People often think a business can grow overnight. The real story is much more complex. Kathryn Janicek’s business journey is a great example of how scaling actually happens: messy, demand-driven, and rooted in serving clients so well that they become your best advocates. At Janicek Performance Group, we have seen this growth from inside and want to share key lessons with you.
How Did Kathryn Janicek Build Demand for Her Services?
Kathryn started Janicek Performance Group in 2015, after a long journalism career. She worked at NBC Chicago as Executive Producer and later as VP of News. At first, the company focused on media coaching. But what happened next was driven by client demand.
Kathryn says:
“Demand pulled me forward and I had to keep up.”
This matches how growth works in many professional services. Clients notice great work. They refer you to others. You grow as a result.
What Role Do Referrals Play in Business Growth?
At Janicek Performance Group, referrals were the first growth engine. When leaders changed their presence after coaching with Kathryn, they told coworkers and friends.
After training executive teams at JPMorgan Chase, advisors who did not attend asked when they could join. This came from word of mouth, not marketing. Many early clients heard about Kathryn through referrals within their professional network.
Kathryn takes pride in this. Clients spread the word because they saw results, and that is proof the coaching works.
How Can Speaking Engagements Accelerate Growth?
Kathryn says that speaking in front of live audiences changed everything. She shared her approach at TEDxChicago and spoke to groups of over 100,000 professionals. These speaking events opened doors.
- Kathryn coached at TEDxChicago and appeared at major professional events.
- Leaders often reached out after hearing her speak about high-stakes boardroom presentations or live national TV interviews.
- One startup founder said their company appeared on TV and radio for the first time within weeks of working with Kathryn. They credited this public breakthrough to her executive coaching.
See the JPG speaking page for more about these events.
How Did Kathryn Janicek Turn One-Woman Success Into a Team?
As demand grew, Kathryn knew she needed to build an organization that could support more clients and new types of challenges, like crisis press briefings and major merger announcements.
What Steps Did Janicek Performance Group Take to Expand?
- Kathryn hired her first team member. This was a turning point. She shifted from doing all the work herself to leading a team that could support more organizations through leadership transitions and national product launches.
- She learned to delegate, which allowed her to focus on solutions and leadership. Kathryn writes: “It was uncomfortable to delegate and eleven years later, I’m still learning, and it’s the best decision I ever made. Building a team meant the work could scale beyond my own hours, and it meant I was now responsible not just for my own livelihood, but for someone else’s. That weight sharpened everything.”
- The JPG team now has a Chief Growth Officer, a Director of Operations with twenty years’ experience, an Associate Director of Communications, and coaches in several major cities. Marketing and production specialists round out the team.
When the Director of Operations made an official org chart, Kathryn realized how much the firm had grown.
Kathryn summed it up in a post for business owners:
“My time is worth too much money. I finally realized how to delegate when it’s not worth it for me to do it.”
This mindset change allowed Janicek Performance Group to grow.
Inc. Magazine featured JPG as the 37th fastest-growing company in the Midwest because of new client partnerships and an expanding team of leadership experts.
How Does JPG Approach Communication Coaching for High-Stakes Moments?
Growth for JPG was not just about hiring more people. It was about building a specialized team ready to help clients in critical moments, such as government press briefings or a CEO’s first earnings call on Wall Street.
- JPG’s five core pillars are: Messaging, Vocal Delivery, Body Language, Mindset, and Appearance.
- Coach Ruthie Landis works with C-suite clients on mindset and body language for crisis meetings.
- Coach Meg Lister focuses on speech and language for expert roundtables and investor updates.
- Stylists like Taylor Darcy and Holli Kulpaka advise on visual presence for major broadcast interviews and IPO roadshows.
- Human performance coach Keir Beadling supports physical energy management for full-day leadership workshops and media tours.
Kathryn believes strong communication includes message, story, image, body language, and addressing fear during mission-critical events. None can be ignored if you want results under pressure.
How Did Kathryn Janicek Build Resilience for Crisis Communication?
The resilience at the heart of JPG’s approach came from Kathryn’s own experiences in high-pressure situations.
- At age 21, Kathryn struggled in her first on-air TV segment. She was nervous, froze, and learned firsthand how fear can block performance.
- Later, she was the spokesperson during the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, a tragedy where clear communication was essential. Thirteen people lost their lives. Kathryn learned that leadership in those moments requires empathy and clarity.
- She later coached law enforcement across Minnesota on crisis communication for real-world disasters.
Kathryn says: Resilience is what you build because of fear, and it prepares you for moments when everyone is looking to you for answers.
How Did JPG Pivot to Nationwide Leadership Communication?
Many CEOs who worked with Kathryn for media training realized their teams needed broader communication support. They wanted help with client presentations, board updates, Congressional briefings, and important internal meetings.
- This led Kathryn to expand JPG’s services to full-scale leadership communication for all levels, not just media training.
- Kathryn shares on the about page her early focus on helping executives for TV. Now, JPG coaches Fortune 500 leaders around the world on everything from national interviews to major stakeholder announcements.
- JPG’s 2024 year-end reflection highlights recent client successes. These include three-day workshops for multinational corporations, media training for high-profile TV appearances like Good Morning America, and speech coaching for TEDx talks and medical conferences.
- Current and past clients include McDonald’s, AbbVie, the Chicago Bulls, the LA Dodgers, Mayo Clinic, Harvard, Princeton, and Homeland Security, each seeking help for specific real-world challenges.
Kathryn credits this pivot to listening to her clients and responding to the demands of high-stakes communication moments as they arose.
What Can Leaders and Organizations Learn from Kathryn Janicek’s Story?
Growth at Janicek Performance Group happened because of these steps, recommended by Kathryn and her team:
- Deliver extraordinary client results so they talk about you to others.
- Seek out opportunities for high-stakes speaking and thought leadership events.
- Learn to delegate and build a team of true experts.
- Create systems so your business can serve more leaders in moments that matter—such as IPOs, crisis briefings, national media appearances, and global team meetings.
- Stay open to new client needs and let them guide your evolution.
If you are a leader seeking to make your ideas heard in critical moments, or an organization that needs stronger communication in real-world scenarios, Janicek Performance Group is here for you. Explore services from executive presence coaching, to media training and sales workshops, or learn more about the team approach.
Ready to take action for your next high-stakes moment? Contact us here.
