Kathy Mallary | Business development and marketing solutions for self-employed coaches - Marketing Coach and Inspired Market-her, Kathy Mallary

I didn't know it when I started coaching professionally in 1997, but I had an excellent marketing system in place from the very first day. You see, at the same time I was getting serious about launching my first coaching practice, I was also working full time at the Academy for Coach Training.

I was in front of a classroom or on a telephone bridge line most of the time, teaching people how to coach and facilitating personal growth workshops. I was so immersed in training and facilitating that I didn't have time to think too much about marketing myself.

In fact, I didn't do any marketing at all
I didn't bring brochures to class or give away free special reports (or even my business card!). Back then, I didn't know anything about on-line shopping carts, auto-responders or info-products; I didn't even have a website. I was doing well enough without any of that, thank you very much, because it seemed like all I had to do was show up and amazingly, I got coaching clients.

You can see why I might have mistakenly thought that being a successful solo-professional was a piece of cake. The truth is, I wasn't really a solo-professional until AFTER I quit my day job. That's when I realized that I needed to put my own marketing system in place, pronto.

Naturally, I hired a business coach
When I left the Academy to focus on my own business in 2003, I hired a business coach and immersed myself in learning how to market myself as a solo-professional. I read everything I could get my hands on about building a successful business; I joined discussion groups, did market research, studied what successful coaches were doing (and not doing), took classes and asked LOTS of questions.

For a while, I see-sawed back and forth between feast and famine; when I focused on marketing, I'd start to get more clients; but then I'd get busy with clients and stop marketing. Things would start to get lean and the whole cycle would begin again. It was frustrating and stressful.

It pays to keep your eyes and ears open!
But I was determined to figure out a better way, so I kept my eyes and ears open and kept asking questions. And I noticed three things that the most successful coaches all have in common:

They focus on a niche.
They build their brand around a signature method or approach.
They have multiple revenue streams.

Finally--a business model that WORKED! So I decided to try it out for myself. I experimented with different niches and different methods and approaches and I re-worked my business plan, my strategic marketing plan, my business systems, all of my materials and my website over and over again.

I developed and refined numerous coaching programs and tried out many different products and packages on both groups and individuals in my coaching. (God bless my clients, who keep coming back to see what new thing I'm cooking up!)

Mistakes? I've made them all!
In the process, I'm pretty sure I've made just about every mistake you can make and still be in business! (I feel like I've been creating my own personal MBA program from scratch.)

The real breakthrough came when I started getting creative with my Playing to Win^tmprogram. I had been offering it as a one-on-one personal growth coaching program and it was doing well, but when I tried out the Playing to Win^tm principles with my business clients in a group coaching setting, they loved it. It got me thinking outside the box about how to offer my unique method and approach, and ultimately lead me to refine my business model and create Get With the Program^tm, a blueprint for building an exceptional brand around a signature coaching program.

A brand new business
What a shift! My business is almost unrecognizable today. Putting those three keys for success into practice--focusing on a niche, having a signature program, and creating multiple revenue streams--has brought even more than I hoped for. I'm getting better results AND having more fun.

That's how I got the best of myself in business. How about you? If you're ready, I'd love to help you get the best of yourself in business, too!

All my best,

Kathy Mallary
The Inspired Market-her

Change the world. Make a living. Love your biz!

P.S. Want to learn more about coaching with me? Learn more

P.P.S. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or comments. I'd love to hear from you!