Kavita Sahai is a leading online Coachultant® (Coach + Consultant) and founder of havebigplans.com. She’s a proud mom, recovering workaholic and college professor who has built two companies to over seven-figures and has raised over $800M in capital. Educational accolades include graduating Summa Cum Laude at the University of Florida, and earning an MBA as a Haas Merit Scholar from UC Berkeley. She has been featured in Forbes, INC and the Huffington Post.
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
When I first left the corporate world, I would come up with all these great ideas but then I would talk myself out of them. I would think of all the reasons the idea or I would fail. I had an abundance of ideas but no ability to act. I realized that this was a pain point felt by many entrepreneurs and it became my mission to solve it.
Tell us about your business.
Havebigplans.com is the first virtual coaching platform that provides screened certified coaches, templates and resources and unlimited text support for as low as $50/week. There is also the option to add video/phone support. The coaches have experience taking people from their current state to their desired future state.
Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
Free additional 30 minute call with your coach when you sign up by September 15th, 2017.
Where is your business based?
Deerfield Beach, FL.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
I started out by having a 100 conversations with my target demographic – entrepreneurial women so I could understand their pain points and make sure I was solving them.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Speaking has been the best way to quickly raise awareness and get new customers. I would take every opportunity ranging from keynotes to roundtable discussions. We also did a few pop-up coaching events at co-working spaces that worked well.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
The biggest challenge so far has been managing the hiring process as we grow. I am super particular about who joins the company so we are often stretched thin as customer growth outpaces internal hiring.
How did you overcome these challenges?
I am working on making the process a little more standardized so I’m not the only person screening applicants.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
I have a vision board I created for my desktop with the quote.
“I can. I will. End of story.”
It also has images of thank you notes from clients that help me remember why I started.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
There are four main ways we distinguish ourselves from the incredibly crowded coaching market.
- Quality Control: Coaches are already checked for qualifications and rigorously interviewed.
- Constant Communication: Unlimited text during the week with your coach means you don’t have to wait a week for a response.
- Affordable: At $50/week, we are incredibly affordable.
- No Commitment: While it takes 3-6 months to see the results of coaching, we do not hold people hostage and you can cancel anytime.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
“You need to think bigger.” I was focusing on small opportunities and it was time to think about how to expand nationally.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Don’t do it alone. I don’t know anyone that achieves greatness alone. Invest in yourself and get the support and knowledge you need to achieve your dreams.
What are your favorite business tools/resources and why?
I love Hootsuite because it makes all social media related tasks much more manageable.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
I just read “Coaching with the Brain in Mind” by David Rock and Linda J. Page which has fascinating insights into how to increase your mental game.
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
I am looking to build out a huge resource library that coaches can use to help entrepreneurs further their learning and skill set to become effective leaders. There is a lot of information for every different industry so looking for industry experts to screen through it and pull out the gems.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
My goal is to partner with more women related conferences, and I am actively reaching out on a weekly basis to get those conversations started.
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
Instagram @havebigplans
Twitter @havebigplans
Facebook www.facebook.com/havebigplans
Website www.havebigplans.com
Email kavita@havebigplans.com
Hashtags #havebigplans #dontdoitalone