Why I Built My Video Coaching & Consulting Business: An IV &, IPhone & A Baby
Here’s the real story on why I started my business. Most say their business was birthed out of a passion or an entrepreneurial drive.
But for me, the truth is it started in the hospital room during childbirth.
I had worked in media for nearly 20 years in total. I was a television producer writing scripts, directing talent, and managing camera crews. I had worked at Netflix, Fox, Inside Edition, and the Travel Channel.
Along the way, I landed my dream job. I had the opportunity to launch the first-ever digital video unit for Us Weekly magazine. I got to build a business inside of an existing business.
I felt like I had made it. And I was not going to waste this chance.
When I started that job, I was five months pregnant and I was loving it. I got to hire a team of incredible, hard-working, and talented people: producers, writers, reporters, and video editors. I got to oversee all the creative and operations for a brand-new unit. We went from a three-person team to a 17-person team in two years, and I had a supportive boss as a sounding board.
I joke that I had two babies: baby Lily and the video unit. They were both newborns and then, at times, toddlers throwing tantrums. They both made me burst with pride.
We were able to 40x the views on videos and build multi-million-dollar sponsored deals. We were successful by every measure.
As Us Weekly began talks to be sold for $100 million, the video unit was an integral part of the deal. At that point, I was nine months pregnant with my second child. As the acquisition happened, my unit was spared from layoffs. However, nearly all of my peers—the executives and managers—were let go. My beloved, talented team that was so united and close began quitting.
So there I was, lying in the hospital bed with my IV in one arm and my iPhone in the other.
I was rushing to hire for the open roles. I wanted to continue being a good leader, even as I was going into labor.
I looked around at the hospital room and thought to myself, “What am I doing?”
I didn’t want to work during childbirth. I needed a new career.
This began a total identity crisis. I had always been a media executive or TV producer.
Who is Kim without the fancy business card? What will my business look like? And how will clients find me?
Despite having a very successful and lucrative media career, I had a major case of Imposter Syndrome.
I heard all of these negative voices in my own head. Those negative voices said, Who are you to be a founder? What do you have to say that anyone wants to hear? I
And as I showed up on video, I was terrified that I was going to be judged and mocked.
However, I realized quickly that hiding from the camera was hiding from clients.
I started to show up on video to share that I had a new business. I tuned out the negative voices and kept going. I was driven by my desire to be present for my children—to not miss all the moments.
In my first two years of business, I won six awards for a huge video project for a well-established and deserving nonprofit.
I then realized I wanted to help more people build their businesses - helping them show up on camera with confidence, clearly articulate their value, and actually make videos that people want to watch.
I wanted to help people build personal brands that helped them craft the career and life they want and deserve.
I soon began living that.
While I started out full of self-doubt and self-consciousness, the messages I received from people were, in fact, not negative. These people felt seen, they felt heard, and they liked how I approached video content. They started asking how they could work with me.
I began coaching real estate agents, founders, coaches, and consultants—all people who needed to be visible and connect with others on social media.
I helped them with their message and on-camera confidence: helping them clarify what is special about them. I helped them craft a content strategy—what videos they should make that feel authentic, are creative, and that their ideal clients connect with.
My clients began sharing with me their wins through our work together: clients messaging them, they were booking speaking engagements with Fortune 500 companies, they were invited to be a guest on podcasts and they were making more money.
While I initially wanted a career with more flexibility so I could be present with my kids, I found my purpose: to help people leverage their voice and use social media to build the life and career they want and deserve.
Through my keynotes, workshops, one-on-one coaching, and group coaching, I’ve helped thousands of people across the country—real estate agents, founders, consultants, coaches, and authors—make a bigger impact.
Sometimes a hospital bed epiphany can become your driving force.
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Meet Kim: Kim Rittberg runs an award-winning company that helps real estate agents & business owners grow their leads, income and credibility with video and podcasts. Before that, Kim was a TV news producer for a decade and trained thousands of people to be calm, cool and collected for live TV interviews. She also launched the digital video unit for Us Weekly leading to its $100 million sale, and was a video marketing executive at Netflix & PopSugar. She’s been featured in Forbes and Fast Company, and speaks on stages across the country. Kim ditched corporate once she found herself working in the hospital delivery room as she gave birth (seriously!) and now she is committed to helping business owners, coaches, agents & consultants find your own balanced path and build a thriving business!