Part of the appeal of a one-on-one practice is that its hard parts aren't as hard as other business models (like "scalable" training), and its easier parts are even easier (and more happiness-producing) than other models. 

Coaching can be a utility the client views as a semi-permanent part of their life, or a luxury they view as a special one-off event. Both approaches offer great experiences for both coach and client, but the the choice to be a luxury or a utility will inform the rest of your strategy, so it's worth a careful look.

The best coaching is an invitation to productive pain in pursuit of the reward on the other side. Today's episode inspired by this essay, shared with me by my coach, Liz.

Kristen Boss's coaching business started in 2019 with pajama-clad Facebook lives at 6am. In the five years since, she's generated millions of dollars in revenue -- mostly using the launch-based marketing and sales model. After she listened to episode 19, she offered to come on the show to talk about the high highs and low lows she's experienced as a launch-based coach. I'm grateful Kristen would share her story in such an honest and vulnerable way. 

Kristen serves network marketers, but I think new coaches would be wise to check out her work: https://kristenboss.com

Paula Engebretson coaches people with an ADHD diagnosis (or ADHD tendencies). Since I know she has ADHD, and since I may or may not be a member of her target audience, I've been surprised at how consistently she publishes her newsletter and podcast. People like her (me) are not supposed to be as reliable as she is. But she shows up like clockwork. I asked her to come on the show to talk about how she does it.

My key takeaways were:
1. Why Paula won't take on a project unless it's a "full-bodied yes".
2. How her personal mission keeps her motivated.
3. How my own lack of consistency probably stems from #1 and #2.

Connect with Paula:
I'm Busy Being Awesome (website and podcast)

I've been wondering whether a membership model would be the best way to set up a practice space for coaches (discussed a few episodes back). You may not know that between 2009 and 2012 I ran a membership with a partner that had as many as 1,700 members. About seven years ago I recorded a retrospective of the whole experience. Today I listened to it and, although I don't agree with everything I said in 2017, there's a lot of gold in it. Today I thought I'd share it with you. 

Two weeks ago I went to Tennessee to speak at an event hosted by my friend, Edie Wadsworth. This week, Kate (my wife) taught some classes at a church camp for young women. We both loved our experience, and it reminded me of one of my most important lessons from over ten years in the world of coaching: there's no substitute for being in the same room as the people you want to serve.

I've recently taken a walk through dozens of coaches' websites and social media profiles. I found many of them are just like me: we tend to forget, ignore, and/or abandon our web presence. I've finally admitted to myself this makes me harder to trust and engage with. This episode talks about why this is an issue and how to fix it without too much work or expense.

You may feel like you're working as hard (or harder) than your peers but not seeing the same (or any) results. This episode explains what I think you're experiencing, what you can do about it, and why I'm confident you'll succeed in the end.

As we grow our practices, it's helpful to know the big picture (what I call strategy) and the specific actions (tactics) that flow from the big picture. But if we don't know ourselves, we'll look to coaches and communities to tell us what to do and why and how to do it. This is not ideal.