POWERUP SPEAKER SERIES


Allison

venditti

Running a purpose driven business and SOOOO MUCH MORE

Allison Venditti is a career coach, Human Resources and return-to-work expert with over 15 years of experience creating programs, policy and best practices that improve workplace cultures and increase employee retention.


She is the founder of My Parental Leave and Moms at Work, Canada’s largest professional network for working moms.

hold on

I know running a business is hard - so I am going to give you my top learnings and WHILE I go through them teach you how I embedded purpose and advocacy into it all

about me

  • HR Background
  • Advocacy Background
  • Disability Experience
  • Kids Stuff
  • The Hustle

1.money

How to set your rate without going mad.

START HERE


Do market research - but don’t spend more than 2 hours on it.

Ask a friend to get a quote, email 2 companies.

Packages or hourly - do both!


THERE DONE

YOUR BARF NUMBER


If you can’t say it - you won’t charge it. If you cannot say $100 an hour but feel confident in $75 that is your number

After you book 4 clients at that rate - raise it.


RESPECT THE BARF NUMBER

how i started

I had coffee with 30 people. People I knew, sort of knew, recommended

by other people. Told them what I was doing and why I was different.

I did 5 free consults with people. I asked for feedback.

YOU DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ALL THE THINGS

I did free 20 minute calls (I don’t anymore but more on that later)

Use the free things and keep your expenses low

Expenses incurred

last bit about money

Take what you need and work backwards.

Example - I want to make 10K in my first

year doing this part time.

I average for every hour you “work” you will do an hour of other stuff. This is normal and will help you build out your pricing + packages.

15% admin fee. This will help cover off the time that you do other stuff and help you keep your rates up :)

2. What my biz looked like when I started - when it fixed itself

All over the place to focused.

where i started and where i ended up

Career Coach

I am a career coach for everyone. New grad, retiring executive, men & women. I help you find a career you love.

Career Coach

I am a career coach, HR expert and I focus on working with mothers.

What worked and what didn’t

x

WHAT WORKED:


  • meeting other women to support my biz, joining a network, working
  • with other entrepreneurs
  • Deciding to stay local - makes it easier
  • Collaborating with people, talking at moms groups, doing the things I LIKE doing. I like going out with people and I like writing.
  • I like building community.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:


  • Building programs no one bought - I sell and then build
  • Trying to pitch media - it doesn’t work - no one cares
  • Trying to do social media I didn’t get - I only started on instagram once I had an idea of what I was talking about and my sticking points
  • I picked FB and I went all in.
  • I joined all sorts of professional things. If they weren’t working I should
  • have bailed.
  • Posters - posters do not work.

3.FIND YOUR THING (Because its YOUR thing)

messages

CAREER COACH


I will help you find a job


I will help you write a resume


Find Your Passion

CAREER COACH


There is nothing wrong with you - the system is wrong. I will help you understand it and fix the system


Moms groups suck. You need support. Let’s build something better.

Pay transparency and policy matters


Oh yeah - and I am a career coach

Connection

CONNECTION


People work with people they like.


They look for brands they trust.


They look for consistency.


They look for authenticity.


Then they look at your product.

Connection

4.my overnight success...ahahahaha. Yeah. No...

Cartoon Drawing of Man Lying on Success

year 1

year 2

year 3

I did 1:1 career coaching - after expenses I made 10K.


I got pregnant with my third

I started Moms at Work - I liked the group.


I did more HR work


I still coached and ran a group program


I did 30 talks that year

I wrote my first group

program. Then wrote

another one. Then

another one.


Passive income

year 4

year 5

Moms at Work got big in 2020


I decided to try and launch a membership group (this often fails)


I responded with a lot of free resources and built support - but that support runs both ways.


I got an email list (ha ha - 4 years later)


I no longer do HR contracts


I keep refining what makes me happy

Moms at Work has 14K FB, 8K Instagram, 10K newsletter, 15K (combo - linkedin)


We do 3 things - Collective group program, team of coaches, Leadership Accelerator


These fund our advocacy projects - this year Parental Leave for companies

I keep refining what makes me happy


2023 - Grow My Parental Leave, Policy work in the US (they need help), stop coaching 1:1 (maybe a bit)