Website Designer for Coaches
My Story: A Career in Creating Websites for Coaches
A twinkle in my dad’s eye and a sparkle in my mom’s started a chain of events that brought to existence this beach-loving, globe-trotting, half-Filipino techie.
Hi. I’m Kenn Schroder, a website designer for life coaches, career coaches, and health coaches.
Below is the tale of how I came to create websites for coaches in 7 special life-changing moments.
Special Moment 1 of 7: Dad’s tough love …
I can hear my mom now, “Chiiiilllllll-dreeennnnnn! Dinneeerrrrr tiiiimmmmmee!”
She summoned us repeatedly for an hour, but we wouldn’t budge. We were mesmerized by the Commodore 64 — our gateway into the unknown world of computers back in the 80s.
My dad, a humorous, smart, hard-working man, had lost his patience that day and stormed into the basement and smashed the computer right before our eyes. Keys flew about like corn in a popping machine. Naturally, crying ensued.
Surprisingly, we figured out how to snap the keys back on, and the darn thing actually worked. There’s no way today’s laptops would stand such a storm.
When we weren’t bicycling around town or shooting hoops at the park, we were programming and gaming on the C64 for hours on end.
It’s no surprise that I’ve I’m online, creating and designing websites today.
Special Moment 2 of 7:
I saw my dream house but …
My daily three-hour slog to Manhattan was rough.
On the way, there was a street of beautifully built new homes. I loved them! They were modern, big, yet simple-looking. I dreamt of owning one with a neat sports car outside.
It looked cool, comfy, and simple. Maybe get a puppy. I was in my 20s.
Then dread took over as I realized to make it a reality, I’d have to stick with my painful commute and a lackluster job forever. Scratch that idea.
Soon after, I left that job to pursue greener pastures.
I do wonder how things might have turned out had I gone after that house and stuck out the 9-5. But then you wouldn’t be here, learning about websites and your coaching business 😉
Special Moment 3 of 7:
Jumping the corporate ship.
In the last year of my nine-to-five job, I felt this dark, deathly piece of burnt coal growing in the center of my chest. My body was basically telling me that it was time to go.
Having invested four years in college and eight as an actuary (an insurance statistician), I quit and returned to my first love, “creating on computers.”
It was 2001, just after the Internet bubble had burst, the wrong time to become a website designer. But I decided to do it anyway.
Seventeen years later, I know it was a good move. I’ve been able to hop around the planet, work with superb coaches and earn a good income.
Special Moment 4 of 7:
My first-ever coaching session …
I remember my first coaching session lasting about 2 hours. With all the great questions, deep thinking, and big-picture dreaming, I left that session with a huge sense of relief, much clarity about the path forward, and ready to conquer the world.
Coaching was awesome!
As I learned more, I quickly realized that I was coaching people all my life. With friends and family, I was the one who asked lots of questions, helped others see limiting assumptions, and cheered people on when they took action.
I fell in love with coaching. It’s no surprise that I work with coaches today.
Special Moment 5 of 7:
Finding This Old Book on Selling Helped Me Get More Clients with My Website
In 2004, I lived in Huntington Village on Long Island, just a few years after leaving my city job.
My fledgling website design business was slow-going and savings were depleting.
While I consumed all kinds of business advice, I clearly remember this one magical book I stumbled upon in a local library.
It was old-looking. I can’t recall the title, but it was about selling services. Oddly it had nothing to do with the Internet.
Thanks to Clem Onojeghuo on UnSplash.com for this photo
I love library books because there’s a return date (deadline) and a threat of late fees (penalty) — which thus forces you to read them quickly.
Talk about productivity 😉
This book taught me two vital things …
Selling Wisdom #1. Don’t compete on price.
Don’t try to be the low-cost provider as a service professional — designers, consultants, coaches, and all. Price ought not to be the primary reason to work with you.
No, no, no, no, no.
This is because there will always be someone else trying to undercut you. And that leads to an unsustainable business.
Plus, lowballing attracts the worst clients who care nothing about your talents and experience.
I’ve been there. It’s crap. Don’t lowball your fees.
So what do you focus on when talking to a possible client?
Selling Wisdom #2. Deliver high value.
Focus on value. Aim to help the potential client in a big way.
One invaluable thing every coach oughta do is go deep into a potential client’s situation. Inquire, listen and show you deeply understand their tough struggles and desired goals.
This wins trust, builds momentum, and gives the client confidence that you can help.
That book lead me to specialize in websites for coaches — because focusing on this niche meant I could bring more value. I eventually wrote a book about it to help more people.
Special Moment 6 of 7:
Deciding to Take The Show on the Road
I’ve always been an adventurer. I would have been on The Santa María with Christopher Columbus.
In 2006, I was living in mid-town Manhattan, laptopping at the local Starbucks on Park Avenue, when the travel bug bit hard. It was time for a change — and a challenge.
I had decided to go to Paris to visit my girlfriend at the time and test-run my operations. Could I work and travel at the same time?
Luckily, I pulled it off, and that lead to more multi-month trips abroad. A few pics …
In the sunset-blessed beach town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, I failed to convince this young-preneur to sell his springy animals online. Hmmm.
Straight from the airport, high on excitement, Greg and I headed to One Tree Hill for a “sweet as” view of Auckland, New Zealand.
Downtime, beach, pools, and history were on the menu when I went to Greece. I’m at the Acropolis in Athens, mimicking that statuesque star.
In Buenos Aires, days were filled with co-working, city walking, meat, and Tango. This was my first three-in-a-row summer experience. Wild.
L’Etoile de Montmartre, The Star, is a cute little café and the Parisian branch office for my first work-abroad stint of six weeks.
Oh, the places you’ll go!
Let me tell you a little more about that brave trip to Paris …
Special Moment 7 of 7:
Paris, 10k in a week, what the bleep?!
So back to that brave move in Special Moment 6. I wanted to see if I could travel and work at the same time.
Here’s the office for six weeks.
I visited my French girlfriend at the time, staying in a tiny maid’s quarter in the Northern part of the city, Montmartre.
Here, the planets aligned, and I managed to sign three new high-paying clients, in one week, for over 10k income.
The universe was rewarding me for bravery. And the big lesson was …
Set up your website, emails, and visibility strategies to speak to the needs of your clients and lead them along with action steps to an offer to work together.
Kenn Schroder
After that trip, I started to apply my learnings to make even better websites, help coaches find more clients, and do that via the Web. To, again, as per that magical book, deliver more value.
And that leads us to today.
New Zealand / New York.
I go between New York and New Zealand, chasing summers, enjoying the beach, and helping coaches with their websites.
There are so many interesting people doing important work and being a part of their journeys keeps my soul a glow.
If you want one juicy PDF with my best learnings, check out my book, The Coaching Website Guide.
Definitely enjoy my blog posts, especially the top posts, which will teach you a lot.
And if you need a designer to get online, revamp a website, or take your biz to the next level, learn more here.
Thanks for reading.
~ Kenn