The Fierce Business Babe Podcast Ep 138: Scaling While In Your 9-5 With Kelsey Knutson

Today I have a very special guest with me, Kelsey Knutson. Kelsey is a business coach in the online space who went from consulting in college to owning a very successful hair salon to starting and scaling her online business while still in her 9-5 and today we'll be diving into her entrepreneurial journey, leaving her nine to five to pursue her new business, pivoting and so much more. 

Scaling While In Your 9-5 With Kelsey Knutson

By: Melissa Lin

 Today I have a very special guest with me, Kelsey Knutson. Kelsey is a business coach in the online space who went from consulting in college to owning a very successful hair salon and now using her experience and education to help people streamline their businesses and attract more dream clients. Kelsey has started and scaled her online business while running her hair salon full time and today we'll be diving into her entrepreneurial journey, leaving her nine to five to pursue her new business, pivoting and so much more. Kelsey is a dear friend and client of mine and I have a feeling you're going to absolutely love her.

I'm so excited to have you here with us. Big, big, welcome Kelsey.

Thank you, Melissa. I'm so happy to be here.

Yeah, fun little fact, Kelsey and I actually met years and years ago. It feels like ages ago now that we think back to it, I'm pretty sure it was back in 2017. I think it was 2017. Cause I think I was actually still in my full time getting ready to leave my full-time job, but we actually connected randomly, like our boyfriends knew each other. So we met up randomly at trivia, Kelsey was a little bit, she was definitely better at trivia than I was, and brought too much to the table when it came to that trivia that night. Actually, no, I think there was like a boy there may have been a boy band section or question, and they definitely knew the answer to like one of like the pop song questions or something like that. Yeah. That's about it, but you know what? We had so much fun and I'm so excited to have you here and can't wait to dive in. Kelsey, can you walk us through just how you got started and how you got to where you are today? Would love to share your story with my audience.

Okay, how much time do we have? I will keep it really short and to the point, but basically I am the first to go to college in my family. I studied business and by process of elimination, stumbled on entrepreneurship, which is a great major, and it was a little bit of everything. Through my program, I was actually able to work for some startups in college, which was a super awesome learning opportunity and it's what kind of projected me into my first "big girl job" air quotes. And, um, I loved the creativity of entrepreneurship, but the industry I was in was really stale. It was like the medical education industry and it was just not my people, not my vibe. So after some time there, I actually left and took a total pivot, went to beauty school and built up my clientele after, you know, three or so years working under someone and went on to open my own salon, where I had a team of people and we would do a lot of weddings and I would also do cut and color in my own salon. And it was super fun. But I would say year one and a half or so, I kind of looked back and I was like, I don't know where I want to go from here. Like, I kind of hit the goals I wanted. I was working four days a week. I booked my vacations. I went to Disneyland after one month of being in business and, you know, I was super happy, but long-term, wasn't the plan for me. It had changed. My passion has changed and honestly, it was the shutdown that caused me to really pivot my energy and my time, when a lot of, you know, my hair colleagues would, you know, do cut and color on mannequins and take classes and really be creative. During that time, I just dove into business. I taught marketing classes. I designed a logo for someone and I just loved anything business, any way I could help other business owners work on their business because they finally had some time to do so. That's what I did. And eventually after a little bit of that, I was like, Maybe this could be a business. So I made a good attempt on my own, but then I brought you into my arsenal and that's something that really took off.

Amazing. I love how early you were able to get into entrepreneurship. I know I did not have any entrepreneurs in my life growing up, it is all nine to fivers. And for me, like Shark Tank was my introduction and so thank you, Shark Tank, thank you, ABC. That was my running ratio.

My old job actually was kind of similar where I got to be in the room with those kinds of presentations, where businesses would pitch to investors and it was so cool to be a fly on the wall and ask good questions. Washington State University has a business consulting group within it and I was a part of that team, but you know, things are so stale in kind of the government side. Sometimes when I had all these fresh ideas, I wanted to be more agile and I just wasn't able to implement. And that's when I was like, okay, I'm going to go do hair because that sounds more fun and creative.

That is so cool. I did not know that. Oh my goodness. How fun one of these days we'll be a shark. We're going to be in that room. We're going to be the next shark.

I write that mantra down everyday,  girl.

I love it. Yeah. And we, uh, if we have time, I would love for you to share your, um, journaling that you do every day, even a really fun journaling exercise, but I love that you definitely get to share with the world. And I love that you were able to pivot so much. I think, as entrepreneurs, one of the biggest things that we really get to be open to is the idea of pivoting when we need to, because there's definitely going to be cases where we really get to pivot. And I think COVID really sped things up for a lot of people to move into the online space because that's definitely the future.

Oh, I couldn't agree more. Yeah. And I think it also has forced people to tap into their true desires. I think there's a lot of people who maybe in the back of their mind, wanted to make those types of changes, which allows for more sustainability in business, but they just didn't know how to go about it. And then COVID kind of forced the hand.

Yeah. A lot of people had a lot more time. Can definitely say that. Now take us back to when you were full-time in your salon, um, what were some of your biggest fears, limiting beliefs, the things that maybe held you back around starting your online business venture and taking that leap.

I naively thought it would be the same as starting an in-person service based business and I learned quickly it was completely different. I, um, I don't know that I had a limiting belief because when I opened my salon, I literally quit. And it was like in the fall, early winter, my boyfriend was applying to engineering school. I didn't know where he was going to be. Uh, we moved and I started a salon. With no backup plan. So I, I'm not one to be afraid of big risks, but I had a lot more confidence going into that scenario. And when it came to pivoting online, you know, I spent a ton of time on the back end creating content, building a website, then I just turned everything on, so to speak and no one bought anything because I didn't do a great job telling them about it or inviting them to it, or even speaking the right words, the right language. And that's where I was like, this is very different. And there were times I wanted to give up and I questioned if it was the right thing. You know, my salon success happened pretty quickly, but I forget it's because I had built my clientele before that. So though I was starting a business, I had years of clients and experience as a hairstylist. So the transition was a little more baby steps, if you will, then this was like pivoting into a completely new world. And I just was comparing myself to my old self and that was getting in the way.

Yeah. I think a lot of entrepreneurs too, just when starting something new, like consistency is key at the end of the day. Like it takes definitely takes time. It's not an overnight switch when you're starting a brand new business. Success does not happen overnight and I know that you and I both can agree to that. Now, so you got started, you're running your salon, then you wanted to get into the online space, COVID hit and you really took advantage and you really pivoted, which is amazing. Cause you're also, you're able to help so many more people during that time, too, which I love. How were you able to manage both once you were able to get back into the salon as things were starting to kind of quiet down a little bit with COVID and things started to reopen, like, how were you able to manage both? Do you have any tips for any fellow nine to fivers who are also growing their businesses on the side?

Oh, I was horrible. While I was still closed that's when I launched the coaching business and you know, I'm a big believer in taking messy action, which is definitely what I did. I would take on different clients and projects just to kind of learn and hone my skill. But it was super unsustainable, and at a certain point, you do have to kind of reassess how you're spending your time and how you're prioritizing things. And it worked because my salon was closed, but when my salon opened, I kind of was bitter and resentful a little bit because, you know, yes, as long as it's open, I'm making consistent income and that's great. And I love my people. I love my clients, but it was eating into the time that my coaching business needed. And I realized quickly that I was very inefficient in a lot of areas. And so I think the big thing, the first thing I did was realize that what I was doing wasn't gonna make it in the long run. And that's when I kind of started crafting out my game plan. And for me, I had been feeling unsettled in this long before COVID. Not in a, not like. I hate this, I need out, but just unsure of where I want it to go long-term so I think I had already had that in the back of my mind. It really showed up as I opened back up in the salon and had to juggle both. And when I had downtime, I just naturally went more towards the coaching stuff, working on that all the time, because I really enjoyed it. And that's when I knew, okay, I really need to make this shift out of fairness to myself and what I want, but also fairness to my clients, because if my heart's not fully in it, I'm not able to give that up for the type of service that they deserve in the salon.

Yeah, amazing. I love that you went after what it is that you truly want. Life is short. I say this all the time. Life is short. It's not a dress rehearsal. Like you get to go after what you want now. And I love that you did that. So any tips for anyone who is growing their business on the side right now, like you had mentioned that you were focusing on a few things that maybe you need to be. Um, where would you recommend like the intention being for someone in their nine to five right now, growing their business on the side? What should they be focusing on?

I'm so glad you're asking that question because it's important. It's funny because having a business degree, I totally know the fundamentals, but I just ignored them. So don't be like me. Um In the business world, we talked a lot about the MVP, the minimum viable product, and that really does fit, you know, what's the bare minimum you need just to kind of get going. You're going to learn so much more by just getting a product or service, just kind of out there and start talking about it, selling it and servicing it, whatever, if you're product based or service based, just getting out there, I think is the piece of advice I would give. For me, like I said, I think a lot of us tend to think, Oh, you know, “I need a logo” and “I need colors” and “I need a website” and that stuff comes in time. If you truly are just getting started in business, you just need to go for it. You need the bare minimum. You need a clear problem that you solve and identify who those people are, who that's going to resonate with. I think if you put your energy into those areas first, everything else will come. You know, I'm a big fan of outsourcing and growing when you really need, like it's unsustainable for you to do what you're doing, you're working way too much. You're just like I was, you know, in my nine to five, I'd come home and then work on the coaching business and I was working all the time. So I knew that's when it's time to make that leap of faith, it would have not worked out if I had quit my salon before I was ready for it. So I'm a big fan of, you know, do as much as you can with the time and energy you have now, and then pay attention to the sustainability factor and adapt as you go.

Yeah, I love that. I love that. I love that. And I know this, I work with a lot of beginner coaches as well as just really entrepreneurs in all stages of their businesses and I know a lot of people starting their businesses, they think they need to have everything, right? The branding, the websites, a ton of free clients, and they're just really pushing it off, cause you know, fear is holding them back and everything's gotta be perfect. I don't think I ever had my colors picked out really, or my logo until after I was consistent, like 10 to 15k months in my business. I didn't even have a website. That stuff is definitely not needed, just as Kelsey said, like get those foundations and get to what problem is it that you really can help solve and get your product out there. So you'd mentioned that you kind of knew it was starting to get close to the time to leave. Like, were there any signs, was there anything else that really told you that it was the right time to leave the salon and go full-time in your online?

Yes. Uh, when my boyfriend was like, "Hey, are we like hanging out or you're just going to work all the time?", but really, for me, and I think for a lot of people, when what you're doing in business is unsustainable and you're burning the candle at both ends. That's where your personal life starts to take effect. And for me with COVID, if it weren't COVID times that would mean probably canceling on friends and not being very social and not doing fun stuff I enjoy, but because COVID, we were all home. So it was so easy for me to just work all day, come home and work more because what else am I going to do? But some other areas where it showed up were just my, and you talked earlier about my gratitude practice every morning where  I journal, I stopped doing that for a while. And also I love exercise. I was a fitness instructor and a dancer, my whole life. I love weightlifting. Like fitness is a huge part of my life and I just kind of stopped giving that any attention.  So when those big pieces started to kind of shift that's when I knew something was triggering that. For me, it was just working way too much, being stressed out all the time and just not really prioritizing my life in the right way. Another thing I coach, and I know you do too, Melissa, is that, you know, you’re the number one investment in your business, you have the biggest ROI. So if you're not taking care of yourself, how the heck are you supposed to help and serve the people that you're serving in your business? There's no way.

Yes, exactly. I mean, I definitely hit a few burnout moments throughout my entrepreneurial journey too and you get to take care of yourself first. Like that's your number one priority is taking care of yourself and just feeling good, because that's when everything else will start to work, right? How can you hold space for your clients if you aren't even giving yourself that energy and the things to fill your cup. So thank you for sharing that. Now, what were some of the things that you started to do to prepare for leaving? Did you do anything to prepare for leaving your 9-5?

Yeah. Um, I avoided it for a while because the funny thing is, a lot of people think my salon must've been suffering because of COVID and that's why I left, but actually it was growing. I had my most profitable day in my last week of business. So I left the good thing to do this. It wasn't like this was forced on me. This was an active choice I had to make. That being said, it made it hard to make that decision. So for me, it was the first thing I had to do is just decide. I know you and I went back and forth on this a lot, your coach even called my stuff out, which was really good, but it was like, what are you doing? Like if you know, and you don't set a deadline, you're just going to keep kicking the ball down the field. So the first thing I did is I had to set that deadline. And for me, I chose a date, but there's other ways to do it, whether it's a dollar amount or, um, I think you'd have to just pick something definitive. Like this is the time and here's why and stick to it. Then once I said that out loud and I told my family and I just spoke it into the universe. I was like, no, I have to make this happen. Which meant telling my clients, and it felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. Once I did that, that was a big mental block for me for some reason. But once I told my clients and it came out of a place of love and I was, I've always been very businessy with them. I probably coach my clients in my chair, to be honest all the time. Um, a lot of them are entrepreneurs too. So I, you know, I was excited. Then I shared that excitement with them. And like, here's what this means for you. I'm going to refer you to people. That whole process was super helpful in planning out my exit strategy. Then the other thing that was very helpful, I talked a lot about money and money mindset in my coaching because I didn't have a good money practice when I started. And, um, I looked at my finances. I was like, okay, if I make absolutely $0, In the next six months, what bills do I have coming in the door? Everything from taxes to my Squarespace account, to things like that. Like literally every single bill that I have. What is it? When does it come out? Do I have enough in the bank? And that clarity, just looking at those numbers really gave me peace of like, okay, I'm abundant. I'm going to be okay. And I don't know, it was just like, I needed that security. That know. That, like, I'll be able to support us. So, yeah, those pieces I think are the main pillars.

Yeah, amazing. My leaving my nine to five was very similar to, I was very logical about it. I had that same money conversation with my partner. However you stuck to yours and I did not stick to mine. I kept going until my boyfriend and I, we sat down like, okay, you know what? We've got six months saved up. This is amazing. Let's just, let's get to eight months. Got there. Like, you know what? Let's get to 10 months. I did not stick to my deadline and I, I needed to, I should have, um, but love that, love that you stuck to it and it's obviously amazing what we've been able to create. I think one of the big questions that I know is that I was going through that conversation with my partner over and over, uh, just a little longer, let's get a little bit more money saved up. And the big question that really kind of shifted my perspective and was actually the question that pushed me to put my two weeks in two days later was like, what is the worst that could happen? Right? Like it's very unlikely I was going to be homeless and like not be successful in my business. My boyfriend was going to be able to help support me. So, is your worst case scenario better than your current case scenario? So for me, my worst case scenario would have been, you know, leave my nine to five, business is okay but it's not taking off as quickly as you think it's going to, and maybe you go work in a coffee shop as a barista for like a few hours a week. That was my worst case scenario. And I was actually really happy with that. I would have loved that. And so like, if your worst case scenario, like, isn't nearly as bad as you think it's going to be like, what could you lose? So I know that was my big thing that helped me get out of my nine to five.

Totally, and for us, it's kind of weird because my partner's finishing engineering school, which is all online. We were already at that time talking about potentially moving in with his parents, which meant, you know, a good hour and a half commute to the salon anyway. So to me that kind of helped let a fire under my butt of like, well, I don't want to do that. I don't want to sit in the car for three hours a day, so I better do this and the trade-off being, you know, we're doing it to save money and all these things, but yeah, I love the idea of that. What's the absolute worst that can happen? and just be willing to be a little creative if you have to be in that scenario.

Yeah. And again, life is short. Ladies, life is short. It's not a dress rehearsal. Amazing. Kelsey, what is the number one piece of advice that you would want to give somebody that is starting and eager to go full-time their business, but maybe they're just not sure how?

Yeah, I would really instead of spending so much time deciding on the name and the website and getting the right Instagram photos, we've all been there. Just really focusing on what big problems you solve for people. A lot of my clients are hairstylists, makeup artists, lash artists, photography people, service based people because that's my world. And I really encourage them, even though, you know? Yeah. I'm a photographer. Okay, great. But what is it that you really actually do for people? You know, is it that you inspire them? Is it that you make them feel confident, whatever that is, that big picture thing. I think once you know that about what you offer, it's so much easier to talk about it and you're doing a disservice if you don't take that time to really map that out and get familiar with what you do because that's your superpower.  I think a lot of people, they just kind of follow the buzzwords or, you know, Oh, I just do hair. Oh, I just take photos, whatever, they kind of discount what they do and I think that's very important to understand what makes you unique and then use that as a catalyst in the rest of your business and how you reach your audience.

Amazing. Yes. So I agree 100%. I love wrapping up these podcasts episodes with some fun favorites, a little rapid fire, but they're fun. So I would love to do that with you to get some things that my audience can learn about you. Are you open to it?

Oh, I'm so ready.

Now we're going to dive in your fun favorites. What is, and it can be current or just overall favorites, What is your favorite book at the moment or just favorite book?

I would say I loved "Building a StoryBrand" by Donald Miller. It provides a really clear, simple way to market and communicate your business.

Love it. Favorite TV show?

Ooh. Um, Ooh, I'm probably like a true crime junkie. Uh that's really, uh, I'm going to say actually, I'm going to say, um, "Narcos". The first season, the first season. Yeah. Just so that he has got a little bit of something for everyone. It's a little gory, so you have to be okay with that, but it's got a little something for everyone.

Yeah, I think I've only watched an episode or two. That's definitely one I want to get back into. We're watching, um, "Ozarks" right now. We're almost done. Two-thirds of the way done. You might like "Ozarks" if you haven't watched that.

I think I would, yeah. I definitely want to check that out. That's on the list.

Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Favorite artist or band?

Oh, wow. Um, again, that's tough. I'm really, I am really into old rock right now. I don't know why. But like, I've been really into "Hollow Notes'' lately just feeling nostalgic or something. But I would say that the current fave of the moment.

love it. Favorite travel destination?

Anywhere I haven't been before. I love exploring new places and you mentioned trivia. My partner and I love going to places we've never been to playing bar trivia and like trying to meet people from the local area.

So fun. I cannot wait for those nights to come back. I don't know if it's local yet, that's got trivia open up again, but I see it in the near future. I see it coming back.

We're not even good at it. We just enjoy it. That's the funny part. Like we're not good, but we just enjoy it.

One of, uh, I think it was right before COVID, like right before everything shut down.  My boyfriend, Ryan and I, we went to, I think it was actually the same place that you and I went to for trivia years ago, but we went and we just sat there. We didn't actually do the trivia. We just sat there. Like people watching and attempting the trivia together, and we didn't play well, but we just had a few beers and just kind of enjoyed being there with everyone. So fun to come back. favorite self care?

Yes, okay. A couple things. One, I start every day with goal setting and gratitude. I will write down five things I'm thankful for. I write down 10 goals in the past tense as if I've achieved them, which took some kind of mapping and goal planning to get those 10 goals written out. But that's been awesome every day. Um, that definitely counts as self-care. I also love massages. I consider that self care. I'm big on the whole picture and I think it's something to consistently do, but if it's like a treat and if I want to spoil myself, it's like a really in-depth facial with massage is like my jam.

Ooh, I'm so excited. We just booked our first massage post-COVID. Not that we're post-COVID, we're still COVID, but our massage spot is open and taking, so we're so excited to get back there in another month or two. But self-care is huge. Love those. Thank you. Through your morning journal and gratitude as well too. Incredible exercise. Definitely recommend doing it ladies. I know that you have something available, uh, your course, "Start Smart". Can you tell us a little bit about it? Who it's for and who might be interested in it? Some pain points for it. We can definitely have that link in the show notes, but give us some details on your course.

Yeah, definitely. Uh,"Start Smart" was created out of all the things I wish I had known when I started my first business. So anyone who is on that quest, whether you are just about to start your business or thinking about it, or even if you're in the beginning stages, and it's just a clear cut strategy and plan that forces you to really kind of think about and do the things we talked about today, you know, map out the problem that you solve, who your audience is, how do you reach them? Just the shortcut to starting a business. Which is created to be self-paced, it fits in your life. I'm also a firm believer that being an entrepreneur shouldn't compromise your personal life too. I know, you know, people have families and partners and things that are important. I don't think you should have to neglect all those areas to start a successful business. So this is just a self-paced program for that person who needs a little guidance getting started or going for it. And, yeah, it's a combination of worksheets and video, that go hand in hand that again are self-paced so you can kind of fit it into your life when that makes sense.

I love that. Amazing. Definitely go and check out the show notes, if that sounds of interest to you and Kelsey, how can my audience get in touch with you?

Yeah. Thank you. A couple of places, I hang out on Instagram, probably the most just @KelseyMarieKnutson. I also have a Facebook group and a Facebook page, also Kelsey Marie Knutson for both of those. And I have a podcast too called "When I Grow Up Pod".

Amazing. Kelsey, thank you so much for being with us here today and sharing so many goodies. We had so much fun. I appreciate you. So, so, so much.

Melissa, thank you so much. And just shout out to Melissa because she is a rock star and she really just took everything I was doing to the next level and I cannot sing her praises enough. So thank you for sharing your wisdom with the world and having me share a little tidbit today. I really appreciate that.

Thank you, Kelsey. You're so sweet. Thank you. Thank you. 

Topics we cover include:

• How She Got Started

• Pivoting In Entrepreneurship   

• Tips For Building Your Business in Your 9-5 

• Preparing To Leave Your 9-5

• How To Go Full Time

   And so much more!

 Times to check out:

(6:17) How She Got Started 

(7:31) Pivoting In Entrepreneurship

(11:59) Tips for Building Your Business In Your 9-5

(14:42) Preparing To Leave Your 9-5

(21:57) How To Go Full Time

GET IN TOUCH WITH KELSEY:

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Quiz: Your Next Business Strategy:

https://www.themelissalin.com/quiz

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