Permission to Start Small and Seek Out a Role Model

I see so many first year coaches make the same mistakes I did.

Coaches get certified and then they start buying stuff. They tell me about their purchases with great enthusiasm. “I bought a programs that will teach me how to make an online video” and “I just learned how to create a million dollar coaching business using this new CRM to help me send emails” are but two of a long laundry list of purchases I hear about. It’s all great stuff but quite honestly, you’re just not ready for it yet!

 Your first year of coaching can be stressful and confusing. We do a lot of things and a little coaching. Before you start buying all of the bells and whistles here’s a little advice:

 There’s too much stuff and we buy it instead of keeping it basic.  Sales funnels, CRM’s, we learn how to record and sell an evergreen program… and we buy the online program that guarantees us a million clients. I am not saying these products don’t work, some of them are actually amazing. What I am saying is we’re not ready for them yet. When we buy the things we’re not ready for we actually spread ourselves thin. We spend unnecessary money and time on big flashy websites and online marketing. We forget that what we are actually supposed to be doing is finding 3 clients, charging our value and practicing in an effort to improve our coaching skills. You can’t buy that online, you DO that by making connections and offering a simple coaching platform to help people define their goals and gain traction. 

 What to do: Start small and choose a simple brand. If you absolutely need to buy something today, get a graphic designer to make you a one page website and business cards with a touch of your passion woven in. I spent way too much time making my own stuff for a year and then had to pay to have everything re-skinned (which is actually more expensive). We help connect coaches to our designer at Mancini Creatives that is willing to bundle what we feel is a good foundational affordable investment. They really appreciate the simplicity of the package. We do too, because we’d much rather help coaches with the mindset for business and engagement than helping them choose what to buy next. When you get clarity on what coaching is, a simple signature program and two income streams the site builds itself… and you get back to coaching!

  If you’re going to spend additional money, do yourself a favor: 

Pay for a coaching master mind or program led by a coach who helps other FIRST year coaches (this was my catapult thank you very much Tanya Varley and my cohort).

 After a year you can add to your signature program by taking a course on content that lights you up and you want to share with others.  For me it was a certification in Applied Positive Psychology through the Flourishing Center. In the program I got to participate with a diverse group of professionals and get tons of education, tools, content for me to slip into my sessions as things came up. The program was also a model for myself, how to practice mindset and daily life intentions in a positive way.

 We choose the wrong Role Models. During my Certification in Applied Positive Psychology program I learned about the importance of role modeling. Finding the right role model can make or break our confidence. Of course we feel like an imposter when we set our site on someone that is a master coach.  When I look at some of my favorite coaches I am very realistic about what level they are at verse what level I am at. When I try to be someone who is years ahead of me it always leads me to mind chatter. I over look the success that is essential to my growth at the level I am at.

What to do:  Finding the right role model is easy. Connect with other coaches on linked in, ask them what year in the business they are in, and if they’d mind sharing their experience with you as a new coach. Find a coach that is one level up from you that you like and start seeing yourself doing what they’re doing. You can feel their energy as they live in that level that’s just out of your reach. If we try to emulate the person in the final stage we actually create thoughts that can break down our self-efficacy. Finding those in the same stage or one stage in front of you can boost your confidence!