By Sujany Baleswaran and Olivia Preston
From corporate burnout to award-winning coach, Kylie Anderson left behind the demanding corporate sales industry to seek a career helping others. Founder of Iconic Wealth International, the business strategist works with business owners turning their knowledge and skills into business growth. At Business Woman Today, we spoke to Kylie as she shares the lows of corporate burnout and the importance of coaching.
Women need to celebrate with each other and recognise money is just a resource, not someone’s personal worth or value.
15 years in the corporate world, what led to your transition into the coaching world? Did you ever experience burnout?
Yes, I did, especially after 7 years in the Estate Agency industry working crazy long hours, most weekends and having to compete in a man’s world. It all took its toll but I didn’t actually realise I was burnt out until after I left. I tried to start my own business and realised how exhausted I was, I wasn’t functioning properly and I couldn’t seem to make decisions! I wasn’t moving forward and really wasn’t taking any action. It took a friend of mine to say ‘Kylie I think you’re in burnout’. I took some time out, travelled a bit and really spent time replenishing myself.
This led me down the exploratory path around what I also wanted to do in business. I had learnt to forex trade but sitting in front of screens wasn’t really my thing as I’m more of a people person. I then got into internet marketing and selling other people’s products and programs, which I enjoyed, but what I really fell in love with was the flexibility and leverage that an online business gave. I started helping one or two people grow their businesses online and this helped to unleash my hidden gift of helping others turn their existing knowledge and skills into online cash flow. As part of this, I naturally started coaching people I was working with to help them get past the things holding them back, and keep them accountable so they keep moving forward.
You help women improve their financial literacy and create financial freedom. Why do you think women shy away from talking about money? What changes can society make to help women become more financially aware?
Great question. I feel that the anxiety around money comes from a lack of experience with handling it and feeling like we don’t deserve money. Women have had years of conditioning to not be involved with money and have also not been recognised as equals especially when it comes to salary and income.
When moving into the entrepreneurial or business space women have to start charging for their services, so there is heightened anxiety around sales, asking for the business and owning their value.
I also truly believe women need to support each other more around this. I and other successful women entrepreneurs have experienced backlash and social media bullying around sharing our successes or talking about money. This needs to change. Women need to celebrate with each other and recognise money is just a resource, not someone’s personal worth or value.
Society, in general, can support women more financially – by making it more easily accessible like having funding available to business start-ups, changing financial literature and education so that it speaks to women, not just men and also teaching basic financial management at schools would be a great start.
What advice would you give to someone hoping to achieve financial freedom?
Start with clarity around what financial freedom really looks like to you. I like to start with two figures – the first figure is your living figure – this covers all your basic living costs (like rent, mortgage, phone bills, school fees etc). The second is your lifestyle figure – this should include more of what you’d like in your life (like extra holidays, maybe a new car, personal trainer and so on). The second figure should take you outside of your comfort zone.
Once you know where you want to go, it’s much easier to plot a course or create a roadmap to get there.
By the way, the most difficult part of this exercise often for women is asking for what they want. Most never ask themselves that question as they are too busy looking after everyone else. So if you struggle with this, go with what you don’t want and work towards the opposite.
As a person who thrives in an environment working with others, you entered the coaching industry. Why is business coaching so important for success?
Business coaching is so important for three key reasons:
- It keeps you focused on your own path and what success means to you
- It helps hold you accountable for taking the actions you need to move forward
- It provides you with a strategy or proven method to get where you want to be faster.
If you look at every successful business owner, entrepreneur or even sports person the key to their success is a mentor or coach who takes them to a higher level of belief and mindset, before they can even see it and then shows them a path to get there.
Choose wisely, do your due diligence on who you want to work with. Ideally looking for someone you not only relate to but have walked the walk, not only achieving results for themselves but for others too. Then just do it! Investing in yourself in this way will help fast track your progress – normally saving you both time and money along the way!
What have you learned about yourself while coaching others?
Where do I start, I always say building your business is a personal development journey for yourself? I think two main areas stand out. The first being I had money blocks I did not even know I had – coming from a successful career in Sales I always earnt good money, but then starting to charge for my own services was another whole learning curve. The second was around trusting myself. I can often help my clients raise their belief levels and get them to see what is possible before they even see it themselves. Applying this to myself wasn’t always easy.
How has your career helped you to coach?
I am thankful for having a strong career in sales both in real estate and recruitment doing millions of dollars in deals. This gave me a solid foundation for building my multi six-figure business because it not only taught me how to develop strong relationships, gain referrals but also never be scared to pick up the phone and hustle when you need it the most. A lot of people shy away from “sales” in their business, yet for me, it comes easy as I just see it as a conversation and solving problems for those that need my help the most.
‘45 places and counting’ – what spurred you towards a life of travel?
Initially, it was the realisation I was in the wrong relationship. When I found out I wasn’t pregnant after a period of trying, I knew it was time I did something different with my life so I bought my first plane ticket overseas. At first, I fell in love with exploring new cultures and communities, but now it’s a combination of that, plus the freedom I enjoy through my business, to work and connect with anyone around the world. I’ve met so many people online that when I travel, I get to meet the people I’ve known online for a while. Like the time I planned a trip to San Diego and while I was there, I met up with a client who lived there and who I’d been friends with for three years online. It was awesome.
Do you have a favourite destination?
My favourite destinations are about the feeling and memories they create so each trip has a unique angle to them. However, I can’t forget the time I spent nearly two months travelling Africa, starting from Nairobi through to Victoria falls on an overland trip. From there a friend and I jumped across to Johannesburg where we hired a car and drove along the coast of South Africa. It was amazing. So many contrasts from city life to mud huts, wild animals to pristine beaches and incredible experiences along the way.
