We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie K. recently and have shared our conversation below.

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

The idea for my business came from several sources. The first was when I was a single mom in my early 20s, trying to find a way to make money that would give me more time with my young daughter, rather than leaving her in daycare for most of the day and week. I saw a need for a better selection of clothes in the small city I lived in at the time, so I decided to try my hand at selling clothes there that I bought from my hometown of Chicago. However, to get things going, I realized I needed to make flyers, business cards, and other marketing materials. I made them myself and quickly discovered my knack for graphic design, as my designs received more attention than my clothes did. So I shifted my business focus and started creating graphic designs to meet other businesses’ and individuals’ needs. That business lasted for about a year.

Nevertheless, along with graphic design, I had been a writer ever since I was a child and earned an English degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. To make money on the side as my family grew, I also became a writing coach while working on my own books in my free time. I also worked as a copywriter briefly when my kids were still small. All the other services I offer in my current business are skills I developed over the years while trying to grow a coaching business that complemented my books. Since my coaching business struggled to provide a regular income for me once all my children were in school, I started the business I have now, which offers all my talents and knowledge to other small business owners and writers. With my current business, I provide graphic design, copywriting, marketingrketing consultancy work, strategy coachinvariousfferent types of business coaching.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Stephanie Kekeocha, and I am a 45-year-old African-American soon to be wife and mother of five. I grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and currently reside in Champlin, Minnesota. As I stated before, my current business is a compilation of talents and skills that I’ve learned or discovered I had over the years. I decided to go into business for myself so that I could be available more flexible to parents and continue raising my children. The problems that I saw for my clients I know very well from my own experiences of trying to start projects and businesses on my own. I know the problems that small business owners and writers run into and pride myself on being able to help them for an affordable price along that Journey. I currently provide copywriting, coaches writing, graphic design website design strategy coaching, business coaching, self-publishing coaching, and other customized services. I think what sets me apart from others is that I am a bit of a One-Stop shop for small business owners and Riders to get a good idea of what to expect what they need and get some of their needs met when trying to start a business or project. Since I am a one woman show and work from home I’m also able to do this at a very affordable and competitive price. What I’m most proud of is being able to utilize all the skills that I’ve learned in a way that I can stay home and be there for my children. I pride myself on making a confusing journey of a starting business or writing a book a little bit easier because I did not have that kind of help myself when I was in the same boat.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest pivot I’ve had to make in my business was creating the second business, which resulted directly and indirectly from the first one. My first business started with poetry and self-help books that I started writing right out of college. Getting traditionally published proved to be more difficult than I realized, so I had to take the self-publishing route. But even after getting published, marketing wasn’t another uphill battle.

Trying to sell books was almost like a double-edged sword because no one wanted to buy my books because they didn’t know my name, and nobody knew my name because they didn’t read my books, so I had to come up with different ways to get my name out there. In order to do this and be taken more seriously, I started writing blogs, doing vlogs, utilizing social media, doing speaking events, and taking a plethora of training courses. From there, I stumbled upon life coaching and realized it was what I was already doing. I sought to become certified, eventually becoming a master coach and adding that title to my content and books.

With that title, I established a coaching business, did podcast interviews, and started my own podcast. But selling books and coaching packages was still a slow grind. Because the business was not bringing in regular funds and required more money to run, I needed to pivot to something more stable. That is why I started my business, Momentum Graphix, Copy, & Coaching, which I have now. It was simply a collection of the information and knowledge I had gained over the years while trying to build my coaching business and become a published author. Not to mention the natural skills I discovered along the way. I am glad my business now provides a regular income and that all the work I put in did not go to waste, but I still dream of the day when my life coaching business will be my primary source of income.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source for new clients for me has been word of mouth and interacting with people in my everyday life. In fact I haven’t had to do much marketing because one satisfied client has always led to another one. I have learned that the difference between this business and my coaching business is that I don’t have to convince people that they need my services. With my second business people are already actively looking for someone to help them with what they need so when I come along and tell them what I do and the price I can do it for, many times its an easy fit.

But with my coaching business, I always had to convince people that my coaching services and books were what they needed. And even if they realized it could be helpful getting them to spend money on their own personal and relationship development was a different thing. So it is much easier when it comes to marketing and getting clients than it was with my coaching business.

Even aside from Word of Mouth it is very easy when I come into contact with business people which is on a very regular basis for me to simply see their needs or ask them what they need and they have a job that needs to be completed. So I would say that the biggest source for new clients is to be confident to talk to people and explain to them what you offer and to make sure you do a good job so they will refer you to their family and friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.momentumgraphixandcopy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momentumgraphix/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/momentumgraphixandcopy
• Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dVjpkXeGYGoweUCB8