Interview with Katie Lloyd

In this weeks episode I interview Katie Lloyd who has transitioned her business from solely being a dance teacher to expanding into coaching. We have a rich conversation about a wide range of elements of being in business such a social media, having business besties and the impact your business can have on the world when you understand your purpose. Listen to the episode to develop your business and deepen your belief in yourself.

Dawn Baxter

Hi, Pretties and welcome to this episode of the Beyond the Dawn of Business podcast today, I am delighted to be welcoming my great friend Katie Lloyd, who is a successful business owner and dance school owner as well. I’ll give you the opportunity to introduce yourself darling.

Katie Lloyd

Oh, thank you so much for having me Dawnie, it’s an absolute pleasure to be here with your pretties.

Dawn Baxter

Oh, it’s so good to have you thank you so so much for coming on. And so just give the listeners  I want  to say the viewers but that’s not right  the listeners a little bit of information about what it is you do, your businesses and you know everything that you’ve got going on at the moment.

Katie Lloyd

So I come from a line of lots of jazz hands, red lipstick, and too much Elnet hairspray. So I’m a dancer, I suppose by trade. And I have my own dance school which is in Southampton. So I’ve been running that for about 10 years now. And I freelanced before that so I’ve always been in the world of jazz hands, like I said, and I evolved into more of a coaching role and it kind of coincided with lockdown, actually, which was great, because I felt like the dance community needed a lot of support at that time. So from there, I took my life coaching qualification and now I’m an NLP practitioner as well. So I have a membership and online courses for dance teachers, and I’m just transitioning into more of a coaching role as well for one to one clients locally.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, I knew. I mean, what I love when I hear you talk about your businesses is because when we first met, which is actually two years ago now?   Wow. We were in such a different place in our businesses back then. And it’s been so lovely for me to watch you thrive and grow and change and evolve. And you just seem to have everything kind of sorted now and you have all of these amazing people that you work with you have an amazing group and membership How are you finding it you are you loving life?

Katie Lloyd

I am actually I feel like the balance is just there Dawnie, so it all kind of seems to work. So I’m a mom as well Walters now four, he starts school in September. So I am feeling there might be a little bit of a shift when he goes to school full time. But yes, I’ve cut back a little bit on my teaching just to make family life a little bit more manageable. So I’m able to pick him up from school because, you know, dance teachers and dance school owners have to work evenings and weekends. So I think that’s probably where the idea for my coaching business evolved from is from getting that balance and making sure that everything worked for me, I was getting enough fulfilment out of my job, being able to help and serve others is a big thing for me. And obviously being there for Walter and for my friends, and my family and my loved ones, because you know, you can’t just be a slave to your business all of the time can you?

Dawn Baxter

No, and that’s one of the things that was like a massive motivator for me in terms of wanting to work for myself versus going and, you know, continuing a corporate career that I’d had previously. And I love the way that you’ve always led with Walter in mind. And you’ve always led with this idea of how your business fits in around the things that are so important to you and the people that are so important to you that you love, and that you’ve made a way for it all to just balance out. And I know you and I have spoken about balance a lot when we when we used to regularly meet up and catch up. The balance seemed to be the thing that we were always kind of striving for. So that we could just make sure that we were taking care of those things that were really important to us but also continuing with our passion. And I know a lot of people listening are probably in that exact same place where they’re thinking about how can they do this around their loved ones, their children, their families, their partners. Some people obviously will have other employment situations. It might be a side hustle business that they’re trying to get up off the ground and I think it’s just lovely sometimes to hear that you can make it work.

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, you can it just take the planning. And you know, I think sometimes if you’re organised and ask for help, I think that’s a good thing to note just being okay to ask for help, having really strong boundaries, and making sure that you know, what it is that lights you up and kind of being okay to say no to certain things, if it doesn’t feel completely in alignment to you. So I’d say that’s probably helped a lot, I would say, as well, so I’m a single mummy and sometimes that helps in a way, because I do get those downtimes without Walter. So you know, I can be really present with him, because I know maybe the next day he’ll be staying at his daddy’s. So then I can be catching up with emails. And I’m a little bit different to you, Dawnie, cuz I’ve always been self employed and I don’t know any different. So I’ve always had to make my own money and there’ll be lulls and kind of peaks and troughs, through dancing. Like currently, right now, I’m almost six weeks from a break. So kind of that means no revenue. That means no income and you know, there’s always different ways to find money, but I think being control of your own destiny, that just sparks me, that lights me up, definitely I enjoy that. Having to be responsible, I suppose having to have that responsibility for your own life. And I think I probably thrive on it.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, for sure. And the other thing is, is that with that responsibility, sometimes we can look at that, especially when we’re new to being in business, or if we haven’t had previous experience with can sometimes look at that responsibility as a heavy weight. And in fact, I really like to look at it and flip it and think about the freedom that you have.

Katie Lloyd

Definitely, I mean, I’m working a little bit today, but I’m not really working this week at all, and I can enjoy Walter I live down by the beach, I live in Fulmouth. So you know, if it’s sunny, I’m normally down the beach, and summertime, I don’t really work too much. Because I want to be able to enjoy where we live, I want to be able to enjoy my boy and I want to be able to have fun, I think, you know, sometimes we take life way too seriously. Yes, we’ve got to pay our mortgage, you know, yes, we’ve got to, you know, make sure that the kids are not being feral. And they’re kind of well fed and they get to school on time. But ultimately, it’s about having fun, isn’t it and that’s what people will remember you for, for your energy, and how you made them feel rather than all of the stuff you get done. And I’m not saying that I don’t love a list and I’m not organised, I’m typical Capricorn, my friends call me Monica, I’m with the rest of you getting shit done, I really am. But ultimately, you have to have that downtime, and you have to have a good balance and all of that balance –  we’re different, right? You know, if you’ve got older children, for example, they might have kind of got bigger go off to uni. So you might have a little bit more time and then you can work on your side hustle. Or it might be your circumstances have changed in different ways, or you’ve just had a baby, and you don’t want to return back to the kind of rat race into the corporate world. So I would just say have courage and if there’s any listeners there that are feeling that weight as you described, and you have to flip it around to freedom because it can be just that.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I love that. When it comes to the way that you run your business, I know that when we’ve worked together before, and we’ve spoken about things, I find you to be the type of person who is really, you’re just amazing at taking action. And that’s always something that I like to kind of suggest and invite people to do is that they look for the areas in your business that create traction. And don’t hold back, like just go and give it a go and test it. And if it doesn’t work, you can always remove that from your strategy. But if you don’t test those things, and sometimes you miss out on vital points where you can make the changes in your business that can actually be those moments of great success, and also sources of joy.

Katie Lloyd

And you don’t know to try do you?   As I saw this slight little kind of affirmation, and itsaid, Don’t dream do and I thought yeah, I mean, sometimes we just live in our heads, you know, and I’m full of rainbows and unicorns, but at the same time you need to get on and if you want something, you have to strive for it. And you need to take action, like you said, and I think that is probably where I’m good, I’m determined, I’ve got a lot of grit and determination, a bit stubborn, some might say. But I just think one of the presuppositions of NLP is there’s no such thing as failure, only feedback. And I love that because you’re like okay, well, even if it is a flop, you’re still going to have learnings from it, there’s still going to be takeaways that you can improve on next time. So whether that be to do with a launch, whether that to be with social media engagement, whether that be why did I even – when hopping on a live and saying I’m an art all of the time, you need to be able to be doing something and moving forward in order to progress. And that I think where some people get a little bit stagnant, you need to keep going.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah. And I you know, from our point of view, when it comes to the social media side of things, we actually look for what maybe on the surface considered to be failures or flops, we actually look for those and we look for patterns, because that data is so invaluable, it is just so incredibly helpful for us to be able to build strategy for people. So whenever we’re doing market research, or whenever we’ve taken on a new client, or we’re looking at the areas of things that they’ve done, if a client comes to us and says, right, Dawnie, I tried to launch or I’ve tried to build an audience, and it’s not working. And I’ve done this, and I’ve done this, if there is some data there some evidence that we can find, as to what’s been tried and what hasn’t performed, that’s the term we like to use, it’s not that it’s a failure, it just hasn’t performed as we would have liked. And, it’s a little bit like doing your dress rehearsal, and figuring out where the weak spots in your dress rehearsal is. So that when you go on, on opening night, you’ve plugged those weak spots, and everything runs really smooth, right. And in other industries, we allow for that. But when it comes to being self employed, sometimes like having our own businesses, and we don’t give ourselves that area of grace, and I think we should, we should be less hard on ourselves, and actually just realise that sometimes, it’s not going to work first time. And what’s more important than anything, is getting back up dusting yourself off and having another go.

Katie Lloyd

It’s like a child when they learn to walk, they don’t just give up do they, they fall over at the first kind of few steps,  they carry on. And I think sometimes we lose that childlike kind of determination, I suppose you know, that passion. And I think if you get really clear though Dawnie on your why and on the legacy that you want to leave behind and actually the real nitty gritty as to why you’re doing this, then it is easy to keep going because you’ve got a bigger reason than just paying your bills or, you know, you’ve got reason.

Dawn Baxter

I love that. And I will totally 100% agree. I mean, you and I are always on the same page. Whenever we talk business, we’re always exactly the same in terms of how we believe things should work and how we believe things can improve the way people think about things. And mindset its one of those kinds of buzzwords that’s bandied about quite regularly in our circles. But actually, it’s a massive, massive thing that we’re not going to stop talking about, we’re not going to stop practicing because essentially everything that we create, and we bring out in that abundance outside of ourselves, starts with that moment of our mindset and what we believe to be true and what we believe can happen. And what you said then, about knowing your why I just I could not agree with that more because I feel like actually, quite often, when we work with people, and we bring clients on the first thing that we do, and I’m sure it’s the same for you, when you work with business owners, that it will try to make sure that there is that clarity over why we are trying to do this, what is the core value that you have as a person? Why is this called to you? What is in alignment with you and your energy and what you want to achieve for yourself, in your life and then looking at your meaning and your purpose and your legacy. These are all things that if you weren’t if you weren’t in this kind of like entrepreneurial circle, I don’t know if before having a business this was even on my radar. Like I just don’t know if those conversations ever happened around me. And now they’re like, almost the key that unlocks everything. And you have to have that bit first.

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, I’m the opposite though Dawnie, so I kind of fell into my adult school business. My mum owned it before I did. And then my business partner and I kind of decided well to be honest, my business partner twisted my arm to carry on because I knew that I was going have a family and I knew that, you know, I was I was okay, just plodding. And then my circumstances changed, and I had had Walter and I ended up being the single mom and I was like, right, okay, then that’s when my purpose changed. Because my identity had changed you know, it was just me and him, and this kind of lioness came out of me that I needed to protect him, I needed to fight. But that sense of ambition, that sense of determination, I don’t think was always there. And it’s had to be something that I’ve had to learn but that is definitely because my why has changed essentially.  And then that filters down and then your why affects so your identity then changes your why, which changes your purpose, and then go even lower, you’ll think about okay my behaviours have had to change because of that, you know, circumstances and being different or whatever it may be. So I don’t know if any of your listeners will kind of resonate with that it might be a circumstance but then the other way you can do it is the opposite way. If you can start at the bottom, change your behaviours, then that will change into who you are, then that will change into your purpose. And that will change eventually into identities. So there’s kind of two ways of doing it. So we’ve come about our businesses in the opposite way, but obviously, we’re at the same point now.

Dawn Baxter

That’s it, like we come at it from a different angle. But essentially, we’re aligned on that level. And I love that because you know, every single person’s journey is going to be different, every single person’s introduction into this world will be different, and what resonates with them, and also what they find easy and what takes more work, that I feel like that’s an inherently personal thing.

Katie Lloyd

Definitely, definitely. But I do think, you know, go back to home mindset thing if you don’t mind Dawnie, I think some people if you are going through a level of change, or up levelling at any area, any area of your life, whether that be your own emotional wellbeing, fitness, your business, you know, whether that be your family, some people don’t get that you can change, and that you can evolve. And I think that can be hard, because you always get trapped into a box. So for example, if you’re working in a corporate role, that is the box that you’re in, and if you try and branch out, there will be people that won’t understand that. And then likewise, people that meet me now like the Katie that I am now, I like, you know, don’t understand that I wasn’t always as ambitious or I didn’t always have this drive, or, I haven’t always spoken about positive affirmations and, you know, emotional wellbeing and stuff. And they’re like but that’s who you are, and I’m like I know that you didn’t know me before, like, this wasn’t me. So I do think you can change and I do think you can evolve for the better. So if there are people that may be are early doors in their businesses, or haven’t even started yet or, you know, are going through the shift of maybe having full time job having it as a side hustle, and they want to flip that over, just go for it, just do it. And I think consistency with everything like that, whether that be your mindset, whether that be meditating in the morning, whether that be looking after yourself staying hydrated, you know, whatever it is that you need to do, listening to positive songs, or everyone, everyone who’s listening is already doing the right thing, because they’re already listening to your podcast, you know, they’re already putting themselves into that zone of learning aren’t they so they can be a better person.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, and I love that. And, you know, you touched on so many amazing things there. And I think when it comes to changing your behaviours, and doing what you need to do to make that shift for yourself, that’s an area of mastery that I feel really super grateful to be amongst, like, there are so many people in my circle, so many people that I consider to be friends that work in that arena. And one of the amazing things that I’ve been learning about this year is positive psychology. And I think you’ll love this, that it’s been proven that every single day 1% of our cells regenerate and that we actually, when we have positive emotions, when we and this isn’t about, also, it’s not about denying negative emotions, either, you know, part of the human condition is that there will be times that things aren’t ideal, and there will be emotions that we would consider to be negative, but you can’t go to that toxic positivity arena where you completely ignore those emotions. But those emotions are there to teach you something and to show you something and to be used in a way that you can, you can actually look at that, and you can flip it, and you can include positivity on top of that. And when you do when you have a high level of positive emotions, and you work on your mindset, you actually can change you yourself at a cellular level. So if you do that every day and every day 1% of your cells renew, with that new included level of mindset work that new included level of positivity, then literally by this time next year, you can literally be a completely different person. When people come to us and say, oh, you know, I’ve started my business and feeling really passionate things are going really well but it might, my best friend Betsy doesn’t understand what I’m going on about because she preferred it when I worked in the office and she doesn’t understand what it is I’m doing and I feel really disconnected from people that I previously felt incredibly connected to. I think unfortunately, that’s something that almost every entrepreneur that I’ve met can resonate with on some level. That’s such a such an amazing point. And I think you just have to make sure that you do have some business besties for lack of a better term. You just have to make sure that you do, that you have some people who get it.

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, definitely and I think not everyone does get it, and you’ll ask your mum, your best friend or husband or whatever about you know price increases or what social media posts and they’re not your ideal client. So even if you think you’re doing the right thing by including them, sometimes their advice isn’t even the best advice, is it?  So definitely, have you heard the phrase your vibe attracts your tribe?

Dawn Baxter

Yes. Yeah.

Katie Lloyd

I love that one. And that’s so true, isn’t it? So you need to keep your vibe high, so then you’re attracting the right people. And unfortunately, there may be people that you outgrow, when I was going through a change in my personal life, one of my girlfriend said to me, you know, there’re friends for a reason, friends for a season, and there’re friends for life. And sometimes, you know, people that we kind of thought were friends for life may just be friends for a season. And that’s completely fine. You know, it’s nothing isn’t, it’s not about you being better than them or anything like that, it’s just you evolving.

Dawn Baxter

And I think what I’ve really enjoyed, and something that I’ve been more aware of maybe in the last 12 months than ever before, is that I had previously looked at those evolving relationships with some sadness. And now, I really feel completely differently. With the mindset work that I’ve done for myself, I look at those relationships for what they were at that time, and I’m just incredibly grateful. Because at the time that they were intact, and that we were aligned, you know that that was an amazing time in my life. And I believe it will have been an amazing time in those friends lives and we took care of each other, and we did what we needed to do to help another human, you know, at that time, and we may not all be absolutely aligned right now. But there’s nothing but love and good wishes and goodwill going in their direction. And yes, I am the boring friend now that when you take me out for dinner, I find it very difficult not to talk about my business, you know, we have to, because my sister is in my business as well, when we have family gatherings, we have to make a rule that me and Susan, don’t talk about work, because we will we’ll get into a flow and we’ll start talking about things we’ll start talking about what we can evolve and what we need to do. And you know, we find it really difficult. We have some in my family, I’m so grateful, but my two sisters, my husband, and my sister’s husband’s like we have really what I consider to be really high level kind of intelligent discussion. And it really feeds my soul. And sometimes we get so deep, we don’t mean to but we just, we have these really philosophical discussions  and I love it. And then but you know, you do get the urge to talk about business, you get the urge to talk about the world, and especially with such a level of profound things that have been happening for us over the last 12 to 18 months as well as it can get difficult to not go there. But I think essentially, if you it’s like what you said about the boundaries thing, it’s almost like a very similar thing. Like you don’t have to not talk about your business, but make sure that you have that group of people who you love and trust. And I mean, you’re  in that camp for me, Katie, somebody that I know that I could just text you and say, Hey, can we have a brew and jump on Zoom and let’s chat and then just know that we both could just go bleurgh. 

Katie Lloyd

You have to have those safe spaces yeah, you do have to have these safe spaces. And you have to almost have different groups of friends for different things, I think. And I’ve been having this conversation recently. And I kind of want an all rounder, and I suspect I suppose okay, I can have these people that I want to party with, I can have these mummy friends that I kind of, you know, a focus on Walter and have these businessy friends and I have my friends that I’ve experienced loads of incredible moments with in the past, you know, whether that be time at dance school or holidays that I’ve been on with the girls and stuff, and you need like a big collection, I think of different people that are going to balance you out and they’re going to kind of have to make you have that that lovely equilibrium. So then you don’t get to kind of focused or channelled on one area of your life. Because that’s not going to help your business is it?  That’s not going to going to help you develop any I’m thinking of social media posts, it’s not going to help you develop any content and I know Dawnie is laughing at me, just thinking about the social media already. 

Dawn Baxter

No, but you’re so right and I think one of the biggest lies that we tell ourselves is that we have to kind of conform to labels, we have we’ve got ourselves accustomed to saying oh, I’m Dawn, I am this person, and I am this person, I am this person and that defines me. And sometimes we can cut ourselves off from other opportunities we can cut ourselves off from other experiences, like you are a beautiful rainbow spectrum of a human being and you don’t have to find those boxes and go sit in them. You can do whatever you want, the roof has been ripped off this situation and you are free. And the possibilities for you, when you adopt and accept that mindset of actually, there is nothing holding you back there is nothing stopping you, and allows you just this massive level of freedom and just the possibilities just become, you know, easier for you to see and recognise. And I also think that when you’re in that headspace, and when you get to that place where you feel comfortable in that arena for yourself internally, you start to see opportunities, rather than the things that may be blocks or hurdles to overcome, you start to see the things that actually can happen for you, and how you can get there, which is obviously so valuable.

Katie Lloyd

So from an NLP point of view, it’s interesting you say that, because you can be wired certain ways in your brain. So someone could be a Towards person, and someone could be an Away From person. So some people will go away from problems, and some people will go towards solutions. So you know, essentially, you’re getting to the same point, but you’re just coming at it from a different point of view. But I do think if you’ve got a positive mindset, you can shift to more of a Towards person, so you’re not looking for the issues, you’re not looking for the problem, you’re not looking for the things that are going to stop and hold you back. You’re looking for you know what can go right? Okay, I might have to do this, I might have to do that. And you know, that she’s not going like that, or I’m going to upset, but actually, what kind of go right, you know, what can we think about that’s going to be the positive outcome from this. And then once you’ve shifted into that, I don’t think you ever go back.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah

Katie Lloyd

I mean I might be wrong, but I don’t think you ever do.

Dawn Baxter

Because it just serves you so well. And also, like, if you, if you get to that point where you’re that self aware, and you understand how your brain works, and you understand how your emotional centre kind of feeds into how your brain works, then of course, you can look at that, and you can create ways to make it a habit.

Katie Lloyd

That’s it, yes because you can be like, okay, well, I know, this is my trigger. I know this is my default way to act. Okay, so in this circumstance, I’m heading towards this goal this is how I would usually be, why don’t I try it like this. And I do think when you get that level of self awareness, and you know, as women, there’s things that are always going to be you know, busy you know children, things like that, wanting to be the caregiver, I suppose, you know, there’s going to be things all the time. But essentially, if we can be really good role models to our kids, be really good role models to the next generation.  Obviously I teach lots of little ballerinas at my dance school, you know, I think they can look up to us and know that we all are striving for more not just for us, for our kind of sisters that are behind us and sisters that are in front of us.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, so really, I think one of the nicest things about that is that when I look at the generation before us, I don’t see a lot of examples of women, truly taking that time to get to know themselves, the way that I feel it’s almost become more accepted I guess it’s a conversation that’s happening more frequently. I mean, I could be totally wrong here. That is only from my perception that I’m noticing that but it feels like something has changed. And it was a little bit like, if you remember, when all of the things on social media were starting to trend in terms of women empowering other women and women supporting women. And I know you and I, when we first met at a meet up, a membership meet up, what one of the things that I felt really connected us was we had that, that same feeling of leading with that kind of open, welcoming, warm energy, where actually we take care of each other, we’re going to make sure

Katie Lloyd

But that’s because we know ourselves, and we know we’re okay with not being everyone’s cup of tea. And I think that goes back to the point that you made about, you know, it’s okay, and it’s acceptable to know ourselves, but we really know ourselves. So then we can be like, this is us, this is how I am in my space, you know, if you like it that’s wonderful. And if you don’t, then there’ll be someone else who will be better suited to you, but I’m coming from a heart centred place and this is me, you know like it or lump it. And that’s kind of I think, and that being okay to not be disliked. I’m not saying dislike but you know, being okay to have that self belief, and that kind of confidence within ourselves is taken however many years to get here right, darling?

Dawn Baxter

Oh, gosh, yeah, it’s a continuous thing. I love that quote, I saw it on the internet years and years ago and it’s never left me, and it’s it says something along the lines of ‘confidence is not walking into a room and needing everybody to like you, confidence is walking into the room and knowing that you’ll be okay if they don’t.’

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, definitely.

Dawn Baxter

I love that. I love that. Just that inner strength that I like me, I know that I’m a good person, I like me, I don’t need the external validation. And I was definitely part of the external validation club prior to this kind of personal growth that I’ve been through the last few years. I needed to look externally for people to tell me that I was worthy. And now, like, hearing that from other people is a beautiful thing. And I still love it. However, I don’t need anyone else to tell me that anymore, because I found that within myself, and if there’s one gift I would wish for every well every person but specifically every woman that would be it.

Katie Lloyd

Definitely chin-chin. 

Dawn Baxter

Chin-chin, we need some champagne to clink.

Kaite Lloyd

Drink our tea, here we go. Cheers to that.

Dawn Baxter

Cheers, darling. Cheers. So, when it comes to business, what’s been the biggest thing that’s happened to you maybe in the last 12 months? What  been happening for you over in your camp?

Katie Lloyd

So we, in lockdown, so lockdown I mean, let’s just talk about lockdown, right?

Dawn Baxter

Sure, sure.

Katie Lloyd

I mean, it was just crazy. So I supported my kind of audience, I suppose by taking their dance schools online. And obviously, me and you in the coaching world have been used to Zoom forever but for everyone else is really, really new. And it was just about all of us finding our feet. And essentially, we just changed our business models overnight. You know, some were doing pre recorded classes, some were doing live classes straight away. Some people were doing Facebook Live, you know, whatever. Everyone tried it. But again, the thing was, we tried it, and we had to because we had that deadline, though, you know, it’s either that or we just didn’t, we just shut our businesses for a year, which some people chose to take some time, which is totally fine. And think about especially if they’re homeschooling, you know, is was a crazy, crazy world. So I would say that the last focus for Shine, my dance school has just been to survive and support our local community. And but not necessarily in terms of big growth or anything. However, during that time, we did win Dance School of the Year, and we won the gold award for that. So that really kind of was so good that we just in a crazy year, we had this kind of you know, recognition, which I think just gave everyone a massive boost, especially our staff and the team there. But essentially, we haven’t really been able to support, we haven’t been able to celebrate that with the kids yet, you know.  So when everything is kind of finally back to normal back to normal, we are definitely going to have a big celebration. So yeah, that’s been happening with one business, my dance school.  And then with my coaching, I just feel so privileged, I suppose is the word to be able to support women, through shifts and changes and levelling up, stepping up into who they are destined to be. And I’ve just got such a passion for that. So I’ve got a couple of online programmes, and I’ve got my membership, but I suppose the biggest thing for me is the one to ones because you can get down and I was going say down and dirty, that sounds a bit weird doesn’t it. Get right into their brains, get right into their minds and you know, and sometimes we have like you said about glass ceilings before, some types of limiting beliefs or maybe conditioning that we’ve had or how we’ve grown up, you know, so much that goes into our little lives, isn’t there? So there kind of as a wall, I described that around and of, things that may be just holding you back or just no longer serving you, they might have been protecting you at one point, you just don’t need them anymore. I think with coaching, you know, sometimes you can just take one brick at a time, you know, there might be from different areas of it like Jenga, and then the whole wall will fall down and sometimes they just get sledgehammer and they just whack it away, and you can see it and I just love that people can grow and evolve and to step into the future versions of them. So that is where my passion is, is right now. But yeah, it’s been a crazy year, crazy year of growth and lots of change in my personal life as well. But I feel great. I feel like this is where I’m meant to be.

Dawn Baxter

It absolutely is, it absolutely is where you meant to be. And I totally understand what you’re saying about the one to one scenarios as well. What I’ve really found over the last kind of 12 months, is I because one to one sessions are so bespoke to the client that you have in front of you. Of course, it’s entirely you might use a framework, or you might have a toolkit as a coach, and you might have lots of expertise. But you know, when you meet that person and you get into that when you get down and dirty to do what it is that they need, no two clients are the same, you know, and there’s always a way to tailor what it is that you’re supporting them through, based on obviously your level of expertise and what you have available to you in terms of like your toolkit and your qualifications and things. And I think for me, I had done so many, one to ones the previous year and I’d seen changes and things unblock. And those breakthroughs and a-ha moments are not always in business, sometimes they were personal, a-ha moments. 

Katie Lloyd

I mostly come with business stuff and that is actually the problem is never the problem that’s what I found out, the problem is never the problem, definitely I’m so with you. 

Dawn Baxter

And, you know, the one to one situation is that, when you have them when you if you’re listening to this now, and it’s the first and you’ve not had a one to one client yet, or you’re just taking on your first one to one clients, it’s a really strange place to be in because you know that you can help people, you know that you have the skills and expertise to support them. But you may be, you might not have had enough of those one to one clients to be able to actually see the tangible results on the flip side. And then when you get to where you and I are at now, Katie, where we’ve actually had years of one to one clients, every single time we get to a stage with a client and I can see the breakthrough, I can see the results. And I can see things start to shift and work for them. And sometimes there was a personal gain, and sometimes those are business gains, sometimes they’re emotional gains, oftentimes, obviously, they’re financial gains. But all of these things when you start to see them, it’s like seeing everything click into place. And I remember thinking, which I don’t know whether I should admit or not, but I’m going to, but I remember thinking after maybe my first six or seven one to one clients, and I’m going back a couple of years now I hope that I can help them all. And I hope that this is working. And I hope that the traction, because in every individual session, it was looking like things were moving but you have to look at it sometimes from a bird’s eye view what you were saying about sometimes it’s a brick by brick situation. My first one to one clients were brick by brick situations, you know, and I did have some sledgehammers, I still have some sledgehammer ones, but they came a little bit later. That happened a bit later. Now looking back on the clients, I can actually see the result, I can see the work, I can see what’s happened, and how well it works. And there is like a tangible element to that now. So I can say I’ve coached over 200 women, and they every single time they get results, that result will be different for them for what their needs are. So stick with it, I guess is what I’m trying to say like go for it.

Katie Lloyd

And if any listeners haven’t had a one to one, you know, whether that be coaching or therapy or any advice, you know, business advice, whether in maybe an area of expertise, that they’re not 100% and then go for it and book it because then like you said the results that you will get are tremendous. And also a kind of feel like, sometimes you’re coaching your one to ones, it’s not like you know that when you go to the gym and the weight loss isn’t sudden, you’ve got the metabolism ticking after you’ve done your hip workout or something it’s a bit like that. So you can plant all these seeds, don’t you in the coaching session, and you take out a few bricks. And then then maybe the next week, the next two weeks or the next month it’s still going it’s still ticking along, isn’t it? And I think that is where the progress isn’t it?  Sometimes it’s after. 

Dawn Baxter

I totally agree with that. And you know, with that in mind, I think sometimes when people choose to go for a one to one situation versus maybe a course or a group programme or a mastermind, and oftentimes that that individual accountability, and the regular meeting that you have, where you can make sure that those actionable steps, whatever they may be, have been sorted out, they have been done if they haven’t been done the support from somebody to help you get them done. And it creates traction, it just creates traction. And you know, it’s a wheel that is moving all the time rather than this start stop culture, which we can sometimes accidentally buy into when we believe that oh today I’ve got seven hours without the kids or I don’t have to do laundry today or whatever it is. So today I’m going to do all the business stuff, which never works because the business work never ends. And you can just put yourself in that you know that stage of like complete burnout.

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, that is so funny. Because then you know, over the summer like, well, what have you got to do today? And I’m like, well, I’m not working,  well have you not got anything to do and I’m like, well I’ve always go something to do, but actually no I’m going to choose to not work.   There’s always something isn’t there?  You can always, you know, you kind of, one minute you’re Dave from accounts, the next minute you’re kind of Sally in Social Media, aren’t you? And literally, you’re wearing all of these hats all of the time. So, you know, you have to choose to say no, you have to choose to switch off. But totally, I think everything anyway, in business is like, like you said, getting that ball rolling. And a bit like, you know, when you build a snowball, the more you do it, the more the bigger it gets, and the bigger it gets. And sometimes we don’t value that consistency and the compound effect that kind of keeping on going when even when you don’t think anyone’s showing up for on your socials, or you get crickets when you do a post or you know, anything, you know, your emails, don’t get any replies to email, you put an offer out there or, you know, a workshop that you’ve got isn’t full, whatever it may be, but you’ve got to keep on going. Because without you realizing people are watching and once that snowball gets going, then it’s really, really powerful.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, I totally agree with that. And, you know, I really like it when there’s been plenty of times it’s happens to me loads. And I know, it’s happened to loads of my clients. And I’m sure it will have happened to you at some stage that we put out offers, and we put things out and we maybe don’t get that immediate performance that we want from that thing. And then somewhere down the line, we’ll put something else out, we’ll carry on because you know, the grit, the resilience, we dust ourselves off we get back to it. And then somebody who was watching last time that didn’t buy, buys this time and that lurker that you almost could have completely discounted, you know, that person who you don’t know is even watching right now, but is, is there, and they’re in front of you and what you said about sowing seeds is so true. So much of what we’re doing today, might not benefit us today.

Katie Lloyd

I think sometimes, you know, you need to know when to give up as a business owner as well, when  things aren’t being that kind of, they’re not working for you. And also some things just aren’t your area of expertise. And like I said at the beginning, I think the reason why I’ve got to where I am now is because I’m okay to ask for help. And whether that be outsourcing, you know, if there’s areas of business that you aren’t particularly great at, or we don’t enjoy doing, you know, you might be able to do it with your eyes closed, but if you don’t enjoy it, there are people out there that can definitely help. And I think, you know, we don’t have to be wearing all of these hats all the time, if we kind of just can take a little step back and put our pride in our pocket and ask for this first support.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, I love that. And I think what I hear a lot of the time when people are on that kind of precipice of outsourcing is this fear in terms of the investment. But every single time we see somebody invest in our services, like social media management or anything like that, we know then that what happens is they free up their time. And they can actually go and do the things that create more revenue in their businesses, because that has to be them like that, that has to come from them. But the person who is potentially replying to emails or setting up your funnels or doing something on your website, or your social media, or any of those things doesn’t actually need to be you. You get to a stage where you’re thinking, okay, where is my actual zone of genius in the centre of this little universe I’ve created for us all, like, where do I fit in? And what should I prioritise? And sometimes I think, just looking at what needs to be done in the neverending job spectrum of being an entrepreneur, like prioritising well, it is a really lovely skill. It’s a really, really effective skill.

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, definitely. But it’s one that we all have to learn. We’ve all been there answering emails at midnight, and then sending typos or sending them to the wrong person, forgetting attachments. Maybe that is when you need to ask for some help, you know, when you are doing that? Yeah,

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, like the step before, the step before. Have you ever suffered burnout? Have you ever been through a stage where you’ve just kind of gone?

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, yeah. Loads of times, because I am very determined and I am relentless, I suppose. And I just put way too much pressure on myself. I would say some things  I don’t look at the detail. That’s not where my zone of genius is, I’m definitely a bigger picture person. And I can see where I’m going. And I love to have that North Star. But in all the details I’m not that great. So then if I have to do all of that side of it, I just find that quite challenging. So you know, if you do check out my social media, there’ll be typos. There will be errors there. You know, there’ll be spelling mistakes. That’s not where I’m best at. But yeah, definitely I’ve been in burnout like so many times, not to the point that I’ve made myself at ill because I do have quite a good self awareness. I think maybe as a dancer, I’ve got really good knowledge of my body as well. And I think that helps and I’ve got a good support network around me that kind of check me essentially. But one thing I have struggled with, and this is, first world problems Dawnie, I mean, you know that I like a lifestyle, but not being able to go away and not being able to travel in lockdown, I found that hard, because that usually would be my default switch off, you know, email out and whereas you can take days off here and there. And as I said, I live by the beach, and it’s not like I don’t take time, but having that extended break. I think that’s what I needed. And then there were points at lockdown where I was low, but I felt like everyone, you know, everyone was low. So you don’t want to moan about it, because there’s so many people that are in the same situation or worse situations than you. But yeah, definitely and it’s an exhausting place to be, isn’t it when you’re on that brink of tiredness, you know, but then that’s usually when an up-level happens as well. So, you know, you have to have the yin and the yang, and you have to have the light in the dark to learn the lessons.

Dawn Baxter

That’s so true. And I think both of us have been in that place previously, where we have felt stressed, or we felt overwhelmed, and we’ve spoken to each other. And it’s been like, oh my Gosh, this is happening and this is happening and everything’s moving and I need to do this, and I need to figure this out. And it can, it can just feel you just feel somewhat emotionally fatigued, as well as physically fatigued. And then in the weeks, the days and weeks that come from that things up-level and everything gets better, again, is that oh, so this was why.  This was why that happened, and why I had to go through that thing. But in terms of what you said, about refilling your kind of energy cup, and not being able to travel, that is so important for I mean, you are such, you’re so beautifully self aware, and I know it serves you so well. But just being able to know that actually, that’s one of the things that brings you such a great sense of joy, that in the moment not being able to do that through, you know what we’ve talked about this before, as well, the things that are outside of your circle of influence. But knowing about it, and being aware of it, and looking at the opportunities for when that can happen again, I’m going to really look forward to seeing those pictures when you do get to go away.

Katie Lloyd

 I think for me, my dad lives in Bali, and we haven’t been able to see him for ages, because of lockdown and I was you know going to see him cuz I totally plucked up the courage to travel with a then two a half year old Walter, now kind of two years down the line. So I think for me, travel means family and family time. And I feel like yeah, and it’s just yeah, doing like doing what you need to fill up your cup, whether that be for some people getting up at sunrise and watching sunrise, or meditating or going for a run or spa days, I mean, I’m just thinking about all the stuff that I like, right for some people it might be Netflix and chill. And you know, sitting in silence, not talking to anyone, you know, we’ve all got our things. But I would say that as life does return to normal, then we need to, you know, we’ve been in the hustle, because there’s been nothing else to do. Really, that’s how I felt the first lock down, there was nothing else for me to do, apart from work on my business. So like you said, I’m reaping the rewards now, but essentially, you need to have longevity in your businesses, otherwise, they’re not going to work for you and you’ll end up resenting them, and then your purpose will be wrong, and then your alignment will be wrong. So it’s just keeping track of it all, all of the time. And having a good team around you does help because then they can notice your triggers or notice when you’re feeling a bit tired or cranky or burnt out, and they can tell you to stop, you know, sometimes we do need to be told don’t we?

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, I think we do. And well, going back to that discussion that we had earlier talking about how good it is to have some people who understand what this business situation is like, I noticed that in my membership, and I bet you do in yours as well, that because the women that are in the pro members are so in tune with each other, that actually, when people are posting and people are showing up to group coaching, we can tell and we do kind of check in with each other. And you know, what’s really lovely is there’s been so many stories of when somebody has shown up to a training or a group coaching or whatever. And then somebody else who was on that call has then gone and sent them a message and said hey, I saw you today and something wasn’t quite right and I want you to know that you’re supported and you’re loved and I hope you’re okay and oftentimes then what happens is the other person goes you’re so right, like almost like a sixth sense in a way like I could just tell. 

Katie Lloyd

I do that myself because I will show up jazz hands and you know Sparkles and be all bouyant all of the time because I’m trying to raise the spirits of my own community and then I’ll get it where the girls message me and be like, you alright. Yeah. Well actually wow I was trying really hard to hide that back. I’m not okay, actually. And then they will be that for me. And I think once you have that loving community, your soul sisters as we’ll call each other in my membership, right? Yeah, that is so powerful just knowing that you’ve got. And it’s so ironic because I’ve got a retreat coming up with the girls in my membership. Some of them we’ve known each other like year and a half. We haven’t even met.

Dawn Baxter

We’re doing that exact same thing.that’s crazy.

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, we can’t wait.

Dawn Baxter

It’s going be so good. I can’t wait to hear all about yours. And I’ll let you know ours goes as well. But exactly the same as what you’ve just said. Like, we adore each other. And we are like a family. And yet, this will be the opportunity for some of us to meet for the first time.

Katie Lloyd

Yeah, it’s great isn’t it?  You know, and, you know, just Wi Fi and a dream. That’s that really, you know, for those who aren’t worried about starting, that’s all you need. You just need Wi Fi and a dream and other thing. We’re both kind of precedent, the fact that it can happen and it does happen, and you can be a normal girl. And you don’t have to say all the same hang ups that you know, you don’t have to be special to do this. You just need to have a passion.

Dawn Baxter

Yeah, yeah. And I think that is a perfect place to end this amazing interview. With you saying, all you need is Wi Fi and a dream. I love that. I love that. So where can people come and find you on socials darling if they want to come and follow you?

Katie Lloyd

So my website and social media is all Katie Lloyd Coaching, so it’s Katie and then Lloyd like the bank. So yeah, come and give me a follow. I do talk to dance teachers but I do coaching as well. So if anyone wants a mindset how for anything, and yeah, get in touch. 

Dawn Baxter

That’s amazing and you’re in our social pretties free group as well, aren’t you? So? Yeah.

Katie Lloyd

Yes, tag me, tag me, give me some rainbows and unicorns, I’m always there with jazz hands.

Dawn Baxter

Oh, that’s amazing. Thank you so so much for coming on and chatting to me today. As always, it’s been an absolute pleasure. And I leave the interview feeling better than I did when I turned up just from being in your company. So thank you so much for today.

Katie Lloyd

Thank you Dawnie, likewise, thank you.

If you’re loving our pretty podcast, come on over to social pretties. Our online safe house and sisterhood community its a safe space where female entrepreneurs connect and thrive in a warm welcoming fold of pretty amazing women. You’ll find an easy redirect in the description and I can’t wait to see you in there. And depending on where you’re listening right now we would love it if you would click subscribe or follow so that you can be the first to know when our new podcasts come out.