Meet Kaitlyn Cook, Founder and CEO of Kaitlyn Cook Coaching (KCC) Since 2008 she’s helped over 1,000 people & businesses, globally start, grow & scale for success, sustainability & connection. Early on in her career, Kaitlyn was a business specialist, lending over $12 million dollars to start-ups and growing businesses to help them start, scale & expand.
Kaitlyn Cook is now using her knowledge in business, finance and combining it with her passion of growth, healing & mindfulness.
‘’The world is ready for mumpreneurs & fempreneurs to start solving the big problems we care about and give back in ways only women can.’’ Kaitlyn Cook
What inspired you to start Kaitlyn Cook Coaching business?
Honestly, it started as a way to make money whilst traveling. In 2019, I had been living in the UK for 2 years and met my English boyfriend a year into my stay. He wasn’t able to get another Australian visa and I couldn’t stay in the UK so we decided to quit our jobs and travel the world instead. The business kind of started out of necessity to earn money to support our travel and for us to be able to see how our relationship would evolve.
Like some people do I never actually had the desire to start my own business, I always knew I wanted to create a huge impact whatever I did, wanted to make my own income & be location independent. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to do that.
The inspiration I guess you could say has now grown into helping empower women to start & scale their own business, however that looks to them.
A huge component of business is mindset, so what you say to yourself and what you choose to believe. Throughout my journey, I constantly found myself waiting for permission to do something, to make a move in my own business or to ask someone what I should charge for my services. Through this realization the inspiration for what KCC has grown into today was born. We help women feel empowered in business to be their own CEO’s, we teach them how to make their own decisions strategically and intuitively.
Women empowering women is my driving force, when a woman steps into her power, knows her worth and says it confidently, that is what entrepreneurship is all about.
Tell us more about Kaitlyn Cook Coaching, who are your clients, what are they looking for?
Our clients are the aspiring & seasoned fempreneurs at all stages of the journey, who believe it’s their time to start or scale something great and want to learn how to create impact & wealth. The women out there who want to combine strategy with intuition and head with heart in all that they do.
I believe the greatest gift you can give someone is knowledge so everything we do is about teaching our clients how to think like an entrepreneur. Teaching them the internal and external systems needed to create a successful business and mind.
We offer business workshop classes for 1 – 2 hours for those who want a quick lesson to move them to the next level. Our self-paced courses are catered towards those who like to follow the steps in their own time and our coaching package allows our clients to start & scale with a more hands-on approach.
We have broken down our services to meet our women where they are emotionally, because one thing I’ve realised over the past 15 years is there are 3 major stages that people need help with in business.
Stage 1: The Vision stage | Start.
This is for those who know they want to start a business they need some inspiration to bring it all to life. Typically someone in the very early stages of their entrepreneurial journey.
Stage 2: The Empowerment Stage | Grow
This is for those amongst us who need that confidence boost, typically they have been in business or tried to start a business before and know there’s an easier way. They are looking for encouragement, accountability and empowerment to bring their business forward.
Stage 3: The Clarity Stage | Scale
This is for our seasoned professionals, the ones who have started a business and are looking to scale to new heights. The ones who need a little direction & who want to gain clarity so they can propel further.
Our clients range from mothers, CEOs in a full-time role, creatives, writers, coaches, and everything in between. Our ideal clients are those who want to feel inspired, empowered & create incredible IMPACT & profit for themselves & the world.
How has Kaitlyn Cook Coaching grown so big?
I realised a couple of years into my entrepreneurial journey that I was playing small because I was afraid what others would think of me and I didn’t want to ‘ruffle’ any feathers. (Who else can relate!) So I decided after my son was born enough was enough I wanted to be a great role model for him, I wanted to show him what it was like to go after something 100%.
Never did I realise it would have grown as big as it did as quickly as it did. Ladies if there is anyone out there wondering if you should ramp it up, if there is that inkling inside of you that you are capable of so much more than you are allowing yourself, go after it.
It will change your life and create new opportunities you never thought possible before. What impacted the quick growth for me was getting honest with what was holding me back, the fear of being seen, what others would think of me ( you know the usual things we say to ourselves to keep us small & ‘comfortable) I shifted my focus from what ‘others would think’ to what I now wanted to believe is possible for me.
A driving force for me is empowering women all over the world, educating them and lifting each other up. Everything I do is with that in mind, if you lead with your why, your mission or driving force, that for me unleashed a stronger version of myself who never quit on herself or her mission.
How do you manage work life balance with a baby?
My partner Tom both run our own companies so we are fortunate we have some flexibility with our time and have gotten very good at managing to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.
As you know a baby and business are both constantly changing and growing and require a good amount of energy, everyday is a new experience. I have learnt to let go of a lot of things I thought I needed to do as well as dropped the need for everything to be perfect. I was also somewhat forced into looking after myself so I could get the energy I need to put into my business, son and life.
I follow the mantra, done is better than perfect.
I remember when Alfie was really young I had 2 hours in the middle of the day when he slept to do my work. I used to have the whole day so this was an adjustment. I actually came to love this limited time because it’s profound what occurs when you only focus on one thing at a time and are intentional with your time. I got good at doing the uncomfortable for those two hours then switched back to mum mode for the rest of the day.
My partner and I both wake around 5.30-6am an hour before our son wakes, we meditate, read and do some work if we need or want to. That hour energises us for the remainder of the day and keeps us focused on what we are aiming for that week. When I’m with Alfie I try to give him my full attention, an hour of present time is far greater than hours of distracted time.
Alfie knows his Mum and Dad both work and he’s only 18 months but we always let him know what we have planned for the day so when I say Mummy is going to work now, he gives me a kiss and I shut the study door.
He’s just started opening the doors now so he runs into the study for a big cuddle and then I’m back to Mum mode. (often happy for the distraction)
I find not putting pressure on myself helps with the fluidity of this lifestyle the challenge for me is not being able to predict when Alfie gets sic or when I get 2 or 4 projects in on the same day (true story) So having a good support network around, not procrastinating just executing what has to be done then giving yourself time throughout the day to be still, breathe and recharge.
Also wine, a good movie, an epic workout and a great laugh helps when it all gets a little overwhelming.
Tell us what is one mistake you see all women make when you’re coaching them?
It’s not a mistake in the traditional sense, more as a mindset shift and belief that can be rewritten.
The women I coach are unique, intelligent, beautiful in their own right and have a fire within them to be more and create more in this world.
Majority of the women I work with don’t see how truly inspiring & empowering they are, almost every time I work with someone the process is the same. It is about a 2-4 weeks process where they move through all the fear and negativity they have been telling themselves to a state of excitement, opportunity & radiance.
I can literally see them glowing from the screen, wearing more colour, putting in more of an effort. I can literally see it, when they are in their element. That’s why I highlight one of our services as Empowerment, because this is what it LOOKS like to be empowered, ‘problem’ is it FEELS different so people shy away from it because it’s new. They are unstoppable, owning themselves & glorious. Then they get scared of this new version of themselves that they retreat and I guess actually the mistake would be that they don’t think they are worthy to be that bolder version of themselves.
When they are in their element they are truly unstoppable, magnetic & empowered, then they retreat back to what they know.
What I struggle with when I see this is how much they are in control of their own business & life, they can be a stronger, bolder, more empowered version of themselves to create this inspiring business.
What are some hurdles an aspiring business owner might not be aware of?
The mental hurdles are a big one, business is about 80% mental. Every time you need to level up in your business, sign on a new client, do a live, cold call, whatever it may be that level up requires a personal up level as well. Meaning the things you have said to yourself up until this point have gotten you this far, now you need to change some of the narratives so you can level up and keep moving forward. Best way to do that is ask yourself is this thought beneficial.? If it isn’t what thought can you replace it with. Some people aren’t aware of this but we are in control of our own thoughts, we get to decide what we say to ourselves and what we want to believe is possible for us. So you might as well be your biggest cheerleader and sing your own praises because from all the women I’ve coached, there really is something remarkable that happens when you start being kind and loving to yourself.
What have you learned most from entrepreneurship?
Your business will only grow as much as you do. If you want to be an entrepreneur and a successful and wealthy one then you have to get used to doing A LOT of self-improvement and growth. The businesses I’ve worked with in the past, the ones that stayed stuck, were the ones not willing to let go of something. Be it an idea of what it was meant to look like, a grudge against a previous colleague, client or friend or they weren’t willing to think differently. Entrepreneurship is a journey of self-discovery the more you can discover about yourself the more you can discover, connect & serve your audience.
What is a skill you think all women should learn and why?
This goes into what I spoke about as the ‘biggest mistake’ women make, I believe all women should learn how to love themselves & set up healthy, clear boundaries to show others how to love them as they want and need. Entrepreneurship as I’ve mentioned is all about personal discovery and mindset shifts, through this you learn who you are at your core. Learning how to love yourself in all your moments of vulnerability, failures, embarrassment and everything in between helps you stand a little taller. Start & Scale is a 6 month course designed for coaches + creatives in mind. This is where I teach you that you attract what you are, so if you are feeling chaotic you attract chaos. Equally on the other hand if you are feeling love you will attract that. Ladies, teach yourself how to love yourself, if you don’t know where to start, sign up to any of my workshops, my courses or coaching and a great book resource is You are a Badass by Jen Sincero. She was great in my growth and learning how to start liking who I am.
If you could go back by ten years, what would be some of the top tips you would give our audience?
Meditate! For those who want to try and never have read Stress Less, accomplish more by Emily Fletcher. Start a healthy and self care morning & night routine. Start the day and end the day for you, GREAT
HABIT TO GET INTO. The only advice you really need to care about is your own, do you think you can do this? If you say yes than do it, if you say no, question it then turn it into a yes! Read, laugh and dance daily and know that it will all work out in the end.
Share two advice for female entrepreneurs.
That wall you keep banging your head against, if you take a deep breath, slow down for a moment you will realise it has a door… and it’s unlocked. The next piece of advice I would give fellow fempreneurs is you are your biggest asset. Focus on where you want to go and look after her now, treat yourself like the multi-millionaire you are (if that’s where you want to head) So get your 8 hours of sleep, drink lots of water (it’s great for the brain) eat a great diet, play, laugh & move your body and mind.
What is the one advice that has impacted you the most?
To get something you’ve never had, means you have to become someone you’ve never been. This piece of advice actually ended up being the trajectory that had me take a career break from my corporate job and fly to the other side of the world for 2 years. Most terrifying and rewarding thing I have ever done. Get comfortable being uncomfortable because that truly is where the magic happens. Nothing changes if nothing changes. You’ve got this Ladies, I’m cheering you on every step of the way