Sometimes, joining a franchise doesn’t mean starting over in a whole new career, sometimes it’s just a natural extension of what you’re already doing.
That was the case for Atlanta, GA Growth Coach franchisee Kim Ellet, who bought her franchise at the beginning of 2014. Ellet was already coaching clients at the time, specializing in helping business owners with their marketing and public relations. With her background working in and owning small businesses, coaching other business owners was a natural next step.
She was also a student at the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC) undergoing the 14-month process of becoming a certified business coach when she bought her franchise.
“As I was helping my current clients, I realized they needed more help than just getting the word out about their business so I started looking for another tool,” Ellet explained during a recent interview.
Ellet, who describes herself as a life-long learner, was also enrolled in a social media marketing course at a local community college in late 2013. In that course, she had a homework assignment to set up a Google Alert, which is a tool from Google that scours the internet for news on whatever keywords you choose and then sends you alerts when those keywords show up in the news.
Being interested in business coaching, Ellet set up her Google Alert to send her any information about ‘business and life coaching’ that popped up in the news. The only information she was receiving via the alert was about a company she had never heard of called Growth Coach.
“I started researching the company and realized the tool was right there,” she recalled. “The processes and systems that Dan Murphy had already created was exactly what I was looking for, so I purchased the franchise to add some more tools to my tool belt.”
What drew her to Growth Coach is that the company offers something different. The Growth Coach works with business owners and professionals to change habits and mindsets. With these proven processes, the business owner works “on” their business rather than just in it. This leads to long lasting change that affects the bottom line and overall quality of life.
In large corporations, the CEO has a VP of Marketing, a VP of Sales, a CFO, head of HR, etc. For the small to medium size business, the owner tends to wear most of the hats.
“We coach our clients to put in systems. This is the first step in growing staff, companies and the bottom line. We provide the on-going accountability and support that makes the success stick.”
Getting Started
Fortunately for Ellet, The Growth Coach was having one of their annual conventions right around the time she came on board, so she got to meet a lot of Growth Coach owners and staff from around the world. Having the network of coaches around the globe as well as corporate marketing and operations staff has been a big plus.
Ellet works out of her home office, meeting with clients in their facility or using the facilities of The Georgian Club, where she is a member. The Growth Coach offers executive one-on-one coaching as well as small group coaching, for up to 10 people in a group. Ellet also works with a company’s sales and leadership teams.
The Growth Coach is affiliated with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, the franchisee said, this means certified public accountants are able to benefit from the franchise’s coaching processes and workshops while earning continuing education credits. This makes Growth Coach a great value for certified public accountants as they grow their firms.
The ongoing training and support that is still offered through Growth Coach corporate includes webinars, mentoring phone calls and e-blasts.
Growth Coach offers an established referral-based marketing system, along with proprietary tools to attract new clients. Franchisees also have access to the company’s 90-Day Secrets to Success marketing plan, which they can use for their business.
Ellet is very active with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce and BNI, both offering excellent opportunities to be more involved in the community and help support fellow business owners.
Flexibility Appreciated
As a single mom of three high school-age teenagers, Ellet is glad her Growth Coach franchise gives her some flexibility to schedule her workday around her children’s schedules.
“It’s nice to have a little flexibility to take my kids to their practices and activities after school and then do more of my work while they work on their homework in the evening!”
For Ellet, as with most business owners, it’s very busy growing a business and raising 3 children. The Growth Coach tools help make that process a lot easier!