We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katie Bray a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Katie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I have been an entrepreneur for almost five years and so much of this journey has been about the exploration of success. The first few years was all about experimentation, trial and error and finding a coach in my life who could help me peel back the many layers of beliefs to find my true definition of success. And often, success can look different from year to year or even season to season. Taking time each year, quarter and month to review and define the vision for my life, both internally and externally has been the biggest key to building a life I love and find joy and meaning every day. When I sit with my wins, I evaluate the progress I have made for the week, month, quarter or year and celebrate how I made movement towards my goals. For example in 2021 I wanted to go on an Island vacation for a whole week with my husband in absolute luxury. At first it was just a dream–what if I couldn’t afford it? What if I couldn’t find a sitter for the kids..What If? What if? But then I looked at what I needed both personally and professionally to take off a whole week and completely unplug to be fully present on this trip. I also needed to decide on the budget for a luxury vacation and how I was going to create the money for this trip. After identifying what I needed to put in place I booked the air, accommodations and excursions in less than 2 months from departure. It took time to research the destinations and the place I wanted to go. I hit a few challenges along the way too of course. It can become easy to sit in a place of “I can’t” OR “I don’t know how” and feel stuck–but by identifying your vision, breaking down what you need to create that vision you can create the success you want in life. And most important is to take time to dig into your own definition of success- Is it more time off? More ideal clients? Higher fees?
Katie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have 2 successful businesses- I am a life and business coach who coaches clients to create the life of their dreams. I work mainly with female entrepreneurs who are ready to take their life and business to the next level. This summer I am leading a Coaching Adventure Group in the San Juan Islands Kayaking and supporting women in defining the next steps to their highest level of success for the next 6 months. Additionally I run a boutique bookkeeping firm for small to medium sized businesses. My team and I support solopreneurs in going from financially lost and disconnected to fully articulate in their business finances. We support our clients with one on one consulting and keeping their books organized in order to use the information to help them run their business with ease and efficiency. By understanding their numbers my clients have been able to double their income, reach 1M revenue goals, expand their teams, increase profits and take home pay by 50% while decreasing their hours working. Both of my businesses are by referral or invitation only. The kind of clients I work with are highly motivated to make changes and receive support in solving their biggest complaints and challenges.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
As a female I have been taught for most of my life to make others happy or pleased with me. In most instances the key question I have had when interacting with clients: “is this person happy with me?” “Does this person like me?” This kind of thinking created a very challenging work environment for myself which I promised I would never let happen- I was very unhappy and felt like my clients were in charge and I wasn’t. I would ask myself- “why did you start your own business if you aren’t running the business you want to have”. With my loving and supportive coach I was able to see that my pleasing behavior was not serving me or my clients. I was creating a dynamic that caused the client to carry the responsibility and I was being dragged along for the ride. This was not the way I wanted it. By implementing more clear direction, processes and requirements for working with me, and defining the scope of work were some of the ways I shifted this dynamic. I created a tight container for my clients to relax into- they now could sleep better at night knowing things were handled. Additionally its important to note that this wasn’t a comfortable process for me at first- it took time to practice the language around how I worked and the systems the clients needed to follow. I found that after time and practice though it became very natural to lead my clients- to guide them through the process of working with me. I found that I started to work with more serious entrepreneurs and started to see even better results, additionally I was able to continually raise my fees.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
One of the ways I show up for my community and referrals is by serving. What I mean by serving is offering time to someone I see doing something exceptional or exciting at no fee. This is a time to get them supported in what is occurring for them in their life and business and help them move the needle. For example I worked with a woman for one 90 minute session…we got into her complaints and challenges as a multi-location business owner. I supported her in seeing where she could be a stronger leader, making specific agreements with her team, making clearer systems and processes for her staff etc. This woman was struggling with lack of clarity for herself and her business. After just one call she had a vision and clear path forward with her business. It was remarkable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.FinancialVisionBookkeeping.com
- Instagram: financialvisionbookkeeping
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FinancialVisionBookkeeping/?modal=suggested_action
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-bray