Prosperous Coach Podcast

Recently I overheard a coach saying that her business had been doing well and then over the last two months everything came to an abrupt halt.

Prospects weren’t showing up. People stopped opening emails and engaging on social media. And her income slowed way down.

She was ready to give up on her business. And I thought to myselt, “Don’t do that! Instead accelerate and expand your efforts to attract ideal clients.”

Hearing her anxiety made me remember when I was a new coach. But here’s what I realized down the road. That daily pain I felt about fluctuations in my business came down to one mistake …

Taking things personally instead of responding strategically.

Do you know what I mean? If you are feeling blown around in the wind and like you have no control over your coaching business, it’s time for a mindset shift.

You Control Your Results in Your Coaching Business

Here’s the truth … you do have control over your business. Yes, you may need to may small incremental adjustment to help your coaching business thrive, but YOU hold the controls for the most part.

Think about it … You control how often and how effectively you’re getting in front of your target audience. This is the first place to look if you’re not earning enough as a coach. 

You control your fees, what value you deliver and can even have a significant influence over how attracted your audience is to what you offer.

If you haven’t heard it already, I have a whole series called Coaching Business Checkup with 9 episodes that go step by step into the most strategic things you can do before you launch your coaching business.

There’s also a downloadable self-assessment to test what’s working and what’s not working in your coaching business. Find that series at prosperouscoach.com/checkup

The Seasons of Your Coaching Business

All that said, there is one thing you can’t control. You cannot control a seasonal slow down. 

But you can shift your mindset about how you respond it and even plan for it.

Depending on your target audience and the flow of their lives there may be a few times each year when paying clients will be less likely to hire you.

Typical slow down times relate to the school year:

·      Spring break

·      Late summer

·      Christmas and New Years

And then there’s events like major elections, such as the Presidential election coming up in the US.

Short-term stress leading up to and just beyond an election may mean people are less grounded to make big decisions. The stock market often dips then as well.

But don’t think that long-term stress has the same effect. It does not. 

That’s why I don’t recommend that you hold off on launching your business or that you let it lapse during the pandemic.

Recently, I published an episode called Should You Launch Your Coaching Business at a Better Time. Find that at prosperouscoach.com/91. Give it a listen because there’s more insight in there about how we fool ourselves into thinking certain times aren’t good for running a coaching business.

How Can a Smart Coach Respond to Seasonal Slow Downs?

Plan both practically and emotionally for these slower times.

Find more about how to manage seasonal aspects of your business here.

When I help a new coach develop their audience, niche, brand, messaging, web copy and more … part of what I’m doing is helping them to become an entrepreneur – the CEO of their own business.

My goal with helping them niche first is not to limit them but rather to help them leverage and have a powerful springboard to launch. I know that if they stand out in the crowd they have a greater chance of being a financially successful coach more quickly.

There are coach mentors out there that say you don’t need a niche. I have a theory about that. I imagine that those people are what I call PURE COACHES. Hopefully, they have found their own success without a niche before they tell other coaches that they don’t need one.

I’ve published a previous episode called Which Coach Archetype Fits You?  You can find that at prosperouscoach.com/12. It’s worth a listen.

By observing successful coaches over 2 decades I cam up with 5 main archetypes for coaches … the Teacher (that’s my archetype), the Healer, the Icon, the CEO and the Pure Coach.

The first 4 archetypes are born entrepreneurs: 

·      They have something personal to say. 

·      They have specific skills they want to apply.

·      They want to have creative control.

·      And it makes sense to focus in on a specific narrow target audience to do that with ease.

The 5th archetype, The Pure Coach, wants to coach anyone about anything. Their goal is to coach and not necessarily to earn well of have a say of how they earn well.

A side point here … I think a lot of coaches that are still in coaching training school or just out have this in mind at first. I know I did. I was enamored about the idea of coaching and I had little understanding of how I’d get clients or earn well as coach.

Like a lot of coaches I tried to sell coaching by the session or by the month to everyone. I didn’t know that coaching is a hard sell in most circles. I had a few clients and my first year I made a total of $5000.

That did not satisfy me and I wasn’t going to give up. So I sought another way.

I realized that I had a lot to learn so I studied my way to success. 

Lo and behold I love running my own business. And I don’t even mind marketing because I get to do it in a non-salesy way such as with this podcast where I can teach and provide value while I let you know that I’m here to help you launch your coaching business. 

The Pure Coach

The Pure Coach is someone who is not driven by a desire to put their own ideas or messages out there. They don’t care about having creative control of their own business. 

In fact, for a Pure Coach being an entrepreneur might be torture.

A Pure Coach tends to become a devotee of a certain coaching model or a certain set of principles taught by someone else. 

Think … John Marshall or Tony Robbins.

·      They someone to funnel clients to them rather than attract their ideal type.

·      They don’t want to market or publish content EVER!

·      They would be happiest applying someone else’s approach to work with each client for however long.

·      They would be fine with someone else setting their fees and setting the rules.

To read more about coach archetypes click here.

Having a coaching business may be the only income-producing role in your life where you get to bring your full personality, values and life experience together to serve others.

You get to be authentic and vulnerable.

Yes, put your best foot forward whenever you can. But you don’t have to pretend or puff yourself up.

Instead draw from and OWN all that you are.

Human beings tend to forget to OWN their intrinsic value and earned wisdom.

Truly, if you’ve never had a paying client before you can be honest about that.

In fact, I suggest to my clients to say with their first coaching prospects “I’d love it if you’d be one of my first clients!” It takes the pressure off. And your prospect will appreciate your honesty.

But you say it with enthusiasm for the person you’re enrolling and what you offer, right?

Build Your Coaching Business On Your Values

I took my training at Coach U, one of the first coaching schools, which was created by Thomas Leonard, who is often called the father of modern coaching. 

He was known for an abundance of short pithy exercises. I received by mail 10 pounds of notebooks full of his exercises and curriculum!

His concept was that anything you did with a client you should first do yourself. In other words be just one step ahead and make sure your come from is authentic.

One exercise was meant to identify core and business values. Maybe you’ve even seen this exercise or a derivative of it out there somewhere in the coaching sphere.

I’ll never forget that exercise because I learned principles about myself that have never sent me in the wrong direction — that is, whenever I let them guide me.

For example … I realized that money is not in itself important to me. However EARNING is a core value. It’s important to me to deliver great value in exchange for my income. 

See I crave independence in thought and action and the ability to choose what’s right for me moment to moment.

Those values made me a perfect candidate for entrepreneurship … for developing my own coaching business.

Sometimes, I’ve gone astray from my values trying to implement something that I saw other coaches do. 

Sound familiar?

Through trial and error and a desire to serve myself while serving others I’ve found what fits me better.

Over the years I’ve made adjustments in my business to find my sweet spot – the way I love to work, when I want to work and who I want to work with. All of that is possible by making micro adjustments.

It takes time to find your sweet spot. 

With my VIP clients we do much to uncover the clues to their sweet spot. But I also know that it’s a journey that’s worth the exploration.

And this is part of what it means to bring your full self to your business.

I think that being an entrepreneur and running a business is a spiritual journey.

If you have a big message you can put that out in an honoring way that fits your target audience. It could be that you launch your own podcast or get on a stage with that message. 

Or it may be in a more quiet way where as it fits, you bring that message to a client in session.

How else can you create freedom in your coaching business to fully be yourself?

Look … you can dress the way you want. Let your freak flag fly. And you don’t need to worry about what people are going to think because the name of the game is attract YOUR people, your tribe.

I’m not a good fit for every coach. And you don’t need to try to be a good fit for everyone in your audience. This is the secret of niching that a lot of people don’t know … you want to become known for serving a micro audience because it helps you thrive.

This is a super short episode with a bite sized but powerful message for all the new-ish coaches out there. It follows on the topic of the last episode called Should You Launch Your Coaching Business at a Better Time?

I was working with a favorite client last week who only has two more sessions in her 5 month VIP Coaching Business Breakthrough program with me. She was super busy with recent opportunities and finding it more challenging to get tasks done in order to launch her coaching business 

I mentioned how important it will be to give her new coaching business enough day to day and week to week time to launch, build momentum and thrive.

It’s like giving love to a new born.

When we met the next week she told me that she took that to heart and was renewing her commitment to her coaching business. I could feel the shift in her energy. Well done!

A sad thing happens to too many coaches … after they spend significant money learning how to coach and then more money on programs to help them launch the business … and more money developing a website they don’t leverage all that hard work.

Instead they fall back into the well worn groove of before … before the calling to become a coach.

Know what I mean?

Has this happened to you or almost happened to you?

You work hard and diligently do many behind the scenes things and then after launch slowly give up or just never take that step into the real world with your business.

This is what I call the Coaching Business Backslide. 

It’s not unlike someone who spends a lot of money and time painstakingly losing weight. Then when the program is over and before long they’ve gained it all back.

The shame of it weighs heavy. And with friends and family it can have that “Crying Wolf” effect where people don’t take your big dreams seriously because they didn’t see you follow through.

So, wherever YOU are in the process of building your business, make yourself a promise. Repeat after me:

I will follow through with my dream, become a well known lucrative coach and leverage all my hard work and investment!

This is about commitment. It is about integrity and respect for yourself. 

You can do it! You don’t have to do it alone though. 

Want help to get back in the saddle and build up momentum? Let’s have a Strategy Session.

I hope a day will come very soon when new listeners come across this episode and Corona Virus is a dim memory. I dream of that day when we’re all free to hug, hang out without distancing and go to work and school safely.

At this point, the pandemic has been going on a lot longer than we all imagined.

Many coaches are hesitating to launch their business even though they are as ready as they will ever be.

They are thinking:

“It’s not a good time to launch a business because no one can afford the services I offer.”

This misunderstanding is why I wanted to do a mini episode on this topic. Find the show notes at prosperouscoach.com/91

Should You Launch Your Coaching Business Now?

So, you probably know what I’m going to say … YES! Now is always the best time to launch your business!

You can’t let global crises shut you down.

In fact, it’s just the opposite.

During a crisis is THE best time to be doing meaningful work. It’s THE best time to get your messages and offers out into the market place. It’s THE best time to respond to your calling.

Why?

2 Reasons Why Now is the Best Time

1.     YOU deserve to be doing whatever will bring you the most joy as soon as you can.

2.     It’s during a crisis that people become more serious about making positive lifetime changes.

Think about it … if your prospects are seekers — people who do invest in their personal or professional growth — they are looking around them right now and thinking: “This is not what I’m supposed to be doing.”

That dream for something better … a healthier body, a more dynamic career, to become their own boss, to improve their marriage, to help their kids thrive — whatever specific BIG PROBLEM has been dogging them is now fully in their face. We are all facing what is dysfunctional about us during this crisis.

It’s painful. That issue becomes ACUTE rather than chronic. 

They think … “What am I waiting for? Life is precious! I won’t stop myself from what I want any longer!” And the old tapes that used to play in their heads during the status quote get replace “Get off your butt and make things happen!” 

You see, crisis wakes people up. When things are easier, human beings get lulled to sleep. They live in a well worn groove on default mode.

But when the day to day chaos is shaken up, that’s when human beings rise up out of their stupor.

For my business, the first two months of the pandemic were a bit quiet and then it was like the flood gates opened. I’ve never had so many sign ups, inquiries and enrollments as I have now. My income is higher than ever. Demand for working with me is off the charts.

That could be you.

I’ve talked to other coaches who say their business is at an all time high.

And we’ve looked back at earlier crises together and realized the same thing. Remember the financial crisis of 2008. It affected nearly every country drastically. My business surged then too.

Here’s the other thing you might not realize if you haven’t owned a business before … it’s smart to get to the market fast.

The information age makes it much harder to be unique and to stand out. If you wait to get out there someone else may fill your shoes.

And I realize some people are overwhelmed with kids at home and not in the school building during the day or other challenges during this time. Waiting is never the best option unless you simply don’t have the bandwidth to make this happen. That’s about you personally not about what’s going in world.

Read more about when to launch your coaching business here.

This episode is part of the Smart & Profitable Coaching Niche series. And … it has eye opening questions to help you test the viability of your coaching niche. So test your niche with those questions, which you can find the full transcript for this episode here.

By the way, there are 14 episodes in that niche series – lots of intel for you —so if you’re having trouble choosing a viable target audience and developing a niche that solves a BIG enough problem so clients pay you well, check that whole series out. It’s easy to miss the earlier episodes if you are new to listening to Prosperous Coach podcast.

I decided to take a break from the Client Management series because there’s a louder cry out there in the coaching community for help to choose a coaching niche.

I have several clients who are still enrolled in coach training and they tell me that the other coaches are really struggling with all the business steps especially the niche part.

What usually happens is coaches create a website first, which is really just an online brochure about coaching and not super effective before they think to choose a unique target audience or find out what those people want so much they’ll invest in help to get it.

It makes me wince because I know that website is likely a waste of money and effort. Audience and niche come before any other actions – before websites, blogs or social posts.

When coaches ask me in a Strategy Session: "Is this a good coaching niche?" What they really want to know but don’t know to ask is:

Will focusing my energy this way repay me with a consistent flow of clients who are willing to invest?

That's the 6-figure question.

What is a Coaching Niche?

It has 3 critical parts and most coaches miss two of those.

1.     Choosing a NARROW target audience.

2.     Knowing what they want so much they’ll invest in your help to achieve it.

3.     Applying your special talents and skills to help that audience overcome BIG problems as they reach that goal.

So a viable and profitable coaching niche is the intersection of those 3 things.

Do You Really Need a Coaching Niche?

Of course, I’ll say YES emphatically! Ultimately, there are 12 smart reasons to niche and they boil down to this: 

·      Ease

·      Reach

·      Profitability

We choose a niche so we can market less, earn more and help more people transform. It goes a long way towards making you credible early on in your coaching business.

To read the questions and score your niche click here. 

This episode is part of the Client Management series. Find the full transcript here.

In the last episode, I covered 7 RED FLAGS to watch for with clients and also how you need to watch your feelings for indications of losing your integrity in sessions with clients.

Well, this session is one way you can lose your integrity and disempower your client.

What do you do when a client comes to a session resistant, as if their arms are folded across their chest? Coaching seems to bounce off them. 

Or worse they seem to have the expectation that you’ll fix or figure out things for them, but aren’t willing to be part of the solution. What’s going on there?

Power dynamics.

For coaching to happen, both coach and client must show up co-creative, resourceful and whole. In other words … standing in their personal power.

How can you do your part to encourage that?

The Helper in You May Overdo it

Most coaches I meet genuinely want to help others. In fact, it’s often a driving force in their lives to give.

Are you familiar with the Enneagram? What’s your number?

I’m a 2 – The Helper. And I’ve gone many turns around the spiral learning to become ever more conscious about the heavy shadow side of that noble desire to help and give. Do you feel me?

Wanting to help and give all the time can actually disempower others.

While it’s an obvious choice to become a coach if you like to give and help, that very impulse needs to be monitored.
 
 So, for me learning how empower clients begins with “right sizing” myself. My intention is to show up as powerful as I am without inflating or deflating myself through my thoughts, words and actions. Because I know if I’m not right sized it will upset the power dynamic and disempower my client.

Think about it … in your last coaching session were you RIGHT SIZED?

It’s not a set it and forget it sort of thing. It requires centering before beginning any session and then tracking yourself

5 Ways to Empower You and Your Coaching Clients

1.  Hit the reset button before sessions.

• Take 5 minutes of quiet to breathe and reconnect to your Highest Self.
• Value yourself intrinsically.
• Own your gifts, talents, and skills (as different but not more than your clients.)
• Show vulnerability without being self-deprecating.
• Get your needs met outside the coach/client relationship.

Read the other 4 of 5 ways to empower yourself and your coaching clients.

This episode is part of a series called Manage Your Coaching Clients, which already has 3 important episodes about setting boundaries clients, the intake process and keeping your clients on track.

Recently in my Facebook group called Prosperous Coach Club, members have started discussions about specific challenges with current clients. And that’s what inspired this series.

The topic of client management is deep. And there’s not a lot of intel out there about how to deal with paying clients. It’s one of trial by fire things. But you know me, I want to bee line you to success so I’m going to cover this stuff!

As a new coach there are certain challenges that will come up with paying clients that diminish as you gain experience. When you charge highly for your services, clients are more committed and generally easier to work with. So do yourself a favor and charge more. I have a whole series on Money Mastery at prosperouscoach.com/money

This episode covers the red flags to watch for. Show notes for this episode are at prosperouscoach.com/88

And then in successive sessions I’ll dig into what to do if you notice one of these red flags.

Find Your Integrity

Everyone knows what a red flag is. When it flies you as the professional are called to pay close attention and get ready for action. Exactly what you’ll do depends on lots of factors. But when it comes to managing clients the name of the game is find your integrity.

To quickly master client management issues, the first thing to do is raise your awareness … both about your client’s behavior AND your response to their behavior.

The Two Types of Red Flags are About:

1.     Your client.

2.     Your feelings about your client.

Both might indicate issues in the fit between you and your client. Client fit is incredibly important for you to have an enjoyable and lucrative business.

It may seem right now that you should coach anyone who wants to hire you. It’s a point of maturity when you realize and accept that not every client is a good fit for you.

The 7 Parts of the Coaching Client’s Role

The red flags for clients all have to do with ways they do not successfully take on their role in the co-creative relationship.

The client's role is to:

1.     Show up for scheduled sessions

2.     Show up on time for scheduled sessions

3.     Pay their payments on time (although I recommend you move to a full fee up front policy)

For the other 4 aspects of the client's role and more click here.

This episode is a super short but potent. Find the show notes at prosperouscoach.com/87.

Do you ever have the feeling that people in your inner circle aren’t supporting your choice to grow a coaching business?

It can be subtle … family or friends seem not to take interest when you talk about it. Their eyes glaze over or they change the subject quickly.

Or it can be overt … someone directly questions your wisdom in starting a coaching business or taking a bold step in it.

Or it can be in shadow where someone teases you about coaching. 

Coaching is misunderstood by most people. The field’s reputation has been damaged by too many people calling themselves a coach who aren’t and it’s been made fun of in the media.

It’s one of the reasons why I encourage coaches not to sell coaching but rather target a narrow viable audience and solve a problem. You’ll use your coaching to serve your clients but not try to convince prospects of the value of coaching.

Coaching is a toolbox not what people will buy. For more about this critical mindset shift for new coaches listen to the LISTENER’S CHOICE episode # 7 at prosperouscoach.com/7. And also learn more about in episode #65 at prosperouscoach.com/65.

Skepticism Is About the Skeptic Not You

Sometimes, skepticism comes in the form of strong opinions about what you should or should not do in your business. 

Sometimes as I’m working with a VIP client to build their business foundation I’ll hear that their spouse or a trusted friend has criticized their move to target a narrow audience and focus their niche. People who aren’t in the know about marketing and business often think niching is counter-intuitive – that’s a amateur blunder. 

Narrowing and niching is highly strategic. Counter intuitive moves often are.

Another scenario with skeptic is that you ask directly for support — such as asking friends to share your posts on social channels — but you get no takers amongst your inner circle. Just silence.

And sometimes it’s just a look in someone’s eyes. Let’s say you decide to invest in an expert to grow your business and you get a baleful look as if it’s crazy to invest in your success. It’s not. Investing in business startup is smart, normal and unavoidable.

Whatever the situation, it feels lousy when you encounter indifference or skepticism for your choices. And, it can derail you from your vision.

I call these folks and situations “petty tyrants” – a concept taken from Carlos Castaneda. A petty tyrant is a naysayer. Sometimes they can be downright cruel about it. But most often that person means well.

What’s really going on is that person is concerned for you because you’re taking a risk they would not take.

Or more likely they are envious because you’re taking a risk they wish they had the courage to take themselves.

A Test of Your Resolve

Ultimately, petty tyrants are in your life for one thing – to test your resolve.

To be a successful entrepreneur you need to grow a pair.

Read here about how to get a thicker skin. 

This episode is part of the Money Mastery series. Find the full transcipt for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/86

It’s totally normal to give some coaching away free while you’re in coach training school. Schools encourage this because they want you to practice coaching skills with as many people as you can as often as possible.

Practice integrates learning.

The downside of offering free coaching over a long term is that it becomes increasingly difficult to shift from free to charging fees. 

Resistance gathers … and soon simply the idea of charging fees looms large in your mind.

That’s why many coaches get stuck in practice or what I call Perpetual Student Mode.

Patterns Become Habits and Habits Become Mindset

It’s critical to cross that threshold away from offering free coaching to becoming a professional coach and charging fees quickly.

You see, our brains have a need for order. Anything you do repeatedly can become habit. Your mind SETS.

That can be a positive thing. But some mindsets make you feel STUCK.

Take a moment here and answer truthfully … has your mind set on limiting beliefs having to do with charging your clients fees? Here are some of things I hear from new coaches:

·      I’m still inexperienced so I shouldn’t ask clients to pay.

·      How can I charge fees when I don’t know what I’m doing?

·      Why would someone pay me for this?

·      I’m a fraud.

It’s time to challenge these mindsets. Let’s look at them one at a time.

Own Your Experience

First, it helps to shift the way you think of coaching. Coaching is a skillset.

Have you ever learned a new set of skills in a job?

Let’s say you are suddenly given a new responsibility at your job. Chances are you showed some promise already and that’s why you were given the opportunity.

There’s always a learning curve, right? But your employer pays you while you learn. It’s a good faith practice that you will integrate the learning by doing.

As a professional coach, you employ yourself. Are you going to require that you know everything before you get paid? That would be unreasonable.

You Brought Skills to the Table of Coaching

Do you know everything about coaching? No. No one does. You’re on a developmental path. But you didn’t start this journey of becoming a coach on ground zero.

When you decided to become a coach you already had significant communication skills. If you hadn’t, you would not have gravitated to this.

You already knew how to listen, ask questions and support or inspire greatness. No doubt, your friends and colleagues sought you out as a sounding board and counselor.

In fact, this zone of genius may have been with you for decades.

Give yourself credit for what you brought to the table. Coach training only enhanced your skills. 

People Invest When They Perceive Value

 “Why would someone pay me?” is the wrong question.

Read more about successfully moving from free to fees!