We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Collins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, how do you think about risk?
I identify myself as a risk taker, for sure. I quit my full time teaching job before my business was making dependable money. At the same time, I sold my home and moved to California — to one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S. because I was enrolled in continuous business training at the time and it just made more sense to me to “start over” as a business owner instead of quitting my job but staying in the same community that only viewed me as a teacher. I’ve invested over $100k into my business, and a lot of that was on credit. I believe that you need to spend money to earn money and I’ve watched others choose to bootstrap their business, waiting to earn money before investing in it, and I’ve seen myself grow exponentially faster than them. Sure, risk comes hand in hand with worry, fear, self doubt at times. But I also believe when I take risks, I am betting on myself. I am stating to the universe that I fully believe in my capacity as a business owner, and I trust that it will work out as long as I don’t give up, or give in to the fear. It was Thomas Jefferson who said, “With great risk comes great reward.” I believe this to be true.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
It hasn’t been an easy journey, but so worth it! In 2011, I took the plunge into the Coaching world. I got certified as a life coach and had visions and dreams to finally be able to move myself out of the under-earning status I was in. But it didn’t go as planned because I simply didn’t know anything about sales and marketing. I quickly learned you can be really good at what you do, but if you don’t know how to sell it, you will not survive as an entrepreneur. I became determined to learn everything I could about how to sell well, but in a way that felt aligned with my own heart and spirit. All I had learned about sales up until that point felt sort of icky and sleazy. I knew there had to be a better way. When I learned about “heart-centered” sales, I realized that sales isn’t about “getting money” from someone. It’s about offering them a transformation that they desire. That realization led me down the path of helping my clients craft irresistible offers. There’s a lot of work to do behind the scenes to ensure your audience actually WANTS what you’re selling, as opposed to the seller knowing what their audience NEEDS. Unless the buyer actually wants what you’ve got, it’s a “no”. I developed my 6 Steps to a Craftier Offer framework and have supported Coaches, Online Experts and Course Creators to finally create consistent and dependable income with an irresistible offer that sells. But I knew there was a missing piece to what I was helping them with… I didn’t have the capacity to support them in actually launching it and selling it. I got them armed and ready with an offer, but I found that so many of them were still stuck with how to get it out there. That’s when The Launch Squad was born. With my expertise in sales and offer strategy, I joined forces with Jeffrey Samarano, funnel map expert and tech master, Aleyah Swan, Energy Healer, helping people move past their blocks and get them into action, and the GreenSky & Co team, Amy and Tory, to help design and build beautiful pages that convert (my sales tripled after they redesigned my sales page!) Now we finally have a way to support our clients all the way from vision and planning, through launching, debriefing, refining and launching again. Once all those pieces are in place (and effective!), our clients can enjoy consistent income, exponential growth, and best of all, the satisfaction of their increased impact .

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh gosh, this question makes me a little sad because of COVID and all the closures that happened in 2020. But when life opens back up again… here’s how I would suggest enjoying Denver and beyond: 1. A MUST is to see a concert at Red Rocks. The acoustics, the view and the overall experience is just phenomenal. You can’t take a bad photo there. 2. Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox is a fun dinner & show experience. The decor, the atmosphere and the food are all top notch. 3. Get a hike in at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. With 42 miles of trails and limited bike and horse access, there’s fun for everyone. 4. The International Church of Cannabis is a wild experience! It’s family-friendly, in that no imbibing happens on location during the tour and light show. The light show is about 30 minutes and is set to tunes that might take you back to your college days. Well worth it! 5. Catch a show at the Denver Performing Arts Complex and grab dinner before or after in Larimer Square. 6. Depending on the time of year, the Denver Botanic Gardens not only displays amazing plants, flowers and herbs but also has concerts, holiday light displays and opportunities for plant and seedling shopping. 7. With tons of parks to choose from in and around Denver, Sloan’s Lake is my favorite. Just under 3 miles, the walking loop can be done in about 45 minutes. 8. I don’t know if this will continue beyond COVID times, but the igloos at My Brother’s Bar are the best I’ve experienced in Denver. With a rug, couches, armchairs and electric fireplaces, you feel like you’re in someone’s living room. It’s warm and cozy on a cold winter day. No kids under 12 allowed.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Each and every company or coach I’ve invested in has helped me get to where I am, whether it was an outstanding experience, or a lackluster one from which I’ve learned, grown and overcome disappointment. I wouldn’t have the online success I have without the coaching support of Christina Jandali and I made some amazing business connections and friends from that group, including DeKesha Williams, Heather Holt and Nikki Gangemi. Christina introduced me to James Wedmore and his signature program, Business by Design, and in that group I became reacquainted with a friend I had met years prior in a happenstance conversation while waiting to order at a restaurant, Jeffrey Samarano. Jeffrey’s support with funnel mapping exponentially helped my next online launch. We partnered together where he introduced me to his wife, Aleyah Swan (an amazing energetic healer!) and two other friends, Amy & Tory GreensSky (GreenSky & Co) and our group synergy was so hot, we started an agency together! We’re called The Launch Squad and we have a podcast, “Lighten Your Launch.” So if it wasn’t for my investment in myself through Christina Jandali, none of the above connections would have been made.

Website: coachkatiecollins.com AND thelaunchsquadlab.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachkatiecollins/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-collins-b196632/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoachKatieCollins/ AND https://www.facebook.com/thelaunchsquadlab

Other: Facebook groups: The Entrepreneur Sisterhood: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EntrepreneurSisters Lighten Your Launch: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lightenyourlaunch

Image Credits
Lucia Paxton Mariah Ehlert Ryan Kane

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