Ekaterina Zwyssig (Filippova), eKat Communication

About me

I was never meant to be an entrepreneur. For 8 years, I enjoyed the safety and predictability of my corporate life at an American multinational company. I loved my “9 to 5”.

I learnt a lot, traveled, managed cool European communication projects but by the end of it, I began to feel quite disillusioned by the whole corporate setup, the bureaucracy and politics. I was constantly busy but wasn’t seeing the real value or impact of what I was doing and my job somehow felt senseless. I wanted a change.

Then, a sudden stroke of luck: I was laid off from my job. After doing interviews for other similar positions, I realised that I didn’t want to go back to the same corporate environment as before. I wanted a meaningful job where I could make a difference, enjoy applying my skills, learn and grow.

What could this job possibly be??

Becoming self-employed

Upon months of deliberation and soul searching, I decided that becoming self-employed is the answer. “If not now, then when?” I thought.

Straight away I decided not to become a consultant for corporates as it would mean going back to the same setup as before, only through a different ‘door’.

Instead, I started working with a variety of small businesses ranging from commodities trading to hospitality, from financial services to education, from HR to business consulting. I wanted to see where I can bring the most value and which clientele suits me the most. I initially offered social media, website creation and branding services.

Over the years, both my target clients and my services changed multiple times as I was honing my skills and discovering what I do best.

After much trial and error, I landed on my current focus helping Coaches, Consultants, Therapists and Trainers take their business to the next level, whatever that means for them, by helping them find structure, clarity and focus in their marketing strategy.

Working with Coaches and Consultants is truly aligned with my values: I am a big believer that every employee deserves to be fulfilled in their professional and personal lives and love to support people who make it a reality.

The season of struggles

While the whole initial experience of setting myself up on my own was very exciting, about 6-7 months in, I realised that I had absolutely no idea how to actually run a business.

Surely, I did marketing and communication before, but in the corporate environment, which is a whole other beast. There, I didn’t need to look for clients, or prove myself to them, or stand out from thousands of other marketing consultants doing the same thing…

Then suddenly, I was on my own, being forced to look for new sources of income every month. And I had absolutely no idea how to do it. I also had no idea where to find help and what sort of help I actually needed. Sounds familiar?

Participating in a business fair in 2017 (yes, I had no idea where to look for clients!)

My expensive business lessons

So when I saw a Facebook ad by a business coach promoting a free 90-min event for small business owners, I jumped on the opportunity. The business coach was a very talented sales person indeed. Long story short, I signed up for a 2-year group business mentorship programme worth a looot of money.

Was the group programme worth the investment? Probably not. Did I get some benefits from it? Yes, along with making great friends, both professionally and personally.

Would I do it again knowing what I know now? Was this exactly what I needed at that point? No and no. This was an expensive but valuable lesson to learn and it shaped me into the solopreneur that I am today.

But I wish someone showed me a better, more effective way to get up to speed with running a business – to save me a few thousands and months if not years of trial and error. Let me be that someone for you today.

~ Click through the slideshow to discover my hard-earned lessons. ~

On a mission to make marketing simple

So this is my mission today, to be a no BS, pragmatic and caring marketing strategy partner for my clients – Coaches, Consultants, Therapists and Trainers. Every day, they are bombarded by so many marketing shiny objects prescribed by countless gurus and influencers:

I can go on… This barrage of often conflicting marketing advice completely overwhelms solopreneurs (for a good reason!) and they end up either hating marketing and completely giving up on doing any of it, or trying to do it all and end up completely exhausted and ever more confused.

What I have realised through my own trial and error and learning from the marketing mentors whose values and approaches I greatly respect, is that there are no marketing shortcuts to a successful business, no magic trick or silver bullet to make all your issues go away. That’s the bad news.

The good news is, marketing can be simple, effective and even fun – if you approach it holistically:

The good news is, marketing can be simple, effective and even fun – if you approach it holistically:

  1. By figuring out your bigger picture first (your overall strategy)

2. Putting in place a structured marketing system and processes to help you execute it consistently

Having clarity, structure and focus to your marketing activities, you gain confidence knowing that you are doing the right things for your business, which helps you advance towards your goals, step by step.

Having clarity, structure and focus to your marketing activities, you gain confidence knowing that you are doing the right things for your business, which helps you advance towards your goals, step by step.

My marketing superpowers

And this is where my superpower lies: I help my clients focus on what’s essential in their marketing – and nothing else – to get their business to the next level. I provide clarity and structure to help them create a marketing strategy specific to their particular business, aligned with their values and suitable for their personality:

❌ without the overwhelm

✅ in a structured and authentic way

My clients go from spinning their wheels and procrastinating in their marketing (or on the contrary, doing too much) to having a strategy that helps them simplify and focus their marketing efforts.

💬 Or in the words of one of my clients, “I am not overwhelmed anymore by million things I could or should be doing. Clarity and focus – priceless :)”

Since 2016, I have trained, mentored and consulted 250+ Coaches, Consultants, Therapists and Trainers on the topic of marketing strategy, LinkedIn / social media, customer journey and digital marketing. Would you like to see what I can do for you?

Get in touch with me if

Get in touch with me if

You are so busy with client work that you only do sporadic activities to promote your business, which feels ineffective and frustrating.

You want to provide value with your marketing but you don’t have a clear strategy on how to do it more intentionally and without the overwhelm.

You’ve gotten tired of doing it all yourself and are now ready to get help with your marketing.

You want to find a long-term marketing partner who cares about the success of your business.

You are so busy with client work that you only do sporadic activities to promote your business, which feels ineffective and frustrating.

You want to provide value with your marketing but you don’t have a clear strategy on how to do it more intentionally and without the overwhelm.

You’ve gotten tired of doing it all yourself and are now ready to get help with your marketing.

You want to find a long-term marketing partner who cares about the success of your business.

A few ways to engage with me

Attend one of my Marketing Mornings
Download one of my free resources
Fill out my “Predictable stream of clients” self-assessment
Book a 30-min discovery call

My other, non-marketing superpowers

My other, non-marketing superpowers

My superpowers extend beyond making marketing simple:

🍓🌿🍄 I can recognise edible berries, herbs and mushrooms and can be often found foraging the nearby forests for whatever is in season. More than once my husband said that there is no space left in the bag for more mushrooms but I just can’t help myself…

🥾🏕⛰ I am an avid hiker: my husband and I spent our honeymoon trekking 400km across the Swiss Alps over 24 days, crossing 14 mountain passes and doing almost 50’000m in altitude change. All that after an open heart surgery 9 months earlier (but that’s a whole other story).

My superpowers extend beyond making marketing simple:

🍓🌿🍄 I can recognise edible berries, herbs and mushrooms and can be often found foraging the nearby forests for whatever is in season. More than once my husband said that there is no space left in the bag for more mushrooms but I just can’t help myself…

🥾🏕⛰ I am an avid hiker: my husband and I spent our honeymoon trekking 400km across the Swiss Alps over 24 days, crossing 14 mountain passes and doing almost 50’000m in altitude change. All that after an open heart surgery 9 months earlier (but that’s a whole other story).

I get very creative making macro photos and videos and love capturing the unusual creepy crawlies, delicate flowers, fluttering colourful butterflies and other miniature life going on around me. I regularly share these moments of wonder with my LinkedIn community via my #KatsNatureWalks video series.

And when I am not being in nature or making videos about it, I love to read, especially on the topics of psychology, personal development and emotional intelligence.

So if you are a fellow nature lover, hiker or avid reader, I invite you to connect and say hi to me on LinkedIn.