Meet Kathy Taylor

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

Kathy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been a horse lover since I was a small girl and I’ve always been interested in personal growth. When I attended a demonstration in 2008 that involved both personal growth and horses, AND that suited horse lovers and regular people alike, I was hooked! I immediately started my journey toward becoming certified in the field equine assisted learning.

It’s really learning through horses. What could be more fun, right? And you don’t even have to ride or have any horse experience at all. In fact, most of the time it’s preferable. Less to unlearn.

I started in 2009 not knowing at all what I was doing. I knew nothing about marketing and there was a lot of hit and miss. My biggest challenge was deciding who I wanted to serve in my business. Working with horses addresses many different kinds of problems such as how to create trust in a relationship, develop a team or social challenges with at-risk youth.

I’ve worked with all kinds of people and organizations, big and small, with my herd of five horses. My favorite people to work with are women (usually entrepreneurs, but not always) who know that THEY are the ones holding themselves back. They’re tired of playing small and ready to change so they can make a bigger impact in the world.

Remember, I’m someone who loves to learn and grow. I believe that the better I get, the more successful my clients can be. So in 2016. I officially added coaching to my repertoire and was certified through ICF (International Coach Federation). I’m in the process of becoming a Master Practitioner in NLP so I can really get to the roots of the beliefs that limit my clients–and myself! I fully admit to being a work in progress.

In the meantime, I have

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not really. I’ve taken a lot of forks in different roads, for sure.

I mentioned how wishy-washy I was in identifying my target market above. Especially the first few years, I would hear so many different ways the horses could be utilized–and I was so excited about trying them all–cancer recovery, veterans, depression, ADHD, autism, corporate leadership, team building, high achieving students, business school students, doctors, dentists. Yes–people partner with horses to serve all these people.

Truthfully, though, I was my own biggest obstacle. Over thinker, perfectionist, people please, afraid of conflict and constantly comparing myself to others. That was me!

I had full faith and confidence in the horses’ ability to draw out my clients’ authenticity, but I was unsure of myself as a business owner and my message often got lost when I tried to explain the life-changing power behind what I did. My lack of confidence was rooted in an experience from 8th grade where I was ridiculed for my love of horses.

I had to step back and do my own work. Now I know when to push through and when to let go. I don’t always get it right, but that’s OK. Building this business has been a challenging and rewarding journey that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Kathy K Taylor Coaching/HerdWise Leadership Coaching – what should we know?
I help high achieving women recognize how awesome they are! (We tend to be our biggest critics; fighting off imposter syndrome; doing more so we’ll feel valuable; second guessing ourselves; overthinking and under earning–meanwhile everyone else thinks we’ve got it all together.)

When I go to networking events, I’m often recognized as “that horse lady” so I’d say that partnering with horses for my clients is what I’m most known for. “Horse play” definitely accelerates learning and transformation. Some people miss that I also work with my coaching clients via video conference–no horse required.

I’m most proud of the deep, lasting changes my clients make. They have insights and gain perspective like never before and then implement their ideas. They see themselves in a new light and know without a doubt that they are capable. Their confidence grows not only in what they do, but in who they are.

Coaching is an absolute joy to me! I have the best clients! I’m the co-host of a powerful women’s retreat each fall and I’m super excited to be adding an international retreat to my offering for spring 2019!

What sets me a part from others is that rather than trying to solve a problem at a surface level, I go deep, to the root. Not everyone wants to go there and that’s OK. I know I do my best work at the level of a client’s identity. I help them answer the question “Who am I?” from a place of wholeness and generosity instead of insignificance and fear. They gain the clarity, courage and confidence to make the difference they are called to make.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My husband, Tim, deserves a lot of credit! He has been unwaveringly supportive of my love for horses and he gladly feeds for me when I have a late meeting. He has been a guinea pig, a sounding board, a newsletter editor and more. I could not have done this without him.

I’ve had many wonderful cheerleaders including Bob & Polly Hamp, Laura Armbruster, & Tamara Payne. They’ve known me for years in good times and bad and they all help me see things differently.

Scott Kessel at Aledo ISD was my champion to allow us to do this work with their students. This has been so rewarding.

I frequently partner with Lesli Figueiredo for group/team work with horses. Having a partner who you completely trust also encourages me to stretch.

And last, but not least, God gets the credit. He continuously reminds me who I am so I can share the truest most authentic part of me with my clients as an example of what’s possible for them.

Contact Info:

• Address: 304 Buena Vista Drive
  Willow Park, TX 76087
• Website: www.kathyktaylor.com
• Phone: 8174581610
• Email: kathy@kathyktaylor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathyktaylor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/herdwiseleadershipcoaching
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathytaylorherdwise/

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