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

Alright, Kim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How do you think about spending on things like coffee when times are tough?

When I was called to become a book coach eight years ago, I was working as a substitute teacher. I had left the movie business which was all I knew, and teaching was a good security job while I figured my life out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough money for the long term as a single mom living in the expensive city of Los Angeles. I was invited to a women’s business coaching weekend in Arizona, which was out of pocket for airfare, hotel and the cost of the event. But the nudge felt right to go. After a few days, it was clear I was going to start a career as a coach, and to do so, I needed to sign up for a 6 month program. I almost threw up in the parking lot when I called my friend. I was going to invest money I didn’t have but there was a sense of faith this was the gateway to a much bigger life. Today, when clients have a fearful money moment investing in me as a book coach for a year, I tell them that I too have doubted and walked through fire, but I followed where I was called. It worked out and then some!

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?

Today I help entrepreneurs, coaches, business owners, and anyone with a burning story to tell shine the light on their most powerful narrative. Working in the movies on scripts, we only had 90 minutes to entertain people and create sympathetic characters. The same applies in non-fiction, except my clients are the main character appealing to the reader. My clients come to me often from a fairly accomplished life, but the book feels daunting. They also don’t want to pump out some quickie book. Yet, they are also still navigating Type A lives and careers, so they need the accountability.

What sets me apart from other book coaches is the exploration into their books and motives before we even put words on the page. Who are you to the reader? Why write this book, and why write it now? Often clients will come to me having tried a book before with other coaches or editors and they couldn’t move the needle or get far. They feel frustrated.

I also am a writer. So I like to call myself a “writer’s writer.” I am always writing, whether it’s my next book, a newsletter or an article. I believe in always not just expanding my craft but also learning about the up to date resources for my clients in publishing. For a long time I didn’t take the publishing services I brought to my clients as a marketable part of my business, but I absolutely walk them through the whole process whether it is through self-publishing or through a traditional publisher.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Many of my clients become close friends that I stay in touch with long after their books are done. We develop an intimate bond through the 36 plus weeks that we meet in coaching, and also what is revealed to me about their lives. A year is a long time to spend with someone in their lives week after week, and I get to know them and often call them out on where they may be holding back or not seeing the biggest brightest version of themselves. So truthfully its is through social media, or emails, or a hello text if one of us thinks of the other that is the brand loyalty. I know my clients would refer anyone who wants to write a book to me, but they also know I work with a particular kind of client who has the confidence and stamina to go the long run.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

I am a writer as much as a coach so I write books. Like anyone else, I hope my books can sell widely and make an impact. I don’t look at it as a supplementary income stream but it definitely is. When you write a non-fiction or self-help book, you may be only selling it for $19 but if you provide value for the reader where they see how they can make a change and get a sizable result, they will talk about it to say 100 people and now you have that many people buying a book for $19 and so on. The goal is to make that low-cost revenue stream such a value add, the reader can’t help but share it with their friends. When I wrote my book No Longer Denying Sexual Abuse:Making The Choices That Can Change Your Life, I have the intention of reaching as many abuse survivors as possible to help them elevate their life from denial into freedom.

Contact Info:

• Website: kimohara.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimoharacoach/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimoharacoaching/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimoharacoaching/
• Other: Weekly Column: https://kimohara.substack.com Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-should-write-a-book-about-that/id1504568100?i=1000579082649 Kim O’Hara Books Page: https://www.facebook.com/kimoharabooks/

Image Credits
Debbie Walton (only for headshots)