"For the opportunities gained - they are built on a foundation of respect."
LaKenya Kopf Tweet
In this exclusive interview with ValiantCEO Magazine, LaKenya Kopf, a Certified Tech Manager, shares her journey of helping small business owners overcome technical challenges and automate crucial processes such as Email Marketing Systems, CRMs, and Funnels.
With a strong commitment to continued education and hands-on support, Kopf Consulting distinguishes itself in the industry. LaKenya discusses the importance of carefully planning a tech stack for future growth, embracing shifts in online business trends, and the value of saying “No, but” in creating a successful business.
Dive into her insights and learn how she plans to contribute to the awareness portion of the buyer’s journey in the next quarter.
Check out more interviews with entrepreneurs here.
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We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
LaKenya Kopf: My name is LaKenya Kopf and I am a Certified Tech Manager. My primary focus is the management and automation of Email Marketing Systems, CRMs, and Funnels.
I also helped my clients manage their websites, ranging from self hosted sites, such as WordPress, to fully hosted sites like SquareSpace. Working with small business owners, I alleviate the headache and stress of trying to juggle the high-end tech tasks when running your own business.
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffet, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
LaKenya Kopf: At Kopf Consulting, we provide technical support for those frustrating programs that help your customers through the Customer Value Journey.
From websites that house your blogs, to squeeze pages for opt-ins, to client relationship management systems that manage your pipeline, to email marketing systems that deliver your message, we are here for you. We do not outsource the work and make it our primary goal to educate while we implement.
The biggest strength of Kopf Consulting is our commitment to continued education, adding additional certifications to our repertoire each year – along us to stay on top of industry standards.
What advice do you wish you received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
LaKenya Kopf: When I started my business journey 15 years ago, my primary focus was to make it work by any means necessary. The concept of boundaries, saying no, pushing back did not exist.
It was fight or flight, sink or swim – survival mode. If I could provide wisdom to others or go back and provide advice to myself, it would be on the Power of “No, but”. It is important to understand that you can say “no, but” and still come out on the other side.
For the opportunities lost, it isn’t the right fit and that is ok. For the opportunities gained – they are built on a foundation of respect. I would explain that there is a difference between “No” and “No, but” – one closing off an opportunity and the other simply shifting the focus to a more compromising resolution.
For the next quarter, my focus is on contributing more to the awareness portion of the buyer’s journey. This will allow me to continue to expand my reach and connect with qualified leads, finding those right connections for myself and my business.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
LaKenya Kopf: As a service provider to online businesses, the onslaught of new companies provides a greater pool of opportunity. The services I provided are not niche-centric, meaning my solutions work for any newcomer using online digital marketing apps for their business.
Whether you are a B2B, B2C, eCommerce, etc – the foundation for most businesses are the same – website (fully hosted or self hosted or landing page via funnel automation system), scheduler for appointments/meetings/consultation, professional email, domain, and email marketing or CRM for lead tracking.
With this in mind, I shifted my focus to include one-off services for new entrepreneurs who may not have the budget for ongoing support but need help setting up baseline functionality (Google Workspace for email, setting up appointment scheduler, Zapier Integrations, domain connection and setting up hosting services, etc).
I also add hiring services to assist new entrepreneurs to finding the best support for their business, within their budget, in a world that may be overwhelming to them – providing over a decade of knowledge and support in terms of what to look for when hiring, sorting through the noise of the best candidate, ad finding the perfect fit for their business.
Over the next year, I expect these services to grow expediently as more and more individuals shift to the freedom of self-employment, wanting to focus their time on revenue generation tasks versus behind the scenes to-dos that can be handed off.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
LaKenya Kopf: While I can’t speak for others, the real challenge for me is the shift to video and personal branding in social media marketing. I am an introvert with social anxiety issues. The idea of being in front of a camera or taking part in a live interview is absolutely terrifying.
I am happy to provide content in written form and if necessary, I will participate in networking events in person but avoid the pull of social media at all costs. As the popularity of TikTok rises and more social media platforms shift their algorithms in favor of more personalized media, the “old fashion” method of content reach is losing steam.
In an approach to overcome this problem, I have moved my focus away from producing the content that would put me front and center, and instead engaging in it. While I will not garnish the same attention by being the proprietor of influential content, I can take advantage of the opportunity by adding to the conversation.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
LaKenya Kopf: Working with my clients, I have found the most underestimated part of running a company is planning out your tech stack – no necessarily for the moment, but for future growth. Transitioning between Email Marketing Systems and CRMs can be extremely challenging, costly, and very time-consuming.
Through personal conversations or via Facebook group posts, I often see small business owners express dissatisfaction with their digital marketing apps – either because they purchased it based on what their coach used, what their coach recommended, or who had the best sales pitch at the time – not taking the time and energy to determine what works best for them (with or without support).
A primary example is a Mompreneur who utilizes a specific email marketing system that will remain nameless. When she started using the EMS, she only focused on what it could do in terms of broadcasts – not automations.
She knew she wanted to build a subscription service down the line but for the time being, she was just sending emails and wasn’t worried about it. She didn’t realize that working with a EMS, she was warming her IP, increase inbox trust, and building a solid email base.
When she was ready to start her subscription automations, she was surprised with the limitations she could do and quickly grew frustrated with the system. The problem is, she had years of templates, simple automations, and data in this one system.
To migrate everything would be an investment and there wasn’t a tier within her current EMS that would provide what she needed, meaning upgrading was not an option. She decided to stay where she was and has had to compromise her vision. Sadly, she is one of several clients I have seen in this same situation.
Some bit the bullet and migrated but learned from their previous mistake, taking the time to ask themselves the right questions before diving into another system. For anyone just starting out, I would advise them to take a moment and think about their business model.
Envision what it will look like in a month, a year, and where you hope it will be in five years. Look for business tech where you can start at the lowest tier and grow, that you can easily learn and train others in versus being codependent on support from the beginning.
Take the time and build a tech stack that works best for you now and in the future.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
LaKenya Kopf: If I could pick any business superpower, I would want the on-camera energy and charisma I see with influencers.
The way they can captivate an audience and the opportunities that type of personality allows them in remarkable – whether they are doing reels, TikTok videos, podcasts, live interviews, TV spots, workshops, etc.
I can only imagine the impact my business would have if I could possess that power, amplifying my knowledge to brand new markets and medians.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank LaKenya Kopf for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with LaKenya Kopf or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.