Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anna Kornick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Anna , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

When I first launched my business, I called myself a Leadership Coach. But deep down, I had a burning desire to help women with time management so they could stop feeling overwhelmed and love their lives. The problem was, I had never come across another time management coach, and wasn’t even sure if time management coaching was even a thing.

Finally, I gave in to my desire and made the decision to fully step into being a Time Management Coach. But how could I be a “real” Time Management Coach without any clients?

With no clients to coach, I decided to pour into my Instagram followers. Every day, I shared a time management tip, a goal-setting how-to, or a productivity method in my Instagram stories. I called myself a Time Management Coach and invited people to reach out if they had questions.

Within a few weeks, an Instagram DM appeared in my inbox from a college acquaintance that I hadn’t seen in years. She shared that she was completely overwhelmed with work, travel and taking care of her family – but she was ambitious and wanted to succeed in her role. She wanted to know how we could work together.

I was floored. Reading her message was exciting and terrifying. Someone actually wanted to work with me! I quickly sketched out the framework for a 5-week coaching package and we set up a call.

I’m so grateful to her for taking the leap and trusting me as her coach. And – I’m proud of myself for getting creative and “coaching” my Instagram followers when I didn’t have any clients.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I kicked off my career click clacking around in high heels and business suits in the marble halls of Congress. As a Scheduler for a United States Congressman, it was my job to manage the schedule of one of the most in demand people in the country – someone who had to somehow be everywhere at once! My days were spent sitting in front of an Outlook calendar for what felt like 10-12 hours at a time, fielding meeting requests from constituents back home in New Orleans, emails from lobbyists, speaking requests, dinner invitations, not to mention committee meetings and an ever-changing vote schedule.

As much as I loved the hustle and bustle of DC life, I began to miss home. I’m from Louisiana, and if there’s one thing you need to know about Louisiana – it’s that our food is second to none. And in DC, I just couldn’t find crawfish etoufee, seafood gumbo, shrimp creole, jambalaya, boiled crawfish and all of those good Louisiana foods I’d grown up with. Plus, I missed my family and hated that going home to visit required lots of planning and planes instead of heading down the road.

So, I moved back home and kicked off a ten year career in the 24/7 world of crisis communication and government affairs. Every day was a disaster. Literally. Oil spills. Hurricanes. Tornados. Floods. Droughts. Plant explosions. Nonprofit embezzlement schemes. Universities on the brink of financial collapse. You name it, and I’ve probably escorted someone down a freight elevator and into a back alley in order to avoid TV cameras waiting outside. Creating order out of crisis was kind of my thing.

But as you can imagine, that type of “always on” lifestyle can begin to take it’s toll on you, especially when it’s your job to be there for clients when they’re in their darkest hours. After years of late nights, long hours and adrenaline rushes, I hit burnout. Hard. My boundaries were non-existent. My health was not in a good place. My relationships were crumbling. I was missing important milestone life events. Friends’ baby showers. Birthday parties. I even had to miss my step dad’s 70th surprise birthday party because of a mandatory work event. I never expected that I would become the crisis that needed to be managed. So after one too many mornings spent crying in the stairwell on the way up to my windowless office, I decided that something had to change. Something had to give. Life was just too short. So I walked away. I walked away from what many would consider a cool, prestigious career – a career that made my family proud of me.

But I knew there had to be some way that I could combine that time management experience I’d gotten so early in my career with my love for communicating and creating order out of crisis. After a lot of trial and error, mistakes, and stacks on stacks of books about time management, goal setting, productivity, vision, habits and starting a business – I’m now a time management coach and host of It’s About Time, a podcast about work, life and balance. And I’m on a mission to help busy professionals and business owners climb out of that dark place of burnout that I experienced, or help them avoid it altogether.

My signature method of time management is called The HEART Method. I believe that time management doesn’t begin on the pages of your calendar. Instead, it starts with heart – getting to the heart of what matters most to you. My three phase method begins with casting your vision and clarifying your values. Next, plan your path with clear priorities and SMART goals. Finally, live each day with HEART: Habits, Energy, Attention, Recharge and Time. Just about any time management or work/life balance conundrum can be solved with one of those five pillars.

As a Time Management coach, I believe that better time management and living the life of your dreams shouldn’t cost you thousands of dollars or thousands of hours. Whether we work together for six months through one-on-one coaching sessions, in my group program The Heart Method Accelerator, or in the It’s About Time Academy. The It’s About Time Academy is a one-of-a-kind coaching experience that combines monthly group coaching, a private members-only podcast on a different topic each month, a supportive community where members ask questions and encourage one another.

On June 20, 2023, I will celebrate the culmination of one of biggest goals when Time Management Essentials, published by McGraw Hill, will hit shelves. Time Management Essentials distills years of research and experimentation into 11 chapters filled with everything you need to know to about values-based time management.

When I’m not serving my clients or elbows deep in book edits, you can find me playing in the back yard with my girls Camilla (4) and Elizabeth (2), and our puppy Muffin. My husband Scott and I also run Studio Pizza Productions, a media company providing video and audio editing services to podcasters, YouTubers and content creators. Although we’re often exhausted from running businesses and raising toddlers, we love watching the latest episode of The Mandalorian together, heading to the gym for a workout, or working on our latest Lego project.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Without a doubt, launching my podcast It’s About Time has been the most effective strategy and source of new clients. Through the podcast, I’ve grown my network and made new friends, and created strategic content plans to support coaching or course launches in my business.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Years ago when I was battling burnout and trying to get a grip on my life and figure out what on earth was next, I read 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam. To say it changed my life is an understatement. It completely transformed my relationship with time. Now that I have my own time management book hitting shelves in June 2023, having Laura herself read and write an endorsement for my book felt like a full-circle dream come true.

Contact Info:

• Website: annadkornick.com
• Instagram: annadkornick.com/instagram
• Facebook: annadkornick.com/facebook
• Linkedin: annadkornick.com/linkedin
• Youtube: annadkornick.com/youtube
• Other: Podcast: annadkornick.com/listen

Image Credits
Sarah Becker Photography Rachael Leigh Photography The Rylands Photo Co.