#33: Creating Your Dream Life with Krissy Chin, Strategic Business Coach
Have you ever started down a career path and then said to yourself, “this isn’t for me!”
That is the same realization that Krissy Chin had when she was working 12 hour shifts as an RN.
She found herself desiring more time and financial freedom.
Now, Krissy is a Strategic Business Coach who helps business owners market, scale and sell their online businesses.
In this interview, Krissy shares:
Why niching your brand is so important.
Her view on attracting your ideal customers.
How to hire the right team that fits your needs.
Her secret to figuring out how to scale to seven figures in only 20 months!
Krissy shares with us openly about the challenges she went through to achieve a high level of success. Listen to my interview with Krissy to learn tips and tricks on scaling your business!
Learn more about Krissy here: https://www.thekrissychin.com or follow her on Instagram @thekrissychin.
Listen to the Show:
Laura (00:00):
This is the Multi-Million Dollar Brands Podcast, episode 33: creating your dream life with Krissy Chin.
(00:11):
Welcome to Multi-Million Dollar Brands, a podcast where we dive deep into the mindset and strategies of scaling your company to the multi-million-dollar mark and beyond each week, we followed the journeys of innovators, disruptors, experts, and leaders, sharing their stories and behind the scenes of their most challenging moments and greatest lessons learned. So get ready to catapult your business to the next level of revenue and learn how to multiply your income impact and influence by growing your next multi-million-dollar brand.
(00:48):
This fun interview with Krissy Chin is going to inspire you so much. Krissy started out as a nurse, as an RN and realized as she was working, she loved the idea of helping people. She loved the day to day interaction while she was serving within that field within healthcare, but then realized that she didn't want the lifestyle that came along with being a nurse. So she quickly pivoted, started an online business, really defined an interesting niche, an untapped niche, and grew it to seven figures within a year and a half. She speaks openly about the challenges she went through, but then also the decisions that she made that really catapulted her success. I have found this so interesting because for somebody who's been in entrepreneurship for a long time, I kept asking her, well, how did you do that? How did you figure it out? How did you know? And she just showed up every single day and figured it out. It is so inspiring. So exciting to share with you this interview with Krissy Chin.
(01:59):
Hey everybody, welcome back. I'm here with Krissy chin and you are going to have so much fun with her. She has scaled her business to over a million dollars in just 20 months and she used to be a nurse. So we're going to find out how she knew how to do this. Thank you so much for joining us Krissy.
Krissy (02:18):
You're so welcome. I'm so excited to be here.
Laura (02:20):
Yeah. So just take us through this journey of you being a nurse and then deciding that you wanted to become an online entrepreneur. Like what, what did this look like?
Krissy (02:31):
Yeah, so I was a nurse. I was pediatrics, PICU, NICU. And I just wanted more. I wanted more freedom, time, freedom, financial freedom. I was kind of tired of the politics in that. And so I kind of transitioned into travel nursing because I kind of got to get myself out of the politics just to just show up and serve where they needed me to serve, but I just wanted a lot more and I wanted, I wanted to travel more and I wanted to do cool things that cost money.
(03:00):
And I looked at what I was making. And while it was really good out of college, I was like, shoot, I'm going to have to go back to school if I want to make any more money and how much more money am I going to make? Oh, that's not enough money to do the things that I want to do. And so it was just sort of this evolutionary process of figuring out what is it that I can do beyond this that will give me the freedom, really financial freedom was what I was really laser focused on and love, health and wellness. I loved being on the side of health prevention as opposed to just kind of covering up what's going on. And so that's kind of where my journey started. And I started other businesses, not really understanding the full picture of what I wanted in the future.
(03:46):
So I was super focused on the financials. Could this business that I want to start make the amount of money that I want? Yes. Okay. I'm going for it. But then once I got into it, I was like, wait a minute. I want the time freedom to be able to work or take time off when I want, or we kind of want to move South we were in Chicago at the time. And I was like, if I build up this practice and people have to come see me in an office and I pick up a move, it's going to crumble. And so I didn't really, I didn't take that into consideration. And so now that's what I teach so much, you know, to build a business that you love and enjoy, and will support you five, 10 years, 20 years down the road, you have to look at where you want to be in all those spots and then check, make sure you're checking all the boxes, not just one of the things that you want when you're starting it.
(04:37):
But long story short got started in network marketing. I was like, all right, let's try this health and wellness products and started building that business. And I've just always had this ideas entrepreneurial mindset without even really realizing and thinking about it and was looking for ways to, grow that business bigger, faster, more simplified, save me time and energy so I can do the things I really love to do. And so that was developing training for the team that I was building and education that could happen without me being there. Right. And that's such a big part in scaling your business. And so I created this resource for that specific company and turned it into a business and it's a subscription business I wanted, I was introduced to residual income through network marketing, loved that idea and that concept. And so I said, all right, this needs to be a subscription platform. How do we do this and make this work? Perfect.
(05:33):
We're going to release new content every month. And so launched that. And we had thousands of people joining the day, you know, the hundreds of people, the day we opened, you know, by the first month we had 4,000 members. And so it just, it was crazy insane growth. And it was me and my youngest sister doing it. And before we knew it, we had this full-blown business and I had no formal business training. I'm like, shoot, I got to figure this out. And, yeah, so we hit a million in 20 months. We're on track to reach 2 million this year. So things are good. And it just sort of evolved into branching out into my personal brand, the Krissy Chin, just helping more people, just like you build and scale, scale business.
Laura (06:16):
So what do you think you did right? Because on the show, we talk a lot about some of the missteps or the challenges that people face when they're growing, and it sounds like without a lot of training, you either guessed, right. Or you sort of navigated all the different decisions in a short period of time. So what do you think enabled that level of success in that short period?
Krissy (06:39):
What I did right was absolutely taking a chance when I didn't have all the answers. So it was like, I knew I was, and I knew I wanted to go. And I was like, I really have no idea how I'm going to get there, but I'm just going to go for it anyway. I'm not going to wait till I have it all figured out and all the pieces to the puzzle put together, it's going to be too late by then. I'm just going to go. And I live by the motto, done is better than perfect. And that's something that has certainly led to success is I'm going to start with something that I think is really good and I'm going to make modifications along the way to make it even better as we go on. And I see so many people get frozen because they're predicting all these roadblocks they're going to have. And there, they're just stopping. They're not doing anything, but taking action is what's going to get you to move to that next step or move to that next level. And so that was something that I certainly did, right. Was taking action when I certainly probably wasn't ready and didn't have all the answers.
Laura (07:36):
So good. And did you follow any particular process for the business model or did you end up just kind of figuring out what felt right to you?
Krissy (07:46):
Figuring out what felt right. Again, like I had started that other business that was going to, you know, if I worked hard and made it successful is going to provide that financial piece, but then the flexibility wasn't going to be there. So it's like every time, and I had started another business before that with my sister. And so every time I learned something new, so this, you know, whatever your, if you're brand brand new, I know a lot of your people listening, aren't brand new, but this might not be like the $10 million business and idea, but you have to go for it and try things to like figure out what's working and what's not working and make those adjustments, you know, down the road.
Laura (08:22):
It's a fascinating story. Cause I'm listening to you and I'm like, gosh, it takes a lot of people like 10 years of entrepreneurship to be able to walk into business and just pick it up so quickly and figure out what you want in such a short period of time. I know I keep saying that, but it is really remarkable. And most people that I'm friends with a medical background have very little entrepreneurial spirit in them. It's just, they're just, they come from a totally different perspective of helping and serving and not necessarily inventing or creating they're more rule followers. Right. Cause you tend to have to be in medicine. It's part of what makes you good at medicine. So as you're scaling, what were some of the things that you felt like you kind of had to learn the hard way?
Krissy (09:10):
I mean, certainly learning that, that I've, it's probably, I'm probably not the best out there. I'm not the best out there. And there's so many other people doing it better. I mean, so many mistakes that I've made all along the way. I mean the thing with me with mistakes and like I don't live with regret. Everything that happens in my life happens for a reason. And so every, you know, failed attempt is really just an opportunity for me to learn. So I think that that can be really useful that while I may have hired the wrong person or started the wrong business in the beginning, it's those failures that have shaped how to move forward and find success along the way. So, so many just little things of, yeah, not hiring someone quick enough or hiring the wrong person or someone that just didn't end up serving the business in the way that you had hoped. And you know, you can think about all that wasted time and money, but was it really wasted time and money. No, I learned from that experience, I grew from that experience and now I know how to do better next time.
Laura (10:22):
Yeah. It's so good. So let's talk about your business today. Like what does it look like? What does your team look like? What does the structure look like? How do you, how do you have this multimillion-dollar operation? And again, growing it in a shorter period of time in my experience tends to increase the stress. It tends to increase the amount of cash required. I always say, if you're rushing towards something, it's going to require more of you than if you spread it out over time. Right. So what is, what does it look like today? Cause I know that having joy in your life is such an important part of who you are.
Krissy (10:55):
Yeah, absolutely. So I think about my business as a whole. And so there's when I think about, you know, business in my home, my life, it's multiple brands because I run multiple brands. And so I have Gro Workspace, which is the subscription platform and then my personal brand, which is more coaching and, and all of that. So I started grow workspace, you know, a handful of years ago, which we provide marketing material and business training for people building their young living network marketing businesses. So it's a super niche audience, but business as a whole is Gro Workspace and my personal brand. And so managing those and scaling those has really been a team effort. So I really only spend about five hours a week, give or take depending on what's going on inside Gro Workspace and just kind of overseeing that team. And that's allowed me because I built a team to focus, you know, expanding my personal brand and other passion projects.
(11:57):
But certainly I have this mindset of not 2x business, but 10x business. And I think that's such a great mindset to have, because two X in your business means you're doing twice. The amount of work and people can do twice the amount of work. And they don't have very much joy in their life, right? I mean business, but when you, when you're looking at 10x, then you have this different mindset and you're thinking, okay, how can I scale the business to this 10x level and keep the joy in my life and loving my business and joy in my business. All right. I need to build a support team. So that happens slowly over time. It didn't happen, you know, overnight building this large team that supports the business, but it was like, okay, Claire, I run that business with my sister, Claire and I, and I was like, all right, now I'm manually adding people to the private Facebook community every night before bed.
(12:58):
I don't want to do this anymore. This is not my zone of genius. I can hire this out. And so it just started that first person hiring them to take over the manual process of checking. Are they a paying member? Yes. Okay. They get access to the Facebook group or, oh, they've canceled. They have to be removed. So some of those tasks that just happen over and over and over again, delegating that and passing it off. And so, you know, bring that person on. Okay. Now we want to do more with graphic design. Let's bring in some help with that. Okay. We'll hire the graphic designer. Okay. Now we need another support person to do this task. And so the team just started growing over time and really Claire and I had our very specific roles. I was in charge of kind of being the face of Gro Workspace, marketing and sales.
(13:45):
That was like my jam connecting with them, creating content for the company. Cause we put out classes and business training. So I was creating that and then her expertise, which were all of my, like lack of skills was website graphic design, you know, the logistical pieces of putting the business online. So we 100% complimented each other. What I wasn't good at, she was and what she wasn't good at I was. So we made the perfect team, but then we were, we thought, hmm, well, if we can hire out some of these pieces that we do, then we'll have more freedom to do the other things that we want to do. And so we did focus on hiring more content creators and more graphic designers and someone to kind of oversee those projects and the team just started growing. And so I think that just embracing that it happens over time, we launched in end of 2017. So we're, you know, just shy of two and a half years and have just built this team throughout, throughout the process. And then you team with another, my other brand personal brand is just slowly building as well. You know, people to help edit with podcasts, episodes, support, checking my emails because I can't keep it all straight. So again, just the team, just building slowly to support you where you can so that I can focus on my zone of genius, the part that's going to scale the business.
Laura (15:12):
Interesting. That's incredible. And what's actually fascinating about that is that your membership that has 4,000 people in it or more at this point. Yeah. That's incredible. This is all specifically to support people who are selling young living. Is that right? So it's a really good niche. I mean, that's a great niche and that may be part of it too, because when I said, what do you do right from my experience, when you can get as specific as possible with who you serve, then it's just easier to grow. So yeah, that sounds like, so it's business, education marketing specifically for young living.
Krissy (15:49):
Yeah. So that absolutely 100%, one of the things that we did right. As I knew a) I was the client, right. Because I created it to solve my own problem. So I knew my client because I was the client. So that's like a really great thing. If you know who your client and your ideal client or your avatar, because you were them, like you have a leg up than someone else. Who's just trying to do research to figure it out. So certainly that, and then yeah, when you have a super specific niche, then you just know what to say. Your messaging will be on point because you're not confused about well I'm trying to talk to this person and that person, which is interesting because that business serves network marketers specifically. And that's something that I find with network marketers. Their product can be for literally everyone let's say health and wellness product.
(16:44):
And so they try and talk to everyone because they don't want to miss anyone. And that's where they go wrong in building their business. When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one. Right? And so that's what I did right in Gro Workspace I knew exactly who I was speaking to. I knew their exact problems. I knew this, the solutions they wanted and needed, like wanted as the keyword there, if you're listening. Because if you don't want it, you're not going to buy it. Right. So I knew what they wanted, but then I also knew what they needed. Um, and I knew how to, how to provide it for them. So yeah, that was, that's what I try and teach to people who kind of feel like, well, I could serve a lot of people, same with my business coaching. Well, I could, I could teach everyone about business, but if you speak to everyone, you speak to no one, no one will resonate and be attracted to you. So you have to pick that person that you're speaking to aim for that bullseye. And you'll pick up people on the outer rings all day long, just aim for that bullseye.
Laura (17:43):
That sounds amazing. And then tell me a little about your coaching program. Is that also tied to young living? And I know I keep kind of bringing this up, but I think it's so interesting that you had found this common product in a lot of ways. I know for many marketers looking for a common ground or belief system or value, but actually being able to help them with a specific product, I think is very powerful. Is that the same with your coaching as well?
Krissy (18:09):
Yeah, a little bit. So coaching, it's not for, young living network marketers and it's not just for network marketers. However, there's, I ran into this trap in the beginning of starting the coaching business of, well, I could help a lot of people and it's like, wait a minute, Christie listened to your own words in their own method, really focusing on one. So I really now have, I kind of have three ideal clients and people that just resonate with me, one network marketers, cause I've been in it. I know the business, that's what Gro Workspace serves. So I know it really well. The other one is entrepreneurs and creatives. I built this online subscription site from the ground up, hit a million in 20 months. And so now I have that business knowledge. So, you know, a female creatives entrepreneurs that, you know, want to build and scale their brand and business online.
(18:59):
That's my specialty there. And then I sort of have this crossover, if you will, where the two circles meet, where it's network marketers, who also have something else that they do to make money on the side. So like a massage therapist who uses network marketing products and they build both of those brands together or, you know, whatever you need a photographer who also does network marketing. They have these two brands that they want to build and scale online. And so they kind of come to me for guidance and advice and education on that. So the business coaching is really just serving people and helping them identify their brand and build a brand. So it stands out online that's so my specialty, I like to do everything online so that I can have the freedom, you know, the time freedom to do whatever I want, build my business from wherever I want.
Laura (19:49):
It's really nice to be able to do that online. And I came from traditional business and I don't discourage people from traditional business cause I've so many friends that are still in it. And I do think it's such a great way to learn. And then I was joking with a previous guest recently where I said like, when you come from traditional business and then you move online, you're like, Whoa, look at those margins. That is very different to not have brick and mortar overhead and all of a sudden have an online business. And I do think that if there is anything that traditional business owners have learned so far, this year it's having that secondary online revenue stream is really, really important to be able to default to in case anything comes up and you can't operate in a brick and mortar setting anymore. So tell me a little bit about what you see moving forward for your brand. Like how do you envision growing and then what do you picture for the future and scaling and what is that going to look like for you and your team?
Krissy (20:44):
Yeah, in Gro Workspace and that brand, we just started producing content for Canada. So we're growing, you know, in another market now as well. And just building the support team to really just even decrease the time that I'm even in that business. Now, I don't think I'll ever completely step away because I do really want to be connected, but just, you know, increasing the new market will help us scale tremendously and membership and profitability. So there's that. And then we provide Spanish content, so kind of evolving and opening new markets and new languages that instantly will just help us scale. So that's where kind of we're focused there. And then with the Krissy Chin brand, the business coaching brand, you know, I've got a course out there, build a blissful business. And so taking that course, evergreen and leveraging ads to the, you know, the webinar funnel to sell that course just, you know, while I'm out on the boat doing wake surfing or while I'm sleeping, or that is my jam to build through automation and scale through automation.
(21:46):
So that's 100% where this brand will be taken and courses are easy and scalable. Yes, they are private coaching. So I do take on a couple private coaching clients, but not too many because again, like the joy for me in my life and my business is when I have that time freedom and private coaching, isn't very scalable. So it'll definitely be more courses. You know, building a blissful business is all about building your brand and getting on social media and leveraging a website to build and grow your business. But down the road, it will be list-building and how to do that and an automation, which is my jam.
Laura (22:25):
So awesome. Well, if people want to learn more about you, if they're interested in either of your products or your services, where can they go to get more information?
Krissy (22:34):
The Krissy Chin, basically all across the board. So website is thekrissychin.com, Instagram, Facebook, it's all The Krissy Chin. So you can find me there and connect with me there also at support@thekrissychin.com, if you want to connect with me through email, that's great.
Laura (22:56):
And it's Krissy with a K. So K R I S S Y. So thank you so, so much for being here, it was wonderful connecting with you and hearing your story. I know so many people will be inspired. There's probably a lot of nurses out there that are like, who is this? What is she doing? Let me go figure it, let me go find this woman and have her help me out. So that's so good. And again, thank you for your time. I really appreciate it.
Krissy (23:19):
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
Laura (23:26):
If you love this, make sure to visit our website, multimillionbrands.com, where you can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher, or RSS so you never miss a show. And while you're at it, if you found value, we would love a rating on iTunes, or simply just tell a friend about it. That would help us out too. Thanks for listening.
The Scale with Joy podcast dives into the mindset and strategies of scaling your company to the million dollar mark and beyond. Each week, we follow the journeys of innovators, disruptors, experts and leaders - sharing behind the scenes stories of their most challenging moments and greatest lessons learned-all while building their multi-million dollar empires.