Today we’d like to introduce you to Krista Martin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my coaching business over ten years ago while I working full time in pharmaceutical sales. After having my two children, I realized that I wanted to do something more and make a bigger impact with my life than what I was currently doing. When I shared with friends and family that I was starting a coaching business, they were supportive and questioned why I’d want to leave a flexible job, doing work that I did enjoy, and build a business from scratch. The journey this far has been an incredible adventure and has challenged me to grow in ways that I never imagined.
After working in sales full time and building my coaching business part-time for several years, my “side hustle” was bringing in around $40k a year. So, it was becoming real… but not quickly enough. My company downsized and I was let go. At the time, I was frustrated because going full-time in my business wasn’t supposed to happen until later that year (according to my plan, that is). I double down and decided that this was my opportunity to put everything that I had been teaching my clients and what had been working for them… into practice in my own business. In 12 months, I grew my coaching business from $40k to $220k and we’ve grown significantly as a company each year since.
This year, we’re on track to surpass $1 million in revenue and we have two full-time employees, several part-time employees and are having more fun than we ever thought possible because we’re partnering with amazing clients to build their thriving coaching businesses.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not sure when to hire, who to hire, or HOW to hire… hiring wrong fit team members learning to take imperfect action and be ok with not having all the answers self-doubt, imposter syndrome learning to make decisions from where I want to be, rather than where we currently are as a company working with wrong-fit clients believing in myself and my business before anyone else learning how to do everything myself and then unlearning those very skills to be able to delegate and lead so we can continue growing as a company.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We work with coaches to help them attract more clients, make more money, and create a much bigger impact. Our clients are amazing, successful people (many have previous success in a corporate role) and are no stranger to success. They love what they do – coaching – but haven’t been equipped with the exact skillsets, mindsets, strategies and systems that they need to create a thriving coaching business.
Many people get stuck building a coaching practice, which keeps them busy. A coaching practice creates a “job” and puts the coach on a hamster wheel and they’re unable to take time off (because time off = not making money). It’s a dollars per hour trap that people often fall into.
A coaching business, on the other hand, is what we help our clients build because a coaching business gives you the freedom of time, money, and impact. You can take vacations; you get to build a team, work with amazing clients, leave a legacy that’s bigger than you as a person, and most of all, you get to travel along the most amazing personal development journey as you become your best self and step into your role as a leader of your team, your business, and your life.
We stand apart from the “competition” because not only do I have coach training and have done the exact thing my clients are doing – building a thriving coaching business – but I also have my MBA in marketing. So, our clients receive real strategy, real tools, and real systems, no “fluff” or “theory” here. We also take a stand for helping our clients create their Six-Figure Impact(r), which is the impact that a wildly successful coaching business affords them the opportunity to create. It’s an impact that’s bigger than the individual and bigger than the business. It’s about creating a lasting impact on the lives of the clients that are coached, the community, and for many clients, they are called to create a Six-Figure Impact that impacts the entire world.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Your growth doesn’t have to be slow or incremental (unless you say it does). So, don’t say it does. As Dori says, “Just keep swimming.” What I mean by that is that there’s always a solution; there’s always a way forward if you’re willing to look. Don’t stop moving your feet towards your goals because the clarity or breakthrough that you’re looking for is just around the corner.
You can’t get to where you want to be all by yourself. I have an amazing team and I’m always working with at least one coach to help me grow faster, to improve, and to see the blind spots that I wouldn’t see otherwise. Once I gave up the story that I was supposed to figure everything out all by myself, everything shifted. There is no failure as long as you’re willing to look for the lessons in every experience.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@makeyourmark.com
- Website: www.makeyourmark.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mymcoaching
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