We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Holland recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. undefined
Launching The Executive Deck, our signature multimedia coaching cards, is one of the most innovative things I’ve done in my career. It all started when a client once pleaded with me to join them at a major negotiation; to literally sit at the table with them as they faced off with a difficult colleague. They were terrified to sit alone and stand their ground. I knew I couldn’t be an Andrea-sized fly on the wall of that room – but what if I could give them something just before they walked in that would center them and offer them legitimate advice they could take action on immediately? That was the moment the idea for The Executive Deck was born.
The launch process gave me proof that resting and giving ourselves space to roam, create & explore is absolutely vital to growth and innovation. I truly believe a big reason I was able to even concept the idea behind the cards is because I had space to think about them first. As a business owner, space and time are a premium thing; we don’t often give ourselves much of either – yet, the payout of doing so is insanely good. Space and time that allow for curiosity, joy – and even boredom – are the heartbeat of innovation, I believe.
The Executive Deck cards are profoundly simple; so much so that – initially – I thought, “Nah, why bother? Why do all that work to create something when you can just call or email your client?” Then, though, I grew deeply curious about “why not?” What I have discovered along my journey of innovating through this deck has been priceless: renewed purpose, freedom to expand my brand, conversations and connections with demographics I previously couldn’t afford to coach or help because of the lower price point, and much more. These cards have offered me a whole new business – when I wasn’t even seeking one.
Andrea, 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’m an executive coach by trade and a mojo booster, lifehacker and mouthy broad in spirit. I’m also a mom, fierce advocate, data nerd and accidental business owner. Oh yeah, I started my company seemingly by accident nearly 15 years ago.
When my 12-year portfolio career in communications (I served as a morning radio DJ, award-winning public relations pro internationally-traveling e-learning video producer, and voice over artist) came to a screeching halt after a nasty corporate buyout and eventual company-wide layoff, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do next. Then, a fateful post on social media from a local woman asking for tips on how to do a radio interview the next day, led me to spontaneously starting a business. I met that woman for coffee, and hours later, her executive director asked me if I could coach their entire leadership team. And – with that – a business was born (with nothing more than some hot-brained confidence and $2k in my bank account).
Today, I lead a 6-figure business run by a multi-national team of women, and I coach executives and teams across the globe on my proprietary leadership framework that focuses on 5 “roots” of personal and professional growth: self-awareness, resistance, resilience, relationships and communication. In 2024, I launched my first retail product: The Executive Deck – the first deck of multimedia professional coaching cards that offers actionable prompts and deeper dives to over 50 multimedia learning assets.
What sets me apart from other coaches, I think, is that I offer an intensely authentic voice and approach. I’ve stood in my clients’ shoes as a former 9-to-5-er. I know intimately the hot messes that often exist in corporate environments. I know deeply the frustration of feeling unheard, unseen and unimportant. It’s my personal mission everyday to work with people who want to overcome whatever is holding them back so they can show up, do more and be more for the world they want to create.
I believe that to serve as a coach of the highest caliber, one must work diligently at three things: clarity, consistency and continuity. I invest heavily in the self-work that establishes and supports those three outcomes. As a woman of color working now for 14 years in an industry dominated mostly by people who look nothing like me (according to the Coaching Foundation, 68.41% of executive coaches are white, and only in recent years has the gender balance nearly leveled off), I take very seriously how important it is to be qualified, confident and practiced in order to serve well in my field. If I’m not actively learning and challenging myself, I cannot teach or guide. It is truly an honor and gift to be able to help others in the ways that I do – and I deeply embrace the privilege of being able to do so.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
“When am I going to see your name in the local business journal?” That was the question posed to me by a successful business woman whose professional advice I had sought over lunch one day. Her question scared me…and she knew it. My stammering, half-honest response of “I’m not sure” certainly did me no favors in showing up as a confident and capable business woman. I couldn’t tell at the time (and honestly still don’t know) if her question was meant to inspire or intimidate me. It certainly shook me up and made me think.
Back then, I was just getting started with my company and one of my biggest challenges was that I didn’t have full clarity on what I was creating. Up until that point, I’d had big success offering one thing: media training. But, I wanted to offer more. I knew I had a unique skill in coaching and guiding others on doing brave things like public speaking, launching businesses, and setting boundaries in their personal life. I wasn’t sure, though, how to expand, how to grow my business or brand into any of these other spaces. In truth, I was afraid to be anything other than what I knew for sure how to be.
Later that day – as I recounted my story of my stammering moment to another trusted business friend – she replied, “Andrea, you need to have an insane desire to be seen if you plan to make it in business. You’re never going to get found if you don’t want to be.” Both of these moments with each of these women taught me a very important lesson: In business, friends and foes alike will be watching to see what you do next. Give them something to watch, or get out of the way…because the only one who loses in business is the one who makes no moves at all.
I launched my business website shortly after these two conversations – and I included in it that I was planning to offer new kinds of coaching and professional support. I didn’t know exactly how, only that I would. That was 14 years ago. Today, I lead a thriving six-figure company that – back then – I could only have ever dreamed of having. Today, I ask people starting out the same question that woman asked me so many years ago to inspire them to get going.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
If you’re not gonna do it right, don’t do it at all. This has been a major lesson that I’ve had to unlearn at many key points of my career and business – like when I’ve launched new products or services, or basically every time I send out a newsletter or click “approved” on my social media manager’s post drafts.
In January 2024, I had very light – but hopeful – plans to launch my first-ever retail product, a deck of professional coaching cards called The Executive Deck. Launching these cards had been a personal dream for well over a decade, and I was hell-bent on getting the product and the launch perfect. It wasn’t until the third quarter of the year when a new – and very wise – business friend encouraged me to take a leap and launch my cards for sale at a national conference 3000 miles away from my home base. I had no marketing materials, no vetted pricing structure, no proof that the market would even welcome this product right now. Heck, I didn’t even have any inventory ready to go.
That lesson of “do it right or not at all” raged in my mind, until my friend said, “Andrea, everyone’s newborn baby is kinda ugly when it’s born. Show the world your ugly baby. It’ll be just fine.” I bought my flight tickets a week later and launched my card deck one month later. We sold out our initial inventory in a matter of weeks and card decks are now being used and fanned-over across the U.S. We plan to launch our B2B strategy in early 2025.
My lesson-learned and new motto are: “Perfect is the enemy of ‘done’.” I move much faster these days and worry far less about perfect. I sleep well, though, knowing that every day, I move a little past perfect, and closer to done.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.andreahollandcoaching.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreahollandcoaching/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreayholland/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@coachandreaholland
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