CEO Stories 089: Permission to Pursue Your Dream

Coach Kelly Roach spent years in boardrooms and exceeding others of her age in the corporate world, but the closer she got to her dream job, the further she got from her dream life. So she went out on her own and never looked back and now has the dream job and the balanced life she was looking for. Kelly joined the Fortune 500 world and did not have a vision to become an entrepreneur.  It just developed over time to have the freedom and passion to do what she wanted. She started off in sales with a communication degree.  She did not want a desk job. Within 7 months she was breaking sales goals for the company, and she was asked to move into management.  Kelly was then promoted 7 times in 8 years to become the youngest Senior VP in her companies history. She managed 7 team branches of 100 people. At the top of her corporate career she spent her life in boardrooms with her peers being her parent’s age.   No matter how hard she worked or how high she went, the natural expectation was to give more and more.  She was working 24/7 and realized that they would want more. In becoming an entrepreneur, she started with a self-assessment about what she is good at.  She is great at coaching people and her skill was building businesses. She knew she wanted to combine these to help people build a business.   To develop the business, she just drove right in by advertising on facebook, taking classes, and getting herself an online coach as well.  Kelly just started telling everyone this is what she was doing. She started building her business on the side.  Once she had her daughter she knew that it was time to go full time. In the corporate job, she felt like she never saw a path to the dream life she wanted.  She was able to push through the exhaustion and the late nights because she saw a vision for the first time.  She knew where she was going and this gave her hope. If you have the dream inside of you, you already have permission.  Get out there. Do it!!! Fail forward and practice, practice, practice. Everyone is waiting for people to engage with their business.  Instead, go and engage with your audience to get them to engage with you.   When Kelly first launched, she went solely online.  After growing, she went local. She believes in a hybrid model and teaches that for sustainability purposes.   As she grew, she hired someone for marketing, PR, etc.  Every week they have a list that her team goes out to market to, speak to, take goodies, and just touch base. It takes an average of 2-3 years of people to go local.  Once they get a local client they tend to get paid much more and realize that that is the way to go.   Her first clients were more entrepreneurial but a handful were actual brick and mortar and not just online businesses.   Kelly works with business owners at all stages and goals.  It does not matter what stage they are at, if they do not have the right mindset.   Mindset is not just a soft skill.  It is the make or break of a business. Kelly now has a full team of marketers behind her.  She has created systems so that she can be the face and then take time for herself. Kelly says the biggest advice she would have given herself would have been to start sooner.  Be kind to yourself and be patient.