anywhere… We’ve spent time in London and Vancouver and LA, but I think the next place we’ll be is going to be crazy different and a very new exciting experience. Stay tuned.
Mimi’s website is www.mimibee.com & Mimi’s Instagram is @mimibouchard