Community Highlights: Meet Amanda Quick

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Quick.

Hi Amanda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Prior to starting my own business, I was a bit of a job hopper. I kept finding myself in jobs where I loved the people, but the actual job was boring and didn’t challenge me. We had our first kiddo in 2015 while I was in real estate and a part of an MLM when I learned about a business that I couldn’t get out of my head. It was a coffee shop/restaurant with a childcare area.

For a solid year, I imagined what that could look like in our town. What could we offer, who could we serve, was it needed, and could actually make it happen? One day I finally pulled the trigger and took the first step of bringing my idea to life.

The Hatchery was a coworking space with on-site childcare – a place where parents could get some time to work (or just sit in silence!) while their kiddo was being loved on and entertained. We offered open working space, private meeting space, and community classes based on 3 areas of being a business owner: marketing, business resources, and personal development.

Within these 2 years, I had new and seasoned business owners start coming to me for business advice because I was very open about the ups and downs of opening and growing our space. They knew they wouldn’t be judged because I shared it all! And when it came to conversations with them I wasn’t afraid to ask hard questions, to encourage them to dig deeper, celebrate wins, and dig into themselves and their business.

Inside the space, connections, collaborations, and friendships formed as I pride myself on being a really good connector! I found my love for coaching and connection over managing the ins and outs of the space. Add to the fact that our financials weren’t going in the right direction fast enough and I looked at what closing the space would look like.

While I actually found someone to pass the business to it was right at the start of Covid….long story short we ended up closing our space.

Because some members wanted the connection I took the membership online and then added more coaching. Over the last 2 years, I’ve honed in on my unique strengths and techniques and serve small business owners who are in the messy middle and need help moving forward and leveling up.

When working with my clients I started to see that most of them needed help in 7 key areas: strategy/messaging, branding design, systems, website design, marketing, and finances. With that being said there were 6 original members from our space who had become a pretty strong referral source. Between hiring each other, referring each other, and collaborating with each other I saw an opportunity.

I approached with the idea that we could offer a full transformational program for businesses in the messy middle. We could surround them with a group of business owners to level up each of those 7 key areas. They were all on board and after a year of developing our program, we launched Small Business Cultivator in August 2022!

As of today, we’ve welcomed another kiddo into our lives and I’m doing 1:1 coaching, VIP days, and running Small Business Cultivator!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Haha not really. While I wouldn’t change one thing about the road I’ve traveled there have been some struggles that have become big learning lessons.

Launching the coworking space and investing a lot of money into it for it to not be financially viable, was stressful on our family, and took some grit to close down without feeling like a failure.

Juggling being a mom and wife while also running a business has been a lot to work through. There are sacrifices on both sides and learning to set boundaries when you want to be everything to both the business and your family.

Lastly, after I closed our space I pivoted to being my own brand. While I had no problem selling our space there was a lot of inner work to step out behind the curtain and promote myself!

As you know, we’re big fans of Amanda L. Quick Coaching and Small Business Cultivator. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
As a small business coach for 1:1 clients and in my role as the business coach in Small Business Cultivator, I serve those in the messy middle – those who have grown but are not sure how to take the next step. They need guidance and a clear path to see where their business could go. My specialty is breaking down their business and putting it back together in a way that works for their season of life. This often looks like pulling apart their services and making sure they’re efficient and they’re charging enough. Actually looking at their financials to see where they really are and how to get to the next level. And also creating things like SOPs, a schedule that they actually enjoy, and implementing systems to take some weight off their shoulders.

What sets me apart are two things: tough love (asking hard questions and digging into excuses/justifications) and being actionable. In some way, I’ve been in their shoes and therefore I come in and help them get set up so they can actually follow our action plan and not be overwhelmed by it.

I’m most proud of launching Small Business Cultivator. There are tons of resources for start-ups but when you hit that plateau and need help leveling up your business you’re looking at piecemealing a lot of services together. That takes a lot of effort and a lot of time. We come around that business owner and work together and have one point of contact (me!) so they can get the help they need while also keeping up with their client work.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I don’t think coaching will go away – but I think those who actually help their clients transform will rise to the top. Marketing can only go so far and so those with experience and a good program will continue to help businesses. We’ll have to continue to stay up on the industries we serve and learn how to help each client as an individual as each one is so different…I personally don’t believe you can have one blanket program that “works” for anyone.

Businesses in general are going to have to continue to improve their customer experience and continue to develop their own values and boundaries so they attract and work with the clients that are the best fit.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.amandaleequick.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandalquickcoaching/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaLQuickCoaching
• Other: www.smallbusinesscultivator.com

Image Credits
Emma Dorge Photography