The Blog

Name, business name – Kirsty Strain, Kirsty Strain Coaching Services

Tell us about your business, the inspiration behind it and when you launched it? I am a voice and communications coach. As an actor and performer for over 15 years, I learned how powerful storytelling can be and the impact it can have. It has the power to motivate, to inspire, to challenge, to move, to cultivate change, it creates community and can instil hope. We all have a story and we are always communicating something so my main motivation became about helping  people own their story and find their voice, to communicate effectively and successfully in any scenario, with confidence, knowing that they are having an impact with genuine authenticity and that they can speak with effortless ease. I deliver tools and strategies to teams, individuals and senior leaders, guiding them through a supportive process designed to create connection for confident and effective communication. I launched my coaching business in 2014.

Best piece of advice you were given at the start of your business journey? You are your business and that gives you a very specific USP. I put myself at the heart of what I do and tailor my sessions to the individual so everything is fully bespoke.

What has been your biggest lesson/ challenge faced so far and how did you overcome it? For many years I balanced my coaching alongside my work as an actor and as a creative, I wasn’t the most administrative or good at balancing my busy schedule. I have learned that everything is figureoutable and I have developed the administrative skills over the years to bring more structure to my day-to-day and I am steadily becoming more effective with time management and scheduling and I’m now able to optimise, to get the best out of myself.

What is your number 1 business tip for success? Invest in yourself, include yourself and align your values with your business values. Building relationships are key to business success so the more genuine you can be and the more you can create positive and genuine relationships with the people you work with, the more your business will thrive. Most of my clientele has come from word of mouth recommendations and that is something I am really proud of.

What are the big business goals for 2024? I want to expand my reach and take my work out on a bigger scale so I’d like to grow my social media and online presence, develop online courses and run more events. I do a tremendous amount of 1-2-1 coaching and I love that but I would like to grow in these other areas so that the tools and strategies I offer can reach and help more people.

How can the GGC Business membership help? It will give me access to recommendations of people who work in marketing and social media so I can learn from them to grow in the areas I want. It will give me accountability so I can set attainable goals and it lets me be a part of a supportive business community that offers support and encouragement. As a sole trader, it can be quite isolating at times and I feel the energy, advice and encouragement from other women in business will be invaluable.

What’s the dream? The big dream would be to coach and speak at the highest level possible. To take my work and expand my reach so I’m helping as many people as possible with their communication and confidence.

Fave mantra to get you buzzed up for business? “Keep moving forward.” There are times when you get knocked down and challenges can be tough so resilience is key. ‘Keep moving forward’ is a message that keeps me invested, in myself and in my goals, even when it gets tough.

Shout out to another local business you admire – I must give a shout out to NM Creates. Nicola is amazing and just designed my website and logo. She created something very bespoke and representative of me. She really took the time to get to know me and my business and I couldn’t be happier with what she created. I now recommend her to everyone.

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