We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelsey Lettko. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelsey below.

Kelsey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

A defining moment in my coaching career was on the first day of my certification course. I still wasn’t totally bought into the whole coaching thing, and was planning to just dip a little toe in and see what it was all about.

Each day there was a demo on one of the students to show the techniques we were learning.

My trainer was a woman in her mid-eighties who had shifted to coaching after a long career as a therapist. She wore sparkly converse and had more pep in her step than anyone I’d met in a long time.

My plan to sit back and be a passive participant totally backfired when she saw right through me and chose me to be the first demo. I was absolutely horrified — as an introvert still in my “shy girl era”, sharing my heart and soul in front of a room full of strangers was not my vibe.

But I also wanted to be open and really see what coaching could do, so I said yes.

In 15 minutes, this woman changed my entire life.

She expertly guided me out of the small world my mind had created for myself, and drew out the real dreams I had hidden inside me. She poked holes in my limiting stories and got me to see life in a new way — one that made me feel alive for the first time in my adulthood.

I knew with my whole self that this, whatever she had just done, was what I wanted to do for others. She had me hooked, and I decided right there that I was all in on coaching.

This was years ago now, and I still think about this moment all the time. If it wasn’t for her seeing through my doubt and inviting me into that chair in the center of the room, I might not have the career I love and the confidence in the work I do. This moment changed the course of my whole life. It took me me off the path I’d been walking — one that had never felt quite right — and onto the one that’s led me to a life and career that feels authentic to me.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As a life coach and hypnotist, there are to paths to working together.

One is for those who want answers to the big questions, like “what am I doing next”, or “how to I get from where I am to where I want to be”. I partner with clients on a journey of self-discovery and transformation and help people design the next chapter of life and/or career with confidence and fulfillment at the core.

The other is for those who have a specific change they want to make, and want to focus on changing their brain via hypnotherapy as our main tool together. We usually spend a few sessions together making change in the brain’s response to old triggers, beliefs, and blocks so they can access the freedom, peace, and empowerment on the other side.

Whichever path you take, all of my work is informed through the lens of brain change. This feels so exciting to me, because my clients experience a transformation from the inside out — from the subconscious mind to what unfolds in their lives.

If there’s any change you want to make — from whole life redesign to getting over a specific fear, phobia, or old story — I can help you!

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

My early career was in tech, and while I love my career now, I would start there again in a heartbeat.

Being in tech at a unicorn startup in it’s earlier days was a wild experience. It moved at hyper-speed, and there was a scrappy “just figure it out” mentality that I thrived on.

No one had a perfect answer, and everyone was expected to do their best and create something world-class.

Getting to be in this environment right out of school blew my mind wide open in terms of what was possible and how big people could dream. I worked with a team of some of the smartest people I know, and learned so much about blending the head and the heart to create beautiful products and experiences. In a way, that’s the essence of what I do now — helping people harmonize their brains with their hearts to create beautiful lives.

I credit the nearly 10 years I spent in the tech industry before leaning into my business full-time for preparing me to work hard, dream big, and for having the self-trust to know I’ll be able to figure it out even when I don’t know the perfect answer.

The path I took to get to my dream career as a coach, hypnotist, and yoga teacher was certainly not linear, but I have a deep love for my journey and I wouldn’t change it. It got me exactly to where I want to be.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

The community of women around me who are also solopreneurs, small business owners, and service providers feels so important to my success.

We are all passion-driven, and most of us didn’t choose our paths to run businesses — we wanted to share our services and gifts to help others.

And yet, we found ourselves having to learn marketing, email platforms, Squarespace, and all kind of other things that go into running a business. Instead of letting the business side of things deter us, we face these learning curves head on and have each other for support.

This community helps me feel like I’m not alone. We learn together, support each other, hire each other, and lift each other up as we grow. Some of us even meet weekly on Monday mornings to plan out our weeks in a group I’ve started called The Circle (any and all solopreneurs are welcome!). We are in a Slack channel together, co-work throughout the week, and truly feel like we are part of a team.

Through being part of this community, I’ve learned that working for yourself doesn’t have to be lonely.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kelseylettko.com
• Instagram: @kelseylettko
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-lettko-b45b0280/

Image Credits

Riley Marie Photography