Jilly Blankenship: Turning Nursing into a Six-Figure Coaching Business

Jilly Blankenship is a pediatric nurse, lactation consultant, mom of two, and sleep coach for babies and toddlers. Through her business, Baby Sleep Made Simple, Jilly and her team help tired parents calm the chaos and find a sleep rhythm and routine that works for their family. Here’s a snapshot of her success:

• Earned six figures through online courses
• Helped over 100K families 
• Grew her social audience to over 60K

The Challenge: Finding a User-Friendly Platform

Jilly’s journey to becoming a sleep coach stemmed from a natural place: her own experience as a new mom. 

“I was a sleep-deprived new mom myself who couldn’t find a solution that felt right,” she remembers. “‘Cry it out’ felt wrong but ‘wait it out’ felt impossible.”

She decided to take things into her own hands. Jilly used her background in pediatric nursing and lactation consulting to create a gentle and customizable sleep solution that works for all types of babies and families. 

Jilly began her coaching business, Baby Sleep Made Simple in 2015. Since then, she and her team — all of which are former clients — have helped over 100,000 families find sleep solutions through online courses and coaching. 

As she grew the business, she struggled to find a sleek and user-friendly platform for online courses. She tried a handful of tools including LOL, AccessAlly, and even hosting private videos on YouTube. 

However, there were a couple of things she didn’t like about her existing tools. For one, it was difficult to restrict access to content on YouTube. Jilly also didn’t feel that the layout and presentation for clients on AccessAlly were professional enough. 

The Solution: Discovering an Easy-to-Use Course Platform

Jilly discovered Kajabi organically when she was a student herself. “I bought someone else’s online course and thought, ‘What platform is this?! I need it!’” she recalls. 

Seeing other businesses use Kajabi for online courses made her confident the platform would work for her needs. 

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Once she got started, Jilly’s favorite part about using Kajabi was how easy the platform was to use — and how quickly she could create and launch an online course.

“[Kajabi] helped me build a sleek and easy-to-use course in just a few hours!”

Results: Doubling Her Number of Clients 

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Not only has Jilly built a six-figure online business, she’s done so while working from home and raising her children — one of the things she loves most about her job.

“[I love] being able to connect with parents, give them the solution they’re desperately looking for, and see how much it improves their lives,” she says. “I also love the freedom and flexibility of running a business from home while raising my young children.”  

Jilly uses Kajabi for online courses, communities, and payments. Since using the platform, she has reduced her software expenses by 30%, increased customer retention by 15%, and doubled the number of clients she and her team have helped. 

Looking Ahead: Scaling to 7-Figures 

As she continues to grow her business, Jilly wants to hit 7-figures and become a household name for new parents looking to find the perfect sleep solution for their baby. 

Her advice for other creators looking to start their own business? “Just get started,” she says. “Don’t overthink it. Create content from what you know best and share it with others using Kajabi!”

‍Jilly’s Playbook on Growing a Loyal Client Base

If there’s one person who knows how to create loyal clients, it’s Jilly. Some of her clients have been so loyal to the business that they even work on her team now. Follow these steps to grow a loyal client base even if you have a small audience.  

Step 1: Hone in on a problem. “Figure out what problem you want to solve and exactly who you’ll be solving it for,” she says. 

Step 2: Identify your audience. “Find people struggling with this problem and LISTEN to what they want,” says Jilly. “Take notes!”

Step 3: Provide the solution. “Give them the solution they’re looking for in a way that’s easy to access and simple to follow.”

Step 4: Continue supporting them. “Over deliver when it comes to support!”

Ready to create your online course? See how Kajabi can help you build an online business from scratch. 

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