Marketing Strategist + Positive Performance
Hello! I’m Kelly Cookson and my business is Cheer Up Marketing.
I’ve built a 6-figure business (still amazes me to say that!) whilst retaining the freedom to enjoy my life and have quality time with my family. I work 20 hours a week without a team - it’s just me and my VA. So how do I do it?
Keep reading to find out and how you can do this too.
In a nutshell, this is me:
1st Class Honours Degree in Business Information Management
14 years’ marketing experience
Certified Positive Psychology Coach
Launched my business in January 2020
Hit 6-figures annual revenue working 20 hours a week
Mum to a young daughter
I help service-based businesses to generate leads and sales
smart MARKETING STRATEGIES and positive performance FOR AMBITIOUS Biz OWNERS
I’m here to share everything I know about Marketing, Sales and Self-mastery with you.
Is this you?
You know you need to be more PROACTIVE (with your marketing, audience building, messaging, showing up etc etc)
You want a marketing strategy that WORKS
You want to feel PROUD of what you’ve created
You wish you felt IN CONTROL of your business (rather than it being in control of you)
You crave more time freedom (with less guilt)
You’re ready to ENJOY your business
You can’t wait to feel RELIEVED to know money is coming in
Your work feels EASY
BUT THIS GETS IN THE WAY:
You lose motivation to progress
You lack confidence
You’re working crazy hours
You feel rubbish at selling yourself
You keep pushing back your own deadlines
You suspect you’re holding yourself back
You’re flying by the seat of your pants
You’re inconsistent
You get little engagement from your audience
Comparisonitis bites!
You feel like you’re forcing your marketing to happen
YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE - I’M SO GLAD WE’VE MET!
Join The Cheer List and get my weekly emails. I’m here to inspire, entertain and teach you everything I know.
This is your backstage pass into my business. I share stories and lessons with my email list that I don't share anywhere else. Ask me anything on email and I’ll reply openly.
MY STORY
You’re here to find out more about who I am, what I do and how I do it. So let’s dive right in…
The first school run - my dream came true!
I’m a marketer by trade, clocking up 12 years’ experience before jumping the corporate ship to run my own business. My daughter was coming up to her 3rd birthday and I wanted more flexibility to enjoy our time together before she started school.
I had this clear vision of walking her to and from school every day and, call me clingy, but I couldn’t imagine putting her into out of school clubs so I could be at work. I want to be there for her after school and make the most of our time together during these super cute years!
I set a 22.5 hour working week as my goal as that’s what I’d been doing as a marketing manager since I returned from maternity leave. I’m proud to say I matched my corporate salary straight away and although I ended up working less than ideal hours of the day in the first 6 months (thanks to the pandemic), I now run my dream business.
I have the freedom and flow I wanted and I’m earning more money than ever before in my life. I take most of August off and I love the work I do. I have to exercise self-discipline to stop myself from working because I enjoy this entrepreneur gig so much. My dream Friday night is one where my husband is out and I can work on my business!
A completely unexpected revelation about running my own business was the amount of inner work needed to succeed. My journey has been a spiritual experience! I’ve had to work on my mindset, limiting beliefs, meaning and purpose to get to where I am today - 6 figure turnover working 20 hours a week.
Yes, my marketing strategy and getting some sales training helped me convert leads into clients but I cannot understate the impact that working on myself and my mindset has had in terms of making money and scaling this business with joy.
Moving into my office space. Freedom from the kitchen table!
I’m now a certified Positive Psychology Coach because I recognised that there was a gap I needed to fill for my clients. I can give you a marketing strategy, hone your copywriting and shape your offers but often there’s still something missing.
You might recognise this missing piece as something that’s holding you back. It’s there in the background and it feels like a block. I work to overcome this every single day to enjoy my work and succeed at it. It’s a non-negotiable for every business owner, in my opinion.
You can call this missing piece “mindset” or “inner work”. I like to call it self-mastery. I’ve learned how to master myself to achieve anything I want to in life and business and enjoy the ride.
Hopefully this is an inspiring read rather than a case of “Look how great I am”. I’m here to let you know if I can do it, you absolutely can! I started this business with a secondhand laptop I bought for £50 from my old job. No one invested any money in my business. I didn’t have any savings as a back up. I had to hit the ground running and make money to pay my half of the bills.
If you skimmed to here - who am I? I’m a marketer and positive psychology coach because in my experience, these two things blend together to create powerful results in business.
OFFICIAL bio
Kelly Cookson is a marketing strategist, copywriter and certified Positive Psychology Coach who has grown her online business to a 6-figure annual turnover working just 20 hours a week.
Kelly has over 14 years’ experience in digital marketing and a first class honours degree in Business Information Management. She has been featured in the press including Medium and The Daily Express and has been interviewed live on GB News about how she has built a successful business alongside being a parent.
After having her daughter in 2017 and spending a couple of years working part-time, Kelly wanted more flexibility in her working life. With no savings and a secondhand laptop, she made the leap into self-employment and started building her online marketing business from her kitchen table.
With the new found freedom her business has given her, Kelly enjoys hanging out with her daughter, friends and family and can be found in the sauna dreaming up her next big thing! She is currently learning to play electric guitar and is writing a nonfiction book to help more entrepreneurs market their businesses more efficiently.
Kelly is passionate about mixing smart marketing strategy with a strong mindset to support her clients to supercharge their business success.
The best way to keep up with Kelly’s work is by subscribing to her email list, The Cheer List, here.
Kelly Cookson Live Interview on GB News - The Neil Oliver Show
I appeared live on GB News on the Neil Oliver Show talking about how as mums and entrepreneurs, we can have it all.
You can watch the interview here. Fast forward to 1 hour 34 minutes.
I acknowledge the privilege I have as a university educated, straight, white, slim, able-bodied woman.
I’m sharing my story because I hope the angle of starting with nothing (and debt!) in less-than-perfect circumstances (pandemic and no childcare) will show people what’s possible with their knowledge and an Internet connection within the limited time available to us as busy parents.