How I Built A Time Management Coaching Business To $150K
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
Hi! My name is Sarah Stewart, and I’m a Glasgow-based time management coach and project management consultant.
I haven’t always been a coach… I have a degree in pharmacy (and even have a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences!). I worked for 14 years in corporate roles in program management in the pharmaceutical industry, until May 2021 when I decided to move into self employment.
Nowadays you’ll find me working with small business owners and busy professionals who are struggling with overwhelm and wish there were more hours in the day, get organized, and “project manage their lives” so they have more space and time to focus on the things that matter.
My vision is to empower people to harness their most precious asset — time — with intentionality, enabling them to create a life that thrives in simplicity, ease, and joy.
I offer one-to-one time management coaching, project management consulting, bespoke workshops, and training sessions as well as my signature program, “Project Manage Your Life”.
As a single mum of two and living with a chronic illness, having time freedom and flexibility has been a huge goal of my business. I’ve been intentional from the very start on the number of hours I work, and when I work those hours. I’ve been able to mindfully create a schedule that works for me and my family.
It wasn’t my intention to start my business when I did; I didn’t have a 6-month runway of savings to act as a safety net while I got off the ground and I hadn’t been running the business as a side hustle while working in corporate…But I don’t regret going out on my own.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
I was 16 when my mum was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and she sadly passed away when I was 19. I can still vividly remember the phone call that changed our lives when the hospice phoned in the middle of the night to say she was gone.
At that time, I was staying at home and was mid-way through my university degree. I was studying pharmacy at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. I also had a part-time job, I was a lifeguard at a local pool. And now, I had a house to help manage, so food shopping, cooking, cleaning, and laundry. I’ve got a younger sister, and so most of this fell on my shoulders.
As you might expect, losing a parent at such a young age was difficult - none of my friends had lost parents, and so this was very new to me.
There was a realization that life can be short, and unpredictable. My maternal grandmother outlived both her children, and she passed at the age of 99 years old. Whereas my mum was 51 when she died. My mum’s absence has served as a reminder to appreciate the present. I make every effort to be intentional with the time that I do have.
It was at this time that my dad hired me as a life coach. I can’t remember her name, but I can remember the conversations that we had and how impactful it was.
Some of the first things that I started to work on with my life coach were how to prioritize my to-do list, and how to schedule my workload.
We created study schedules for my third year of university; the workload for pharmacy was intense and I was studying most weeks during term-time in addition to my classes.
She taught me how to prioritize my tasks, thinking ahead about how much time I realistically had and making sure I had a balance of work and play.
Throughout most of my corporate career, I’ve been a single parent, and I have fortunately been employed in organizations where flexible working was permitted. I would flex my time, working longer days when the children were with their dad and then shorter days when they were under my care so that I could be there to collect them from school.
One of the key learnings however has been that the more organised I am in my home life, the easier it is in my work life.
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease shortly after my mum passed away when I was 20 years old. I was brought up with a strong work ethic, and I would rarely take days off sick; forcing myself to push through even when I was ill. I can remember on one occasion having to be sent off in a taxi because I was too unwell to get myself home.
Now I recognize that it’s not productive to keep working when I’m unwell, and I manage my schedule in alignment with my natural energy cycles.
I left my employment during the COVID-19 pandemic, at which time I was training as a transformational life coach and I was also pursuing my art. I painted acrylic abstract pieces and had planned to follow this creative path.
I quickly realized however that establishing two businesses from the ground up was more difficult than I had imagined, and I decided to focus on my coaching business in the first instance.
I set out to work with women who were lacking in confidence and created a unique online course, called Soar: Finding Your Freedom, which I began to market and sell. I also brought my creativity into my coaching sessions and hosted creative workshops from my kitchen table.
The lightbulb moment came when I was on a Zoom call with some of my peers that I had trained with when I suddenly realized that I should be leveraging my strengths, skills, and knowledge from my corporate career as well as my lived experience and I very quickly niched into time management at this point. It felt very natural to make this pivot.
From discussions with multiple people from all walks of life… managing time seems to be a common struggle. When I meet new people and mention that I am in the niche of time management… the most common response is “I’m so rubbish with my time, I could benefit from your help”. People jump to the conclusion that they are flawed, or that this ‘out of control’ feeling is the norm in our modern world. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Take us through the process of building the first version of your product.
My coaching business began with one-to-one coaching initially, although I quickly started to offer group coaching and workshops.
I have created an educational and coaching program, called “Project Manage Your Life” which combines traditional time management principles as well as more holistic mindfulness practices.
I have successfully launched this program four times over the last two years, where I’ve delivered the material to cohorts of no more than 15 people. With each launch, the program has continued to improve as I deepen my knowledge as a coach and business owner.
The first iteration of the program was ‘rough and ready’, and after mapping out a basic framework I launched it to my audience before the program was created.
I didn’t have a website landing page or document to sell the program, aside from a handful of posts to my Instagram grid (below) and a few emails to my subscriber list. I hosted the program in a private Facebook group.
The cost to launch was minimal; I had a paid Canva account for graphic design and I paid for Flodesk at the time which was around $15/month (I’ve since changed to ConvertKit).
Very quickly I had a group of individuals who were keen to participate, and this first version was launched as a 5 day challenge. The feedback was fantastic, and I was asked by others to repeat the program - which I did.
Over time, the program has morphed into a 3 month supportive container, where I deliver the material live over Zoom to small groups. There is also a members area on my website where I host the learning material, a vault of video resources, and a mindfulness meditation library of audio tracks I have recorded.
Students have described the programme as ‘life changing’, and I love teaching my unique framework and seeing those ‘a-ha’ moments as we progress through the lessons.
Describe the process of launching the business.
It wasn’t my intention to start my business when I did; I didn’t have a 6-month runway of savings to act as a safety net while I got off the ground and I hadn’t been running the business as a side hustle while working in corporate. That said, I don’t regret going out on my own and three years later I’m pleased with the progress I have made.
When I first became self-employed, I managed to secure a consulting opportunity with a pharmaceutical company where I delivered project management strategy services. This provided me with some confidence that my household bills would be paid as I started out with my coaching.
As I was wrapping up my coaching qualification, I created my website - which I did myself in Squarespace to keep the costs down. I found Squarespace to be very intuitive and easy to use. Then as soon as I was qualified I was ready to go!
I also changed my LinkedIn profile to let my existing network know what I was now doing, that felt like a big step!
I had been coaching for free as part of my qualification, where I had to accrue a certain number of hours to gain my certificate, and I can remember the conversations with my peers about taking the leap to paying clients and what that might look like.
I created a very basic coaching contract, figured out a method for clients to pay me, and started telling everyone I met that I was a coach.
And when I landed my first paying client, I had such a buzz!
Some of my biggest lessons have been to follow my interests, rather than follow the crowd. Running my business should be fun, and when it started to feel like hard work… I knew something needed to change.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
I decided to play the long game with my marketing, placing a strong focus from the beginning on blogging and email marketing. The majority of my customers have been on my mailing list, where I provide value each week with my letter ‘It’s about time…’.
“Sarah, your emails are some of my favorites to land in my inbox. Thank you for all you do and create.” - Natalie
I have three free resources (lead magnets) that I offer to my audience in exchange for their email address; these are a one-hour masterclass on how to time block your schedule, an e-book on how to get more time so you can achieve your goals and lastly, a series of printable downloadable templates to help you get more organized (www.sarahstewart.co.uk/freebies).
The masterclass has proved to be very popular, and I’ve delivered this live multiple times before turning it into an evergreen funnel.
Most recently, my biggest opportunities have come from individuals and companies searching for a ‘time management coach’ on Google and coming across my website.
This included a fantastic PR opportunity with Stylist magazine, where I was featured in two articles last year. One is behind a paywall, but the other is available online.
I was also invited to chat with Holly Tucker as part of her Business Pharmacy Instagram Live series last year. This is the platform that I am most active on, and I show up most days providing valuable content for my followers.
My marketing efforts thus far have been organic; I have boosted a handful of Instagram posts with not much to show for it and I’m yet to dive into paid ads.
The other channel that has proven successful in increasing my visibility is attending relevant networking events, and I even started to host my own events for small business owners in my local area. The events, which are run quarterly, are held at the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice where I volunteer most weeks (I run mindfulness meditation sessions for out-patient visitors).
The events are another way for me to give back as all the ticket money I receive goes to the hospice. The events are called Connect for a Cause.
I’ve also been invited to speak at numerous events, and have been a guest on a couple of podcasts also.
I hosted my first corporate time management masterclass last year, and the organization discovered my services via Google. Another significant win from my SEO efforts.
The evolution of my Instagram account.
TODAY:
WHEN I FIRST NICHED INTO TIME:
WHEN I FIRST WENT SELF EMPLOYED:
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
My commitment is to help my clients get more time for the things that matter.
I aspire to be the catalyst for positive change, enabling individuals and organizations to maximize their potential, honor their time, and live with purpose.
The business is profitable, and I achieve this through multiple income streams including coaching, consulting, workshops, and events.
To date, I have served 121 customers, and my lifetime revenue is $150k. Each month the number of customers I work with varies, but I can work with 5 coaching and/or consulting clients alongside those that join my program during a launch (no more than 20 in a cohort). My average monthly revenue is currently $4,500.
In 2024 I will be re-launching my signature program, Project Manage Your Life, and I will also be taking this program into the corporate space, to work with forward-thinking organizations that place an importance on their employee wellbeing.
I also have visions of public speaking to larger groups to share my messaging.
In terms of marketing my business, I’ve been leaning into the approach that I enjoy most - which is long-form content. I love to blog, and I also share time management tips each week with my email subscribers. This year I will be launching my podcast, Own Your Time.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Some of my biggest lessons have been to follow my interests, rather than follow the crowd. Running my business should be fun, and when it starts to feel like hard work… I knew something needed to change. More recently I’ve been leaning into the activities that I enjoy most.
I have experimented with many different approaches to marketing and sales, from including my products in bundles, to presenting at summits, and collaborating with others.
My feature in Stylist magazine had the biggest impact on my newsletter subscribers, with the number jumping up 20% overnight, and it opened up my audience internationally where in the weeks following I was hosting time audits with new American clients.
I think the most helpful skill I possess is effective time management (I had to say that, didn’t I!!). Time management isn’t the sexiest of subjects, but it’s the foundational skill that will help you achieve your goals. By getting this solid foundation in place and understanding and applying the principles of time management, there is a ripple effect across all areas of our lives. Time management is such an important skill to cultivate, and it can help make your goals a reality, both personally and professionally.
Another key learning is to have a group of supportive business friends around you; I’ve two close friends whom I share a WhatsApp group with and we meet every 6 weeks to discuss our goals, and progress, celebrate successes, and so on. Having these women to bounce ideas off has been impactful.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
My favorite business tool is Asana, which is a project management application. I use this alongside my Google calendar, where I time block my schedule. My calendar is the high-level plan. For instance, I might have a 2-3 block for project work in my Google calendar, and then within Asana, I have a breakdown of all the individual tasks needed to complete that day or as part of the project. I have a free webinar on how to time block that you can access here.
I do still love pen & paper though; there’s something nice about the sensory aspect of writing out notes and ideas. I tend to do my big picture doodling in my planner. I use Hello Time you can use STEWART10 for a 10% discount). These planners have great layouts that are fairly straightforward, so you can customize them to fit your own needs. There’s loads of space for scheduling, notes, to-do lists, and more.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
I love the author Laura Vanderkam and have read many of her books. She has a similar outlook to mine when it comes to time management. Her most recent book, Tranquility by Tuesday, shares 9 rules to live by including giving yourself a bedtime and having a little and big adventure each week.
I also have enjoyed Jen Carrington’s podcast, Your Simple and Spacious Business. Jen is a business coach, and mother, and lives with a chronic condition. She is a lighthouse for me when it comes to an ‘ideal schedule’ as she runs a successful business whilst working 8-10 hour weeks.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
As a single mum and individual living with a chronic condition (Crohn’s Disease), I love to shine a light on what’s possible… others have described me as a source of inspiration. My passion is time, and investing our time well - and I believe people should be more intentional with their time. In my view, the world needs more businesses that prioritize value and purpose, ones that can contribute positively to global change. I aspire to be one of these businesses.
I think it’s common for small business owners to work all hours as they start their entrepreneurial journey, and they might burn the candle at both ends. However, my recommendation is to get clear on what your ideal week looks like and use this as your North Star to guide you. With each decision you make, is it taking you closer to your ideal week or further away?
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
