We recently connected with Katie Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I have always had a passion for helping others. I went to school to be a nurse and loved being a pediatric ICU nurse for many years. After that, I transitioned into the medical device industry where I support nurses and physicians in the ICU setting that I had thrived in the previous decade. Throughout my career, I always felt like I was destined to do something more. I dabbled with different ideas but was not finding the spark I was looking for. It wasn’t until I entered into the world of coaching that I knew this was what I had always been called to do.

In 2020, I found myself at my highest weight and feeling very lost in regards to the direction of my career. That is when I found the coaching world. The tools that I have learned through coaching, have changed every aspect of my life from my weight, to my career, to my relationships. I knew that I had to share these tools with other professional women to help them gain the control over their life that I have. I share my knowledge and experience so that they too can achieve all their goals and start dreaming bigger than they ever thought possible. And that is how Koaching with Katie started.

Katie, 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 have battled my weight my whole life. I remember being the fat kid on the dance team. Everyone always told me, I just needed to eat less and work out more, meanwhile I was competitively dancing 6 days a week. I signed up for my first weight loss program in high school and have been on and off diets ever since.

Fast Forward to adulthood, I have been a medical professional for all of my adult life. I started as an RN and quickly moved into the ICU and then transitioned into the corporate world of medical device.

I, like many medical professionals, have struggled with my weight and felt very guilty about it. As a nurse, I was ‘supposed to know about nutrition and staying healthy’. Which we actually don’t recieve a lot of education on. Most of us work long work hours and navigating break rooms full of leftover pizza and highly processed ‘treats’. Taking bites or mouthfuls to try to get a hit of energy or numb the feelings of pain, sadness, exhaustion, etc. I did not identify as an emotional eater but now see how that was the case.

Me finding a way to achieve permanent weight loss was how I found coaching but it was only the beginning of the journey. Coaching has given me the tools to achieve my goal weight, set and achieve goals in my career, change the relationship I have with myself and my loved ones, and so much more. I have transformed my life by understanding how my brain can stand in my way or how it can help me achieve everyething I want.

I knew that if I could change my life, that I could help other professional women do the same. I give others the tools they need to achieve their goals, get the energy they need to do all the things we do as women, and teach them how to love their bodies and themselves. Our brain sends us tens of thousands of thoughts every day – many of them negative and many of them getting in our way. Coaching helps us explore those thoughts and in particular the ones that are holding you back from lving your dreams.

So many programs are generically set up as a one size fits all…which is why they don’t work. Every one of us is unique and has different challenges, obstacles, and needs. This is why I offer a 6 month 1:1 coaching program that is a completely individualized approach to find awareness around what is holding you back from achieving your dreams. Together, we set big goals and then build a road map of how to achieve them. You learn how to use your brain to conquer any problem and drive your success. You gain the control over food and time that you have never dreamed possible. You learn to love yourself not only at your goal but also on the journey. You will gain access to my private Facebook community and all the resources and tools you need to support and guide you.

As a busy professional lady, I understand the challenges that come with trying to navigating weight loss or now weight maintenance while achieving goals in your professional career, building a business or side hustle, traveling, and managing a household. And this is why I am so excited to work with other busy professional women.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There is no one who has lost 85 pounds that did it perfectly. And there is also no one who has lost 85 pounds that looks back and says I regret putting in the work.

I started losing weight almost immediately with coaching. A few days into it, my weight stayed the same for a few days. Then I lost some more weight and a few days after, my weight went up a little bit. I was frustrated that so early in my weight loss journey I was having plateaus and even weight gains a few days out of the week. During these times, my brain told me “here we go again” or “you have failed at this so many times, this won’t be any different”. In the past, thoughts like this would have made me quit. With my coach’s belief in me and my growing belief in myself, I kept going, I kept journaling, I kept weighing in. Every week, I would evaluate my progress and I began to see that this was my pattern. I was losing weight week over week just not every day. Once I found the pattern, my thoughts changed to ‘you are doing this’, my belief grew, and eventually my goal was achieved!

No journey is ever straight or perfect. I try to remind myself that as I continue to work on business. And I remind my clients that when they are working towards their goals. When things don’t work like you have expected, that is not a failure but an opportunity to learn. There will always be obstacles and challenges, that is life. To succeed, we continue to evaluate what is working and what is not working and make changes accordingly.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Value. I truly believe that everyone has the power within them to transform their life and live their dream. I want to help busy professional women achieve the success they desire, have the energy they need, and love the body they are in. I consistently provide training, tools, and resources on my platforms to help all those who follow me.

I started by offering free 20 minute coaching calls, again to provide value. My first paid client was someone who had signed up for one of those free coaching calls. The women I work with are amazing and have created wonderful results in their lives. As these women thrive, their friends and family become interested in their change and want to be part of this work as well. And they spread the love of Koaching with Katie.

I also think it is extremely important to continue to invest in myself so I am at my best for my clients. So, I invest time on my continued learning and growth every day. I invested in a business coach very early who helped mentor me around this exciting new adventure and guide me to build a solid foundation. And I continue to invest in life coaching and courses to help me manage my mind and keep growing out my comfort zone. If I can do this, anyone can! Sometimes you just need someone to belive in you while you learn to believe in yourself, and I believe in you!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.koachingwithkatie.com/
• Instagram: @koachingwithkatie
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/koachingwithkatie