We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kim Butler. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kim below.
Kim, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
A little over 10 years ago I found myself in a transitional season. I had quit my job a year earlier to go on the mission field. When I got back I was looking for potential opportunities and found myself freelancing as a business and project manager. During that time I got connected to a community of creative entrepreneurs in Atlanta, GA. It quickly became apparent that this group had a lot of vision but needed some support in the development of systems and building towards sustainability. So I grew my freelance work with small businesses helping them develop systems and strategies. Around the same time, I started a passion project creating a mentorship program which was in beta testing. Both the freelance work and the mentorship program gained momentum and through some of my own dreaming and strategizing I decided to launch The Whiteboard Room offering both small business coaching and individual mentorship. After a year I was feeling the pain points of owning a business and felt the need for support myself. There was one day in particular, I remember sitting down on my couch and feeling so isolated in my business. Up and to this point the business coaching and mentorship program had stayed pretty separate, but as I recognized my own need for someone to support me, I realized that other business owners and leaders probably felt the same way. That inspired me to re-work my program to provide support for other leaders through holistic goal setting and accountability. Helping businesses was great and I loved it, but there are people behind those businesses and those people have to be healthy if they are going to grow and sustain healthy businesses. That is when the programs merged and I launched a goal setting workshop and accountability program for creative entrepreneurs. Since then I have had the honor and privilege of standing in the corner of leaders all over the world seeing them achieve their goals, and more than that grow as people and leaders.
Kim, 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 am a coach to creatives and the founder of The Whiteboard Room. We offer in-person and virtual coaching programs focused on goal setting and high level accountability. We serve small businesses, corporations, CEO’s, creatives, students, and leaders of all kinds. Our unique approach focuses on the individual and their core values and motivations. The Whiteboard Method goes farther than seeing clients reach their goals; it helps uncover the right goals and strives for holistic success for both the business and the individual behind it.
We don’t believe in quick fixes and are committed to never selling short cuts or gimmicks that promise success. We believe that it is consistency, discipline over time, that will grow something of substance that lasts. No matter how simple that sounds, it is a great challenge. We all need someone in our corner cheering us on, encouraging us, and offering perspective so that we stay the course not only achieving our goals, but maintaining integrity along the way.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
From the beginning, it has been important to serve our clients as individuals and not offer cookie cutter programs and solutions. Because we take time to get to know our client – their values, personality, communication style, goals, etc – we are able to offer services tailored to their unique circumstances and needs. Ultimately, we are committed to caring more about the people than the bottom line; that builds trust with our clients which creates an environment for growth. Seeing the results in their own lives and businesses, our clients have championed us and referrals have become our biggest and best lead generator!
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
There are so many books that have inspired me over the years! In terms of my philosophy some of the biggest influences are the Bible, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, and Switch On Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf (really all of her work).
Even though there are amazing books and a ton of resources on business and goal setting, I think that stories have impacted and taught me more than anything else. Reading memoir, allegory, novels, and poetry, or watching movies and documentaries has inspired my work and encouraged me to think more creatively.
I heard once that people don’t change because you make a good argument or prove a point, they change because they are inspired by story. Some of my favorites are The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Eight by Susan Saint Sing, Hinds Feet In High Places by Hannah Hurnard, If You Find This Letter by Hannah Brencher, Dirt by Mary Marantz, the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery, and The Boys In The Boat by Daniel James Brown.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thewhiteboardroom.com
- Instagram: @thewhiteboardroom
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/THEWBROOM
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-butler-637a4497/
Image Credits
Headshot: Kayla Desimone Brand shots: Ramuel Galarza