Interview with Entre Money Coach

Posted on May 10, 2021

Episode 4 of the Virtual Speaker has been released!

Dawn and I met many moons ago at a local chamber event when she was focused on her law career. We became fast friends and have been growing our own businesses at light-speed, sharing growing pains, success, and those ever-awesome growth pains.

Dawn Kennedy is passionate about helping small businesses thrive in the face of unexpected market changes by ensuring there is a plan to protect financial milestones and a plan for the company’s successful growth. She gained an extensive background in program management and strategic planning working for the US Army and as a consultant for companies in both the government and private sectors.

Dawn’s professional focus includes working with entrepreneurs to implement positive and powerful changes to help their businesses thrive and grow. Dawn solves problems with creative options that get results.

Name: Dawn Kennedy
Business: Entre Money Coach
Title: Founder/ CEO
Email:assist@entremoneycoach.com
Phone Number: 762-822-8549
Website: https://entremoneycoach.com
Social channels:
Facebook.com/entremoneycoach,
Instagram.com/entremoneycoach

A little about Dawn:

What were you like in high school?

Very awkward. I couldn’t wait to get done with school and out into the world. I did well, played sports and activities, was a dancer and a swimmer, but just didn’t fit into any particular “clique.”

What inspired you to pursue your career of choice?

Financial and Business coaching was inspired by the loss of our consulting company in 2013 after my husband’s near-fatal fall off a ladder. My passion is helping other small businesses thrive, make good financial decisions, and have a plan for growth that is sustainable. These things we didn’t do in our company and it cost us almost everything. We ended up with $77k in debt and an IRS lien on our house. I now teach business owners how to avoid past mistakes.

What is your education and professional history?

I have a JD, and am a lawyer. I actually didn’t go to law school until I was 40. My background is in project and program management and in strategic planning. I worked for over 10 years in government and private industry program management and planning.

Tell us about your family?

We have 5 grown kiddos and three amazing grandbabies. We also have three dogs who replaced our children and actually run our lives now.

Tell us about your business.

Where are you located?

Van Wert, OH

What services do you provide?

Business financial coaching, strategy, and consulting.

How long have you been with your current company?

I broke off from the law firm and started Entremoneycoach as a separate entity for financial coaching in September of 2019. I was coaching since 2017 with clients in my law firm where I helped families and businesses with debt and other consumer law issues.

What is one way that 2020 challenged you professionally?

I was already online for my business, so that pivot wasn’t a thing for me, but what was a challenge was watching small businesses struggle because they didn’t have good financial structures in place. It was like watching us in 2011-2013 all over again. I did a lot of free masterclasses and free consulting calls with businesses helping them navigate the lockdowns and financial impacts 2020 had across industries.

What impact did covid have on your business?

I lost several clients who lost or closed their businesses. One was a restaurant consultant, another in specialty retail. A lot of people were afraid and didn’t want to take steps to grow. On the other hand, I had several clients who thrived in the online space and grew their businesses well.

Share a professional success from 2020.

I actually had several of my biggest sales months in this business in 2020. I also added social media marketing support and went live for 90 days in a row on Instagram, which grew my following a bit.

What is one piece of marketing advice you would give another business like yours?

Keep showing up. We need to change the conversation around money. There is still a lot of shame around making mistakes- we need to remove that shame and open this conversation to help more businesses learn to thrive. Don’t stop talking about the money, the strategy, the growth, and the successes.

Marie Miller http://www.themarketingjunkie.com

Marie is a creative ad agency seasoned professional that helps businesses leverage traditional/digital materials to best enhance their customers’ experience. She’s a marketing junkie – THE Marketing Junkie, actually. In her “spare time” you’ll find her working remotely at the front table at Brewed Expressions (seriously, we dare you to find her there. When you do, snap a selfie.) leading the Rockford Ohio Chamber of Commerce, volunteering with the Optimist Club of Van Wert, hosting workshops for area businesses, listening to podcasts, and attending leadership conferences. Problem solver. Ever-learner. Creative thinker. Work-in-progress. Nerd.

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