Do you want to work for yourself, but making as much money as possible isn’t necessarily your priority?
Kristen Gagné feels the same. Money isn’t the priority as she builds her business. It’s not that she doesn’t think about money, but she views it more as a means to an end, rather than the goal she is striving for.
She’s an English language coach for professionals seeking to refine their proficiency in specific business situations like delivering presentations.
In the spirit of giving back, she recently launched a new initiative called Buy One, Teach One. For every hour of coaching purchased by one of her clients, an hour of educational outreach is donated on their behalf.
Some lessons that popped in our conversation include:
- How the 80/20 Rule helped her decide to shift her business model from pursuing largely individual clients to focusing on a B2B model to provide better and more efficient coaching.
- How she uses money as a tool to be more efficient with her time and energy.
- How she developed a pricing strategy for her services and gained confidence in the value she offers her clients.
Life Skills That Matter In This Episode
- Manage your energy.
- Build community.
- Tell your story.
- Embrace discomfort.
How Kristen Works and Thinks
- Wake up time: By 7:00am
- How she got herself unstuck: Realizing that the worries she had were having no positive impact and overcoming that by taking things more day-by-day.
- Inspiration recommendation: Find the medium that speaks most to you; in particular the messages of Tim Ferriss, Tony Robbins and Simon Sinek (Start With Why).
- 90-day goal: Continue building her website, add content and features, find partners and promote Buy One Teach One.
Inspirational Quotes
“I’m more the type of person that I just really want this to work because I know that it’s useful and valuable.”
“Instead of just doing things ok, across the board, how can I do them spectacularly?”
“In this line of work, being an entrepreneur, there are very few things that are more important than the relationships you have.”
“I tune into the beat of my own beatbox.”
Coaching Advice
Kristen recommends the following actions to start becoming a better presenter of your ideas:
1) Practice your ideas and story. Hone your message so that you don’t ever feel put “on the spot.”
2) Relax. Being too nervous, or too focused and serious, or uptight, can turn off those that are listening to you.
3) Networking. Always follow up with people and thank them for their time.
4) Be comfortable being uncomfortable. There are so many unknowns in starting a business and that leads to being uncomfortable; embracing that can lead to great results.
Resources + Bonus Materials
My previous interview with Kristen about your self-employment journey:
Special Offer
Get a 10% discount from Kristen on any of her services when you email her at info@webtawks.com. Tell her you heard her on the