Hidden Gems: Meet Kathy King of Kathy King Strategies

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy King.  

Hi Kathy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in a small town outside of Memphis, TN, where my parents enrolled me in dance classes when I was about three years old. I remember knowing with strong conviction at a very young age that I wanted to become a dance teacher when I grew up. I don’t have many memories of childhood outside of the dance studio, even though I did spend time doing all the things normal kids did outside of their sports. I was just such a die-hard dance kid. Nothing was going to distract me from pursuing this thing I loved. 

My dad’s job eventually moved our family across the country a few times, ultimately landing us in Metro-Detroit, MI as I began my high school dance career. At the time, I *hated* my parents for making me leave my comfort zone every time we moved. I was this awkward Southern girl thrown into the Midwest, with undiagnosed panic disorder and social anxiety. 

In hindsight, it was the greatest gift they could have ever given me. I was learning how to embrace new challenges, how to start over, and how to open my heart to a larger worldview… qualities I still carry with me decades later. 

After settling in Michigan, I started training under Michelle Marzejon, who played an integral role in motivating me to pursue professional dance and remains one of my closest friends after 23 years. Michelle helped me begin booking professional work when I was just 15 years old and supported my drive to become a dance teacher. I spent most weeknights assisting her in classes and began teaching some of my own classes at camps and workshops in my later years of high school. As soon as I graduated high school, I packed my car and moved to Los Angeles. 

Dancing in L.A. taught me how to stand on my own two feet, but after running out of money and learning through first-hand experience that the commercial dance industry was not for me, I took advantage of a full-ride scholarship to Wayne State University back in Detroit. It was during my time in college when the entrepreneurial bug bit! 

In 2006, with absolutely zero experience or funding, I founded a small nonprofit professional dance company, the Michigan Dance Project. The company helped launch the careers of dozens of dancers who are now scattered across the globe. In 2010, while still running the company, I organized the first Brighton Dance Festival, which has grown into an international summer dance event now in its 13th season. In 2019, I was hired into the Artists in Training In-Studio Conventions organization as their executive director, alongside founder and creative director Robert Schultz, and led a total rebrand and relaunch of the decades-old company. Through all of this, I have also been teaching fairly full-time all across Michigan and beyond, spending about seven years as an adjunct lecturer in dance and even a few years coaching a competitive college dance team. 

Through all the ups and downs of working inside the dance and arts industries, I taught myself how to build a truly sustainable career. I learned how to manage my money and grow my businesses, allowing me to buy a house when I was just 27 and single, and travel the country on my endless mission to find the best restaurants in America. I have learned the hard way how to negotiate contracts and command a pay rate that is in alignment with the value I bring to a job. I have embarrassed myself and made bad deals and put really crappy work on stage… but all the missteps have helped me learn more about myself and get me closer to becoming the best version of myself. 

When the pandemic hit, I watched so many of my peers go into panic mode. I quickly saw a need for not only moral support but also real, experience-based coaching and career support to help dance professionals survive this wild ride. So, in 2020, I launched Kathy King Strategies, LLC and began providing dance business coaching to individuals all across the industry. I pulled together an incredible group coaching program for dance educators and ran a monthly subscription dance business support group. Being able to help fellow dance professionals build the confidence to continue building sustainable careers and move away from the “starving artist” mindset has been incredible! 

After about a year into my coaching business, I decided to expand my services to begin working with not only dancers but creative entrepreneurs across all industries, specifically women, nonbinary, and female-identifying professionals. This was such an exciting shift for me and I was receiving amazing feedback from clients who were making real progress. 

Then, everything came to a screeching halt. 

My dad called and said we need to talk. His latest visit to the doctor revealed some soft tissue tumors on his spine and scapula. What he thought was a pinched nerve and some rotator cuff pain was in fact the cancer. Four weeks later, on the morning he was supposed to go into surgery to have the spinal tumor removed to help alleviate his debilitating pain and get him ready to fight the good fight, he passed away unexpectedly. Just two days earlier, he retired from his job as a marketing executive in the automotive industry. He was only 64. All of our lives stopped and we grieved for the man who held our family together. I lost my father, my best friend, my business mentor, and my greatest coach. 

Once again, dance came to the rescue. 

I completely pumped the breaks on Kathy King Strategies, took six weeks off of teaching, and poured all my energy into taking care of my mom. (All of that hard work over the years to build a career that allows me to take time off when I need to really paid off in this season of my life!) 

Falling into the depths of grief is hard to put into words, but I can say that finally stepping back into the studio to teach (and just exist) provided me the comfort I needed to balance out the pain of loss. Working through my pain with dance has allowed me to be more emotionally available for my coaching clients. Teaching dance, watching dance, and being with dancers is such a healing force. 

I like to talk about my dad during my career journey because he played such a huge role in helping me become the woman, the business leader, the teacher, and the enthusiast I am today. He lovingly forced me out of my comfort zone every time we moved to a new town, and he never doubted my ability to successfully craft a unique, non-traditional life for myself. His last words to me were “I’m so proud of you.” and “I love you.” And those words make me feel like I can literally do anything. I can only hope to provide that level of support to the people I love, including my students and coaching clients! In this new chapter of life, I carry a renewed appreciation for life and use that to remain hyper-focused on the things that *really* matter for myself and my clients. 

So, long story short, I’m a girl from a small town who fell in love with the art of dance, and that love has helped me build a successful, ever-evolving career focused on helping other people believe in themselves. And I owe everything to the people who have believed in me along the way. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Has the road to success been easy? Absolutely not! And I’m so grateful for that! There have been so many detours along the way, and I think that makes for a more interesting adventure anyways. We might not feel it in the moment, but those struggles usually end up pointing us in the right direction if we’re open to receiving the lessons, they are teaching us. 

Early in my career when I was just getting started, I was painfully shy. I know this caused me to miss out on a lot of great opportunities. I spent so much time worrying about fitting in and not messing up, and I think that caused a lot of my anxiety when I was younger. As I’ve aged, I’ve learned to talk about my feelings and embrace my uniqueness. 

There are also the typical struggles most young artists face. Having to call my parents and tell them I only had $20 in my bank account and needed to move back home was rough. Learning the hard way how to negotiate contracts and losing $20K in one summer hit pretty hard. I still feel sick thinking about the number of times I accepted underpaying or unpaid gigs just to “build my resume”, even after I was quite established… eww! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Kathy King Strategies, LLC?
Kathy King Strategies, LLC provides success coaching to creative entrepreneurs across industries. I work with individuals and groups to define what “success” means to them, clarify goals, build strategic plans for growth, and discover how to live a more purpose-driven life. The majority of my work is done virtually, but I also run in-person sessions, workshops, and events throughout the year. 

I have been described as both “the epitome of energy, light, and joy” and “scrappy and resourceful”. What sets me apart from other coaches is my ability to truly empower my clients with the ability to believe in themselves. I’ll be your biggest cheerleader, but I’ll also tell you the things you don’t always want to hear to help you get out of your own way. 

I absolutely love working with very early-stage entrepreneurs and creatives to help build those initial business plans and gain the confidence to jump headfirst into this new career journey. I also love helping established entrepreneurs pivot into new creative territory or overcome burnout. My typical client is someone who is already great at what they do with a strong mission and vision but needs some accountability and support to navigate their next steps. 

What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory is probably a tie between choreographing roller-skating routines in my garage to Mariah Carey’s 1990 self-titled album and forcing my family to watch, or road trips across the country to the next race track my dad or his team would be racing at that weekend. The 90s were a good time! 

Pricing:

• Free 15min discovery call for all new clients
• $60-$120 for 1:1 coaching sessions
• Ongoing 1:1 coaching packages are available
• $250-$3,000 for group programs & masterminds

Contact Info:

• Email: kathy@kathykingstrategies.com
• Website: www.kathykingstrategies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathykingstrategies/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathykingstrategies
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS0Kb8NaHG6N3ADdLpS_JMA

Image Credits
Tana Helene Photography
Lauren Smith Photography
Tim Perroud Photography
Kathy King personal photos