Before Zoom, when Skype became a household name, I bartended in the late aughts to early teens, with no teleconferencing involved. It wasn’t until 2012, when I started my journey of being a health and wellness coach and entrepreneur, that I became aware of video conferencing, group calls, and webinars. I was still using a flip phone with a QWERTY keyboard, resisting the shift to a smartphone. I used Skype a handful of times but found it awkward. I wanted a Judy Jetson mask! 

In 2015, I attended my first Zoom group call. At the time, it felt so innovative and fresh. At four years old, the platform already had 40 million users. 

At that time, I was doing private and small group coaching, and their free plan worked great for my needs! I had 40 minutes for groups and unlimited 1:1 calls. My private practice benefited from the free platform, but I was trading time for money. My 30-minute group coaching sessions often went over, getting cut off mid-breakthrough. How embarrassing! 

A few of my coaching colleagues invested in the paid Zoom version, with unlimited duration, only to have their meetings cut off early. That left a bad taste in my mouth. I used my free version for 1:1 calls, wishing an alternative existed. Then, in March 2020, it seemed Zoom entered everyone’s hearts and homes. My disdain shifted to gratitude for a way to connect when we couldn’t meet physically. 

At the end of the year, I resumed coaching, investing in the platform for my group and private sessions. It worked, but not without its setbacks. I couldn’t let anyone else use my account, and the meeting links constantly changed their long URLs for each meeting. I was a coaching team member, yet I had to start every meeting since others could not use my credentials. In one circumstance, another coach had to start a meeting using his own paid account after an emergency. This meant sending a new link to participants in several places just to make sure everyone knew of the change. Several missed the call. Not to mention, even as a paid member, Zoom doesn’t offer much storage. Record multiple calls per week? Expect to download often.

In 2023, a friend introduced me to BeeKonnected. What a breath of fresh air! After joining the platform, I discovered that BeeKonnected is the best of Zoom, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, and Kajabi, all rolled into one platform. The star of the show is the video conferencing platform. For starters, there’s one simple link to my virtual conference room, where I hold many 1:1 and group calls. With a couple of clicks, I can change my meeting room into a webinar, where attendees are hidden, and with another click, I can open the floor for questions and interactions with attendees. I can record and live stream to multiple platforms at once.

I can also give others hosting privileges, ensuring someone can always start every meeting. In fact, we have a dedicated room connected to our group, where leaders have administrative access to the virtual meeting room, group content, and user interactions. BeeKonnected is on a quest to have all of your business solutions in one place. It’s great for coaches and only getting better, adding monetized premium content to the list of solutions. 

Discover the BeeKonnected difference for yourself. Sign up for a free account and connect with thousands of like-minded professionals today.

Written by Coleen Parsons, BeeKonnected Member