Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Klubeck.
Jeffrey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began teaching Public Speaking and Group Communication in 1997 while pursuing my Masters in Communication from SDSU. After graduating, I continued teaching as an Adjunct Professor in the San Diego Community College District. I was teaching anywhere from one to three classes per semester on weeknights and Saturdays. During the day, I was an executive recruiter with a firm in Carlsbad… then an internal recruiter for a Civil Engineering firm… and a Staffing Agency… and finally JP Morgan Chase in 2005 just in front of the worst economy since the Depression.
We (my wife, Mary Ann and I) became new parents… lost two investment properties and struggled to find our way in that turbulent time. Or, I did anyway. Mary Ann has always been the stable one in the family… and her corporate career track with health benefits helped me take a chance in 2006 to start my own business.
After a 10-month period as “Mr. Mom” at home with our son A.J. and teaching my classes at night, I formed Get A Klu, Inc. imagining that I would market myself as a Consultant. I thought I would take the modules I taught in the classroom (Persuasion, Critical Thinking, Non-Verbal Communication, Listening, Audience Analysis, Organizing Thoughts, Anatomy of Speech-Writing, etc.) into businesses. The only problem was, in those ten months while I was Mr. Mom with A.J., I also got a Real Estate License. I would hand out two business cards… one for Real Estate and one for Get A Klu (that I made on my computer with Clip Art).
I quickly realized that Professionals in the Real Estate game such as Mortgage Brokers, Insurance Agents, Financial Advisors, Title Reps, etc. don’t hire “Consultants.” And, one day, I was lucky enough to be mistaken for a Coach. At a Real Estate Event, I met a Title Rep named Brian Traichel who was a huge believer/investor in personal development. I gave him both of my cards… he looked at me and said, “Oh, you’re a Coach too!?”
I was surprised because I honestly didn’t know what a Coach was at that time (2007)… and then foolishly defended myself in saying, “No, a Consultant”…pointing to the card as if to say, “Didn’t you read the card… it says Consultant!” What a fool I was… I had not made a single penny as a “consultant” at that point… and I didn’t even know what a Coach was. Luckily, Brian was SO cool… he calmly explained to me what Coaching was and the rest is history as they say…
I realized that if I learned how to Coach, I could be really good at it and it could be the perfect thing to bring together all my other skills/experience. I can stay in the small business/entrepreneurial space and really let my communication, speaking/presentation, curriculum development, and word-smithing and persuasive skills shine through.
I enrolled myself in three consecutive “boot camp” style Coaches Trainings and began enrolling students in my mentor’s Coaching programs. I became a Head Coach in his Trainings. I began acquiring my own self-generated clients. I developed my own Coaching Methodology and Coaches Training. Life was great! I was the Father of three great kids… a volunteer for Little League… a well-respected/recognized Professor in the local community (teaching at Miramar and City College)… I had a membership at the University Club downtown… a wife with an amazing corporate career who still makes time to volunteer to be Cookie Mom in Girl Scouts and volunteer Treasurer of Elementary School Foundation and more. I could go on and on. But then, it got better!
I was recruited to provide high-level business and mindset coaching for the students of a seminar-industry wealth coach/organization. From September 2016 to April 2018, I spoke on four continents including opening for celebrities like John Travolta and Mark Wahlberg… I coached Business Owners and Corporate Professionals in 12 different countries and many major cities within those countries (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Gold Coast, Phuket, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Dublin, London, Birmingham, Zurich, Oslo, Copenhagen, Vienna, New York, Chicago, Denver, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Orlando, Anaheim and my hometown San Diego… to name a few).
In such demand around the country/world, I retired from teaching after the Spring 2017 semester and 20 consecutive/continuous years as an Adjunct Professor… having helped 1000’s of adult learners get past their fears of Public Speaking… many of whom entered the classroom fearless to begin with and now have command over their Informative and Persuasive messaging.
Now, I continue my work my own Coaching/Training/Consulting Practice, Get A Klu, where we focus on building soft-skills that make strong leaders. I also do lots of work as “Coach Jeffrey” (a communications expert for clients with whom I contract independently to “white label” my services) and with. I love to train Speakers including help with branding and messaging in addition to the physical presentation skills. Mostly, I love to teach the skills of world-class coaching. Whether you want to be a Coach, be a better Coach, be better at Marketing and Selling yourself as a Coach… or, if you want to be a better Supervisor, Manager, Director, VP (someone who has direct reports) then my Coaching/Leadership Trainings are worth learning more about!
All told, I have been Teaching adult learners for 22 years, Coaching Entrepreneurs and Business Professionals for 12 years (before coaching was “cool”) and now, I am on a mission to teach my Coaching/Leadership Methodology to 1 Million people. Coaching has done wonders to help me transform my life and reach close to my potential. Before I learned how to coach, I was underachieving and ignorant as to how good life can really be. The pursuit of a better life never ends, and I have a love affair with Coaching as the best resource for sustained personal/professional growth!
As I write this, my kids are 13, 11 and 6 (boy, girl, boy) respectively. My wife and I own two homes in San Diego… our residence in Rancho Peñasquitos and an investment condo in La Costa. We are facing life challenges that most people face with no immediate tragedies on hand but plenty of blessings to count and pay forward every day!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, not! The biggest struggle and, ironically/proportionately, the biggest reason to keep going no matter what is having kids. I have been able to do things because of my kids that I was never able to do for myself alone. That said, nobody can tell you how difficult being a new parent is truly going to be. From the physical fatigue to the challenges to the marriage communication, to the absolute in individual sacrifices (like, not being able to go to the bathroom without thinking about/securing the baby first… or, taking the baby in there with you!). Deciding to launch a business at the same time, I was launching a family was, in retrospect, questionable. Another big struggle was learning how to fall in love with mistakes… they are embarrassing, hurtful or costly at the moment that they occur… and sometimes for a while after. But without them, there is no growth or experience we need to earn success. The microphone not working during a webinar or bombing on stage in front of a large audience or saying the wrong thing that gets taken the wrong way or failing to take action quickly enough or not getting something in writing or any of the mistakes entrepreneurs/business owners make. Those can be rough… I think, though, that they are necessary. Another struggle is to keep your cool when you know you have done a great job and are accused otherwise. In the coaching business, most people are coachable and willing to do what it takes to get better results for themselves. Every now and then, there is a person that is so committed to staying where they are that they try to make it the Coach’s fault (or anyone’s other than their own). That is the toughest call because the Coaching is capable of helping someone transform but in no way capable of curing a true mental illness. In over 12 years of Coaching, I have only had a “pathological” situation like that less than three or four times that I can recall… but each time it is a huge struggle to professionally serve the Coaching with someone who is truly not coachable.
Please tell us about Get A Klu.
Get A Klu, Inc. is your resource for professional growth: coaching, consulting, and public speaking. We’re a “boutique” firm dedicated to improving high-performance results for individuals, teams, and businesses. Our services are always customized to fit your needs. Get coaching in performance management, build and grow your professional networks, better collaborate with your teams, or captivate an audience through confident public speaking.
We maintain affiliations with independent coaches, consultants and small firms around the world. Our collaborative partnerships allow us to provide opportunities for you.
Coaching and Leadership Training
Our Coaching Formula is simple: Motivation + Accountability = Results! In Coaching, we motivate you with proven strategies and/or confronting negative behavioral patterns. We hold you Accountable to knowing and pursuing your life’s purpose… by discovering/utilizing gifts, declaring one’s potential, setting goals, selecting strategies and taking action! We also train Coaches/Leaders how to provides these same ingredients inside of the Coaching Relationship. This also includes proving behavioral and values assessments and helping coaches customize private life or business coaching programs.
Public Speaking and Communication
We provide custom programs to help any individual become an excellent and confident public speaker. We also serve various companies through interpersonal and workplace communication, keynotes instruction, motivational speaking, and seminar consulting.
Workplace Process Consulting
We help businesses and organizations create a higher performance in the workplace by conducting a thorough analysis of existing situations and develop newer processes for improvement. This also includes workplace consulting for strategic staffing, and team building.
Soft-Skill Development
We have a Corporate Training Library with dozens of soft-skills that improve the communication and culture in any organization. Training focuses on the ability of a learner to do something after the training they could not do prior to the training. A combination of content, exercise/activity, and assessment are the minimum ingredients of trainings. With Coaching added, learners can be supported/accountable for implementing and mastering the new skills acquired in trainings.
What sets us apart is our ability to compartmentalize OR combine the various services of Coaching, Training, Consulting, and Speaking. “Communication Mastery” is the backbone of the company as founder Jeffrey Klubeck has a Masters in Communication and was an Adjunct Professor of Communication for 20 years. Second to Communication Mastery at Get A Klu is Coaching Mastery! The “Get A Klu Coaching Methodology” is the central nervous system for all services we provide.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and did just enough in high school to get accepted to Cal State Northridge (15 miles away) and San Diego State (2.5 hours away). The choice all along was San Diego State… but I was going to go with my best friend. As it got closer to graduation, my best friend backed out and declared he’d be staying home and going to Northridge.
So my favorite childhood memory was when I went to tell my mom that I was going to “just stay home and go to Northridge.” She cut me off and wouldn’t even let me finish or explain any further. She looked at me and said, “No you’re not. As much as it hurts me to see you go, you have too much to give to this world and you have to go. You won’t grow at home the way you will on your own. You’re going to San Diego. You’re going to love it. You’re going to be great and you are going to make a difference!”
I can never tell that story (or type it in an online form for that matter) without crying a couple tissues worth. Because Mom was right. Thank God, I listened to her!
Pricing:
- Info Products (ebooks, audios, videos, e-courses) for all budgets (from free to $997)!
- Private or Group Online Coaching ranging from $100-500/session
- Full Day Immersion Coaching ranging from $2500-7500/day
- Coaching/Leadership/Soft-Skills Trainings ranging from $15,000-$250,000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.getaklu.net
- Phone: 619-405-3356
- Email: info@getaklu.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insta_klu/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/getaklu
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GetAKlu
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/officialcoachjeffrey/
Image Credit:
Gabor Dobos
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