We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katherine Danesi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Katherine, appreciate you joining us today. Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?
I’m a strategist and coach who helps female founders launch and grow businesses. Like many people, Covid prompted me to take a step back and look at my own business:
– How I was running it
– Who I was serving
– My offerings and how they were priced
– How I was getting clients
All of it. I’d been working with business owners (women and men) on an hourly rate or retainer basis, doing whatever it took to help them launch, pivot, and scale their operations and sales. This meant becoming a part of their team and executing various functions depending on the need. All of my clients came via referral.
I’d been working this way for nine years when I went down a YouTube ad rabbit hole I thought was for a client. and I came out the other side having purchased a program for myself on how to launch an online course.
That one decision – in August 2020 – set me on a path to change almost everything in my business, starting with what I called myself. I went from Business Consultant to Business Coach. I realized I no longer wanted to be writing job descriptions, setting up and running social ad campaigns designed to build email lists, and then the email funnel to retain those leads, and running client P&Ls, to name a few of the tasks I had taken on over the years.
I wanted to take a step back, create some distance, to do what I do best… collaborate with my clients to develop the strategy — define the right steps to take in the right order based on where they’re at in the business journey and their goals — and help them get out of their own way to take the action necessary to reach those goals.
Over the next two years, I launched a group program to help women launch a business, moved to Monthly Business Coaching, and introduced a VIP Intensive (we work together 1:1 for a day).
This shift also meant doing things differently when it came to attracting the right clients. I had never marketed myself and I was not networking at all. That all changed. I started recording videos. I repurposed content across all the platforms (I’ve since scaled back to LinkedIn and Instagram). I started building an email list and sending a weekly email newsletter.
And I started to network. At first, that was on Instagram where I was hosting a Live Series – Candid Conversations to Level Up Your Business – where my guests were other female founders with complementary services. And then I joined a network of consultants. I met so many purposeful, inspiring women this way.
Today, I have an amazing roster of clients across many vertical markets, all at different stages with different goals. We’re launching and growing profitable businesses that align with the lives they want to be living. We’re creating their version of success.
Katherine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a former Fortune 500 executive turned business advisor to female founders who want to profitably launch and grow their businesses.
I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to business building.
For the last 11 years, I’ve refined my approach — one that aligns each client’s business with their unique goals, strengths, vision, and resources. And that looks different for each person.
Oftentimes, coaches will have you believe there’s only one way to grow a business. This can leave founders spinning in circles, trying to tackle all the “must-dos.” And meanwhile, part of them is sounding the alarm. They’re burning through time and money, but not moving toward their goals.
I work with each client’s uniqueness (and reimagine what’s possible).
I see the human behind the business to create their plan to move from being frazzled and stuck to taking purposeful action. I want to help them remember why they went out on their own (or want to) in the first place. In the process, they reconnect to the joy of being the CEO of their business and their life.
I’ve worked with small business owners across a variety of vertical markets, including public relations, marketing, fashion, luxury retail design, high-end fitness space, healing, wellness, and creativity, among others.
Helping women turn their visions into reality is my jam. I do this via Monthly Business Coaching and VIP Intensives. And I’m launching a new program designed to help established founders move from being Solopreneurs to the CEO of their businesses.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Simply put, I get results. I marry my two decades of corporate, startup, and consulting experience with curiosity, continuous learning, and an intuitive sense of the next right step to take. My clients feel seen and supported. And they tell other women to seek me out. I care deeply about my clients and their success and well-being.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I’m an avid reader and podcast listener. Here are a few of both:
BOOKS:
– “Awaken Your Genius: Escape Conformity, Ignite Creativity, and Become Extraordinary” by Ozan Varol
– “Sparked: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work that Makes You Come Alive” (and the accompanying Sparketype Assessment) by Jonathan Fields
– “The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life” by Lynne Twist
– “Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine” by Mike Michalowicz
– ” The Unstoppable Team: A simple formula for managing your team, reducing overwhelm, and increasing revenue” by Lia Garvin
PODCASTS:
– “The Mel Robbins Show”
– “The Rich Roll Podcast”
– “Pulling the Thread with Elise Loehnen”
– “Get Comfy With Numbers with Erika Millard”
– “Nine to Thrive: The Well-Being Podcast” with host Julie Fischer
– “This is 50 with Lynette Turner”
– Podcast & Amplify – Podcast Tips, Business Strategies, Personal Growth Coaching for Entrepreneurs” with host Kristin Quiroz Bayona
– “Scope Creep” with hosts Jamie Cos and Liz Talago
– “Small Business PR with Gloria Chou”
So many good episodes!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katherinedanesi.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katherinedanesi/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinedanesi/
Image Credits
Katie Levine Photography