Please, introduce yourself and your business.
Kiri Mohan, Coach for freelancers
How did you start your business?
I was a freelancer myself for over 10 years and was coaching people individually on the side when I decided to make the jump to coaching regularly.
How much revenue was your best year? (include margin if possible)
~$150,000
When did you notice traction when building your business? The “Oh S**t!” moment, what did that feel like?
With my freelance business, I was working full-time and it became a moment of realizing I had too much work going on during the day to be able to handle all of it at night or on weekends. It was actually a really scary moment - do I continue to work my "safe" full-time job or do I make the jump into freelancing where I'm making LESS money but have the potential to grow?
I went through the finances with my husband and we decided that we could make it work if I quit my job, but gosh, it was scary.
The moment was similar in my coaching business but easier to handle. As more referrals came in, I was able to slowly let go of clients. But it was less scary as I had been through it before and it's also easier to slowly let go of clients than one job!
What was your childhood like? Were you slinging candy on the playground?
My childhood was very tame. Not much interesting about it. I grew up with a stay-at-home mother and my father ran his own business. I have 3 siblings, one older and two younger.
One thing that does stand out in my memory is that we very rarely were allowed screen time/TV until we were much older. We were always playing outside and engaging in free play, which I treasured a lot. The ability to have that type of imagination also helped me imagine what my business could be like and take those steps to see my dreams come true.
What has been your best marketing marketing channel?
Consistently, LinkedIn. And now Reddit as well.
But with both businesses, I did anything and everything to get my name out there. I went to networking events, I created content online, I wrote blog posts, I sent cold DMs, I applied on freelance marketplaces.
I just put myself out there as much as possible, but I would say that LinkedIn was my most consistent place to get business over the years.
How many attempts at building something did you make before you found what you’re working on now? Did you always have an entrepreneurial drive?
For my freelance business, it was my first time and it succeeded.
With my coaching business, I have had 2 other failed businesses and 1 failed business partnership.
In the end, I really have to play to my strengths in order to have a business succeed. I don't like managing people too much and I like mostly being by myself.
I did not always have an entrepreneurial drive, despite my dad being one. I have been founded by businesses usually because I was bored with what I was doing.
What is your biggest overhead expense?
Contractors on my team. I've scaled back this year but sometimes they cost me $3000/month if I have my consistent team, along with pulling in project contractors.
What’s the most important skill you’ve learned?
Persistence. Try different things. It can be really frustrating to put yourself out there day after day with no results.
If something works, keep doing it. If not, try something else. I have had to do trial and error a lot before getting to a place of something that will work.
What do you spend the majority of your time doing, in a given week? (I think a lot of people hear entrepreneurs “work,” but may not understand what that means on a day-to-day basis.
Most of the time I'm the one that is doing the visionary work - pulling in clients, getting my name out there, thinking of new programs. Answering emails, of course. Interviewing podcast guests.
My team handles the podcast, my newsletters, and my instagram account (I still handle most of my LinkedIn and Reddit account), along with any other random work I may have for clients like research.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when first starting your business?
Sometimes it can take longer than you think. Honor yourself - if you don't feel energized by something, it probably means you shouldn't do it.
The world of entrepreneurship can be misleading. Many people think it’s always easy and always glamorous. What’s a big problem you’ve faced as a business owner and what were the emotions behind it?
The biggest problem is in the beginning - getting clients. It's SO hard to watch everyone else seem to "get it" and obtain clients and you are struggling. It can be hard to watch a competitor drop a product or service and see people signing up.
You think, "Why not me?" That emotion is full of envy and jealousy instead of support.
Once you get past that, and get clients, the harder part is unhappy clients. You can't make everyone happy, and as a coach, I've had to work hard to separate their results from my teaching.
My teaching is sound and what people decide to do with it is up to them. But it still stings a bit when someone does not like what you've taught or the work you've done. This is just an emotion of inadequacy and like you've failed someone, which leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
What is your best advice for someone who feels completely stuck?
Create a schedule that lights you up and you can stick to. Maybe that means on Mondays you are going to research that business you want to create, scope out others who are doing something similar.
Perhaps Tuesday is marketing, Wednesday is reaching out to potential clients, etc.
You can see what Kiri is up to, here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirimohan/
