Mal Krishanasamy, founder of MalCPD, made the change from working 60 hour weeks as a senior leader in schools, to running her own Education Consultancy & Coaching business so she could spend more time with her family. A year in to starting her business she joined The Cocoon online members club and has seen her business grow & evolve with the support she’s received.

“In Feb 2016, I went on maternity leave from my role as a senior leader in schools. When our youngest was three months old in July, we relocated from London to Bournemouth. I decided I didn’t want to go back to working in schools full time. I had a huge amount of experience in the field of education as a teacher, leader and trainer of teachers and leaders. But, I wanted to spend more time with my family. My eldest was four and I really wanted to spend as much time as possible with him before he started Reception and I didn’t want my youngest to have as many different carers as my eldest did in London.

It was a slow first year in business as hubby and I are sharing the childcare of our youngest who is now two, I was completing a university course on coaching and I didn’t know what my niche was. I knew I wanted work-life balance, to be able to do what I love whilst being able to spend quality time with my children. But to be honest I was a bit lost. I joined The Cocoon online members club in January this year (2018), a year after setting up my Education Consultancy & Coaching business. 

The reality is that I am a teacher by trade. I haven’t a clue about how to be a businesswoman. I don’t know about taxes, marketing, GDPR, selling…. The Cocoon has been a fantastic source of support, guidance and full on help. Since joining the club, I am clear on my niche, what my brand is, my website is done and it’s a safe place where I can have a moan and celebrate success.

The experts and fellow members have been hugely supportive. Hannah Jeffrey from HJ Accounts Management has been fab at explaining, in layman’s terms, exactly what I need to do tax wise. Jo Brianti from JLB Solutions, really clearly told me what I needed to do in terms of GDPR. Glenda Shawley from The Training Pack gave me brilliant marketing advice. Caitlin Pieter’s from BluBird did my website and I am so pleased with it! Clare Fielder from the Pistachio Club gave me advice about SEO. Lidia Rumley from Light Switch Brand gave me good advice on my ‘About Me’ section of my website which I then turned from a CV to a more readable version. Then of course, there is Erin. Ever understanding, ever supporting. Ever the absolute legend that she is.

One of my favouriate parts of the community is having access to the library of video training. The masterclass on Overcoming Your Fear Of Selling by Mindful Sales Training really changed my attitude on selling. It really made me think about the service I am providing rather than thinking ‘oh please buy from me’. They need me! I need to keep revisiting it as even the other day, I was grateful for someone wanting me to do more work for them rather than clear that I am helping them. I find all of Glenda’s Marketing Surgery Lives very useful. I always come away with some snippets of useful advice that I can put into action. Hannah Jeffrey’s tax video was very beneficial. It really sorted out what I really need to be doing tax-wise. Cori Javid’s Charging Your Worth masterclass has changed my mindset with money and made me feel much more confident in talking about my pricing. In fact, I have raised all my prices!

Business is going really well but I know I need a clear marketing strategy. So, I’ll be giving resident expert, Glenda a call as being a member of the Cocoon I am entitled to a one hour one to one with her. I also need to sort out all the tax stuff. Therefore, I’ll be giving Hannah Jeffrey a call! Now that my niche is clear in my head I have lots of ideas of how I can develop my business. I’m excited about the next year and very grateful to be part of a fantastic community of warmth & support.”

To find out more about the support you could benefit from as a Cocoon member, click here.

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