Scaling Success With Soul: How Kelly Roach Transformed Corporate Excellence Into A Global Business Empire
Kelly Roach, the dynamic founder and CEO of Kelly Roach International, exemplifies the rare fusion of Fortune 500 excellence and entrepreneurial innovation. Rising from being the youngest senior vice president managing 100 people across 17 locations in a Fortune 500 company, to building a multi-million dollar business empire, Roach’s journey is a testament to purposeful transformation. Her flagship venture, The Business Advisory, has revolutionized business coaching by introducing the pioneering Care More Model, focusing on transforming one life every single day through accountability-led coaching.
In an exclusive interview with Entrepreneur Loop, Roach shares her remarkable journey from corporate leadership to entrepreneurial success, revealing how she overcame early challenges while pregnant, developed the game-changing Live Launch methodology, and built multiple successful companies. Her unique approach of blending billion-dollar corporate strategies with innovative internet marketing techniques has helped countless entrepreneurs scale their businesses to six, seven, and eight figures.
- Please provide a brief introduction of yourself and your professional background.
I spent several years working in a Fortune 500 company, where I was promoted seven times in eight years and became the youngest senior vice president in the organization, managing a team of 100 people across 17 locations. I absolutely loved the work—I thrived on teaching, coaching, and training others, as well as the sales, growth, and business management aspects. However, I realized that the work itself didn’t truly fulfill my desire to make a meaningful impact in the world. I yearned for more hands-on, direct engagement with people and wanted to leverage my business knowledge for a greater good.
This realization prompted me to take the expertise I gained in corporate settings and teach it to others. My goal was to help them blend billion-dollar corporate strategies with innovative internet marketing techniques, enabling them to scale their businesses. I wanted to share my story of overcoming challenges during my own journey, illustrating how these combined strategies could create transformative opportunities for others.
- What inspired you to start your own business? What was the “aha” moment?
I believe creating The Live Launch was the most pivotal event in my career, as it catapulted us into a major role in the online coaching space. This innovation helped us grow from seven to eight figures and enabled us to assist many clients in achieving their own six and seven-figure successes.
This moment was significant for me, particularly because it emerged from some of my biggest failures. I struggled with launching and faced challenges with existing methodologies that weren’t delivering the results I wanted. I realized it was time to break away from the pack, trust my intuition, and develop my own approach.
Coincidentally, this shift aligned with the emergence of live streaming, which proved to be very beneficial. Out of the stress, struggle, and failures came the most pivotal intellectual property methodology that has brought me to where I am today. I am confident it will play a major role in helping us reach the $100 million mark and beyond.
- What were some of the biggest initial challenges you faced in getting your business off the ground? How did you overcome them?
When I started my journey, I was still working full-time in my corporate executive job while building my business on the side. Just as my business began to take off, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, which was the most amazing surprise! However, I also felt a lot of fear and comparison about how quickly I could grow my business, especially since it seemed like I had only tiny windows of time to work with. I constantly felt like something was holding me back from achieving the level of success I wanted.
To overcome this, I distilled the business growth process into actionable tasks that I could complete in 15, 10, or even 5 minutes. I started carrying a little index card with me everywhere, so whenever I had just a couple of minutes, I could take meaningful steps toward growth. Eventually, my business began to soar rapidly, despite my limited time. I transformed from feeling overwhelmed and fearful about meeting my goals to proving to myself that I could succeed by focusing not on how much time I had, but on how intent and purposeful I could be with that time.
- How do you stand out from the competition in your space? What sets your product/service apart?
What sets us apart as a company is our unique Care More Model, rooted in the idea of transforming one person’s life every single day. While we reach hundreds of people daily, our focus remains on the power of genuine human touch and connection.
We were pioneers in the online space as the first accountability-led coaching company to launch this model, delivering highly customized support and personalized accountability to guide individuals through our programs effectively.
- What have been some mistakes or failures you’ve made along the way as an entrepreneur? How did you recover and learn from them?
When I was starting out, I made a big mistake that became a valuable learning experience. I had invested heavily in a business coaching program that taught a webinar-based model: run the webinar, then bring everyone to a follow-up call.
At the time, I was still working full-time and was so excited. I believed my calendar would be packed with calls. I even took multiple days off work after the webinar, confident in my success. But to my shock, I ended up with zero calls booked and zero sales. It was devastating, to say the least.
Looking back, I realized that even though I had great content, a compelling offer, and solid presentation skills, two things were missing:
- I hadn’t built a strong enough relationship with my audience.
- An hour simply wasn’t enough time to establish trust and get them to take action.
That experience taught me the importance of deeper relationship-building and creating opportunities for more meaningful interaction with my audience. It wasn’t just about having the right pieces—it was about giving myself enough time and space to connect with people on a deeper level.
- What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were first starting out?
Don’t rush, everything will happen the way that it’s supposed to and ultimately hard work always pays off.
- What are the most important skills someone needs to be a successful founder, in your opinion?
I would say discipline, perseverance, and conviction are key. Most businesses never reach the seven- or eight-figure mark because they encounter failure along the way and mistakenly view it as a reflection of their capability or worthiness, rather than as valuable information to help solve problems and move forward successfully. Everything we’ve used to build and grow our businesses today—from zero to seven to eight figures, and now to six different companies—came from initial failures. We’ve grown six-, seven-, and eight-figure companies in the market, but every success started with failure, often requiring multiple attempts before we got it right. It’s about using failure as a tool to gather information and make the right decisions for the next steps.
- What does a typical day or week look like for you? How do you manage work-life balance?
I follow a theme day schedule each week, where my days are organized by theme. On highly structured days, I have recurring time blocks, while creative and flex days feature large open blocks. This approach helps me accomplish a lot on structured days and reduces the need for weekly planning. It provides a consistent schedule while also allowing ample time for deep work, strategic tasks, CEO duties, and extra family time.
To maximize my productivity and family time, I start by setting recurring time blocks for all my tasks and batching similar activities together. This approach has saved me anywhere from 5 to 20 hours each week. I also minimize the time spent on scheduling and rescheduling by establishing a set routine, as I know many people waste valuable time on repeated planning and organizing. Having recurring tasks helps me reduce stress and streamline my schedule.
When I spend quality time with my family, I make it a point to leave my phone at home. This simple step allows me to focus on being present and avoid distractions from work. I also try to integrate my daughter into events and activities whenever possible; this not only helps her learn and grow but also creates rich shared experiences and lasting memories.
Finally, I’ve developed a transition routine to wrap up work and shift into family time. This helps me put work aside and be fully present, both physically and emotionally. I prioritize listening, engaging, asking about their day, and incorporating playtime for more meaningful interactions.
- What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own company?
My number one piece of business advice is to keep it simple, stay focused, and maintain a long-range vision.
