My Struggles As A Mom Led Me To Become A Successful Parenting Coach
Hello! My name is Oyin Kalejaiye and I am the Founder of Thrive Parenting, a parenting Coaching business.
I run Thrive Parenting as a side project because I work in schools part-time doing something similar as a School Family Worker supporting parents/carers of school-aged children and I’m also a Mum of 3 teenage boys.
I have worked with and supported families for nearly 10 years so this is an area I am experienced in, deeply passionate about and I’ve seen many families positively transformed.
I’m a parenting coach based in Hertfordshire, the UK however parents/carers all over the world can access my services as the majority of my services can be accessed virtually. I offer various approaches, strategies, tips, and suggestions to help parents/carers manage and reduce parental stress as well as achieve a happier, peaceful family life more holistically.
I offer 3 main packages for one-to-one coaching packages, my most popular package is my ‘Indirect Intensive’ package which consists of 4 virtual coaching sessions held over 6 weeks with email/text support between sessions.
My sessions are very parent-led, family-led, and solution-focused which my clients find very empowering. We also focus on developing a healthy parent-child relationship which is vital to successfully manage unwanted behavior in children, this enables them to experience transformational results within a short period of time.
The goal is to have happy, thriving parents/carers and happy, thriving children within families.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
I stumbled on to this career path as my first degree is in law and I wanted to pursue a legal career however after having children, especially after having my 13 year old twin boys who were born with additional needs, my goals changed which eventually impacted my career choice.
Having a strong purpose and knowing what you/business stand for will keep you going on the ‘right’ path even on days you have a wobble.
Raising my twin sons who were born after my first son, trying to navigate their additional needs was a task I felt extremely ill-equipped to do. I started out researching different parenting approaches as a way to empower myself in my own parenting journey but ended up building a career supporting other parents/carers after experiencing positive results in my own family life.
Apart from my own parenting experience, over the years I have trained to support/work with all families including those experiencing challenging behavior in their children, separated families, parents of children with additional needs, I’m also a qualified hypnotherapist with counseling skills among other therapeutic skills and trained/qualified group facilitator. I’m currently also on a masters programme, studying part-time at university - Msc Counselling children, young people and their families.
I work with charities, local authorities, schools and other agencies supporting parents/carers and children of all ages. I’ve spent the last 10 years building a very fulfilling and rewarding career in an area I am extremely passionate about and I have no plans to stop yet!
My ‘aha’ moment for Thrive Parenting came when parents/carers that I met asked me about parenting coaching service providers outside of schools, local authorities - they wanted professional coaches they could access privately, get some early support/intervention and prevent escalations or complexities in parenting needs and concerns.
I started ‘Thrive Parenting’ as a side project with the aim of running it full time at some point however I’m currently still working part-time in schools supporting parents/carers and school staff. Starting a business in the middle of a global pandemic hasn’t been easy so I am going to carry on building and developing it until it is financially viable enough.
Take us through the process of being established as a completely new parenting coach.
I had been thinking about starting a parenting coaching business for a while as I had worked with parents/carers and families for nearly 8 years at the time. In 2019 I started to really think about it. I was turning 40 in October 2019 and starting the business felt like pushing myself to the next level professionally and personally.
Choosing a name for the business was the next step and then deciding on the coaching packages I wanted to offer was another big step. I wanted my business name to show my goal and intention for the parents/carers I work with - my goal and desire are that they thrive in parenting, I want them to really enjoy the process of raising their children and develop positive, healthy parent-child relationships so parents/carers and children are happy. I wanted my services to be affordable but I also needed to be realistic in terms of what I needed to run a viable business.
I think I spent most of my time trying to put together the best digital products/services at reasonable prices - I was actually really stressed out about this, in the end, I had to make tough decisions and just start!
In terms of startup costs, one of the best decisions I made was working with a Business Coach. She wasn’t cheap, however, she really helped me with clarity and implementation because I can overthink and then get overwhelmed.
She also encouraged and empowered me to just go for it which was very beneficial because my desire for near ‘perfection’ can lead to unnecessary delays.
Describe the process of launching the business.
I started my business in 2020 and decided that launching it online via social media initially was best - my ‘doors’ officially opened on 27th January 2020. Before the official launch I had created a business Instagram page and a Facebook page, I started to build content slowly. I also created a website for easy access to relevant information about me, my experience, and services/products.
On my personal social media pages I started to make a lot of noise about my new business, educating people about parenting coaching, the benefits of intentional parenting, conscious parenting and positive parenting.
Social media has its limitations in terms of creating awareness and marketing, I think it’s important to have a plan B.
I had planned to organise a face-to-face business launch in a few local libraries however Covid happened and the plan has had to be postponed - this is one thing I can’t wait to do at the moment, it’s one of my priorities for next year.
The business was self-funded, my biggest expenses were the business coaching and website building however like I said earlier I believe they are beneficial expenses.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
To be honest, I’m not attracting enough clients yet however, the clients that I have had have found me on social media, my website or word of mouth (referrals from other clients which is great).
I have spent some money on social media marketing - Facebook and Instagram Ads which can be a bit ‘hit and miss’ but some of my clients have found me this way.
Existing clients and previous clients also spread the word by sharing marketing flyers or sharing social media posts or just telling anyone that cares to listen about my services. I also request that clients complete a comprehensive feedback at the end of my involvement with them and their families - sharing bits of feedback has been very helpful too.
I also post regularly on my social media pages, I share a lot of knowledge and information for free as I want my followers and potential followers/clients to have access to useful content and I also use it as an opportunity to showcase my skills/knowledge which I think helps too.
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Today, Thrive Parenting is still growing, it isn’t profitable yet which can be quite demotivating sometimes but I believe it’s a business that has a lot of potential. My current greatest challenge is getting my products/services in front of potential clients because marketing on social media isn’t easy, too many businesses competing for the very limited attention of the same audience.
Due to Covid, ‘everyone’ is now on social media and it feels like ‘everyone’ has started an online business so creating awareness and marketing on social media has been extremely challenging.
I have written 2 short books this year which I am so proud of, they are part of a series of books - Easy and quick guides to parenting. I have written ‘An Easy and Quick Guide to Intentional Parenting’ and ‘An Easy and Quick Guide to Raising a Strong-Willed Child. I launched them at a library in North London, the plan is to take them to other libraries and family events in the new year.
Parenting coaching is also relatively new in the UK so my main short-term goal is to successfully engage with potential clients within and outside of social media. Secondly I would like to establish solid marketing strategies that work well.
The long term plan is to make parenting easier for many, many parents/carers and to build a successful business whilst doing something I’m extremely passionate about.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
I honestly feel like the last nearly 2 years have been one massive learning curve and I’m still learning. I can’t believe how resilient I have been but I guess I have a strong ‘why’.
Staying motivated enough to post on social media or meet with another potential client when the business is struggling to gain the momentum that I would like feels like a mammoth task sometimes considering I’m juggling so many things already.
One thing I’ve learnt is the importance of ‘resting’ instead of ‘quitting’, if I feel overwhelmed, I hit the ‘pause’ button and then I re-engage when I’m ready. These short breaks help me to re-engage with a renewed commitment to the business and new energy to implement strategies/fresh ideas properly.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
I love Canva. I think it is such an awesome tool - I do all sorts with it, my creative side gets really excited on the App.
I also use InShot for my videos which is another awesome App, it gives my videos a professional look which I like.
I have to create a lot of content on social media to share useful information and to showcase my skills so I really like my content to look good and give off a good impression. Canva and InShot help me to achieve this with minimal effort.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?
My business coach gave me a book called Start Now, Get Perfect Later by Rob Moore - good book, I recommend it. The title alone motivated me to get my business started properly.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
I believe every entrepreneur would benefit from having a strong ‘why’. Why are you really doing this? Why are you really running this business? I believe having a strong purpose and knowing what you/business stand for will keep you going on the ‘right’ path even on days you have a wobble. It will also help you focus your energy and time on things that matter and will benefit your business as there can be so many distractions when you’re trying to grow your business.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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