Empowering Women’s Financial Confidence
Case Study: Michelle Francis, Life Story Financial and Coaching with Kathleen Burns Kingsbury
Background
Michelle, the founder of Life Story Financial and a fee-only financial advisor, struggled to overcome hesitation in charging fees aligned with her worth. Recognizing that her challenge is a common one that women often face – a lack of confidence when negotiating salaries or setting fees – Michelle sought a female coach with expertise in this area and turned to Kathleen.
Private and Group Coaching with Kathleen
Starting with one-to-one private coaching, Kathleen and Michelle delved into the psychology behind Michelle’s hesitations. As Michelle describes, the insights she gained played a pivotal role in “increasing my confidence when it comes to talking to prospects and telling them what I charge, really sticking to that and feeling confident asking for it.”
After Michelle participated in private coaching with Kathleen, she extended her journey by joining Kathleen’s group coaching program. Kathleen guided the group through exercises centered on their value stories in this setting and encouraged members to discuss the challenges in their businesses openly.
As Michelle notes,
“Kathleen helped us feel comfortable being vulnerable about the challenges in our business while keeping things upbeat and ensuring that we were also talking about our successes. She’s particularly gifted in transforming challenges into a more positive light that helps us move forward.”
Results and Final Words from Michelle
Michelle notes that the impact of working with Kathleen has been long-lasting.
“Before coaching with KBK, I had a hard time ‘selling’ my financial planning services. Now, I am able to share with prospects how I add value to their lives and feel more confident doing so. I feel less pressure, and I am closing more sales and have doubled my revenue since working with her.”
Michelle refined her practice niche to serve mid-career women and “female-led households,” where women are the primary breadwinner and actively manage family finances. This specialized focus is highlighted on the Lifestory Financial homepage, and Michelle credits Kathleen for helping her coin the term.