Your Personal Branding Questions - ANSWERED!

jonathan-simcoe-88013.jpg

You are amazing at what you do.

You've been in your career for over twenty years. Maybe you've won a few awards, been recognized in your field, you have big name clients and companies mentioned in your bio. You feel confident in your level of expertise.

But when it comes to your personal brand, that's when things get a little cloudy. What is your personal brand? If you had to define your brand in one sentence, would you be able to?

This is a problem that even the most seasoned of us struggle with.

Today, I’m sharing with you my best tips and advice on how women in business can build a powerful brand. Later on, I will be inviting a few of you to join my first ever personal branding masterclass to expand on some of the material covered here. So without further ado, my quick tips for building and leveraging your personal brand in business and leadership.

What is brand?

For many of us, when we think of a brand, we tend to think of it in terms of the name of our business, our bio, what’s on our resume, LinkedIn profile, or the role or title we have. Maybe for some of us, we don’t even see ourselves as a brand or never really considered it. We might think of the stores we shop in, the products we buy, the logos we see as brands. But this is a very one-dimensional way of seeing ourselves and the power we have to create an impact and build influence.

A brand reDefined.

A brand can be defined as three things:
 
1. The unique set of ingredients that set you apart and allow you to stand out.
2. The experience of you and what people come to expect from you.
3. The value you bring to the table.

Why does having a brand matter?

When you don’t have a clear definition of who you are, what you stand for, and what you bring to the table, you can start to feel adrift and stagnant in your work. You may find yourself unable to create meaningful goals, struggle with confidence and impact in your leadership, and decision-making becomes a bit cloudy.
 
Consider your brand as your navigational guide towards personal and professional success. Foundational items like your personal vision, core values, and strengths lead the way. With a clear understand of your brand, you can align with the right projects/clients/opportunities.

What gets in the way?

I call these the stories we tell ourselves; invisible barriers that come in the form of negative self talk that causes us to hide, shrink, become insecure and diminish confidence.
 
The two narratives we most often hear are:
1. Not good enough.
2. Who do you think you are?
 
What we continuously believe and actions we take as a result, becomes our habits, which shape our character and ultimately our destiny. Believe it or not, being late is a part of your brand. Indecision is a part of your brand. Avoiding uncomfortable situation can also be a part of your brand. Who you surround yourself ultimately becomes part of your brand!

You are what you repeatedly do and what you do repeatedly do becomes an element of your brand. Make sure you're only adding the right components to your brand.
 
“Make visible what, without you, might never have been seen.” – Robert Bresson

The outer component of a personal brand has 5 dimensions. They are:

  1. Mental; the way you problem solve, your thought leadership and how you communicate
  2. Emotional; your ability to connect with others through empathy and vulnerability
  3. Spiritual; your connection to higher purpose, you WHY
  4. Physical; appearance, image and personal style
  5. Environment; your space, culture you build

Together, these 5 elements combined with your inner mindset creates the complete package of your personal brand.

How do you begin shaping and refining your brand so that you become known for what you do and standout?
 

I will be answering this in full detail with step-by-step guidance in my Personal Branding masterclass The Essence of YOU: Personal Branding for Smart Women on Wednesday, September 12th. I will be hosting a 90-minute online session. This session is for you if you are considering your next career move, starting a new venture, needing more clarity around what you want, and especially if you're just tired of shrinking and ready to play bigger in your world!

What’s unique about this course is that it takes a very unconventional approach to branding, from the inside, out. So if you’re open to a new way of discovering & developing your brand, you will enjoy this talk. Class is open to 15 people to keep it intimate.

Sign up is here.
 

Cheers to mastering your brand and unlocking your true path to great leadership.

The SHE in She Went for Her Dreams

When you’re in the business of helping people succeed, the work becomes bigger than you.

I’ve seen the magic of how one woman who decides to go for her dreams and play a bigger game in her own life can inspire another woman to do the same.
 
It’s like a ripple effect.
 
The impact we have on one other as women is far greater than we could ever imagine. There is something about seeing a community of like-minded trailblazing women who are going for it that sparks something within you.
 
The fire in your belly roars to a flame and you are inspired to get out there, be your best self, and do your best work.
 
This is what it means to have a greater purpose through your work.  When it comes to business and the work that we do, I don’t believe it’s just about selling widgets and increasing the bottom line. I’m going to take a guess that if you’re reading this, that you believe this too.
 
As women entrepreneurs, many of us go into business driven by a desire to create, change the world, and serve humanity. Our dreams are not flights of fancy, but an invitation to action. At the risk of getting too metaphysical and woo woo, doing business is a sacred act. The hum that lies just underneath the surface, that fuels you to get out of bed every morning. It is a force that does not come through you alone but from a higher power energy channeling through you. It is not our job to question it, but to obey the callings of our hearts.
 
The imperfect road towards living our dreams is paved with setbacks, longer than expected wait times, and dark nights of the soul. Still we march on. It takes courage to do this kind of work to follow a dream, make an impact, to let go of comfort, risk failure and disappointment, believe in an idea so fiercely that you would die for it.

Project She Went For Her Dreams exists to lead, guide, and transform women into their highest calling as business leaders of the future. We partner with women of our time who are boldly pursuing their dreams and making a difference in the world through the work they are called to do. These women are thought-leaders and change-makers who see the world not so much as it is but how it could be. They are in the trenches, have fallen down and gotten back up, and show up every single day to bring her work out into the world.

The message I want women to take from our work is that you have to do the thing that calls to your soul. It’s no longer an option to deny our dreams any more. We cannot continue to hide behind our unfulfilling 9-to-5’s, the excuses, the fears, and the circumstances that keep us blocked every day. We must become loyal to our dreams instead of what other people want from us. Even if you don’t know what your dreams or passions are, there is no greater time to start exploring them then right now. Part of going for your dreams is about becoming curious about who you are and the work you want to do in this world.  
 
Each woman intuitively knows what that next step is for her. It is a very personal journey. Whether it’s starting a new business, leaving the dead-end job, doing a TedTalk, taking the job across the country because she feels in her heart that it’s the right move, speaking her mind openly in the boardroom, sharing new ideas that have the power to change the course of traditionally held views, getting out of our heads and trusting ourselves.
 
The SHE in She Went For Her Dreams is for every woman who dared to do big things, use her power to create, and hold up her middle finger to anyone who tried to hold her back. This mission is for her, this mission is about Us.  
 
Now that’s something worth celebrating.
 
Last Fall, my company went through a re-brand and Project She Went For Her Dreams was officially introduced to the world. The launch was celebrated with the kick off my empowerment series, A Night of Dreaming + Doing in NYC for women entrepreneurs, world changers and all star trailblazers. We have our next event coming up on September 21st which is shaping up to be another magical experience.
 
Today, we forge on, giving inspired business and leadership guidance to women that want it. Some of our women have gone on to launch award-winning companies, appearances on major media outlets, pen best selling books, and even get married, move across the country and start families.
 
But the best part about all of this, is what we get to say about the work we did when we sit old and gray reflecting on our lives, that we went for it, we went for our dreams.

 

Want To Get More Clients? Tell Your Story!

The one vital piece of information missing in our business conversations that lead to more sales, more partnerships, more funding, and overall more yes’s is: your story. Your story is the single component that allows you to stand out in a saturated market and has the power to create meaningful connection and promote influence in your industry.

Ladies, we are not telling our stories; our personal truth that helps me to know why I should hire or buy from you.

Last week, I was at a networking event for women entrepreneurs in New York City. I met this lovely, stylish lady who co founded her business making high quality nail polish at a fraction of the cost. Naturally, as someone who has her nails done on the regular, I was intrigued. She went on to tell me how her product was featured in top magazines, how they were voted number one against other nail brands, and why their business was the bee’s knees. Her sales game was strong and I could appreciate her passion and energy for the product. Yet something was missing. I probed a little bit and asked her about the backstory of how she came into business. I later learned that her parents were of Caribbean descent and taught her the value of hard work. She shared that when she was little, her mother always had her nails done no matter what and valuing self care was something she admired in her mom. She also shared that her father was an entrepreneur and that she learned so much from him growing up and seeing him run a business.

Bingo!

Her story of what inspires her as an entrepreneur and why she went into the nail business suddenly came to life. I could relate to her story having also been brought up in a Caribbean family. I connected with her values of self care, beauty, and maintaining a positive appearance. Most importantly, after meeting dozens of women business owners that night, she is the one I remember most because of the story she told. Later that night I looked her up on social media and became a follower. She is on my radar now and when I am ready to buy new nail polish, I will think of her.

Our stories give the work we do deeper meaning and adds a dimension that humanizes our business. In our stories, you get to see the real person behind the logo. It provides an opportunity to create real connections, bond over common values, and be a bit more conscious in how we buy and sell.

What is your business story?

·      It tells your ‘why’; why you do what you do and what drives you

·      It is an opportunity to create a meaningful connection and a lasting first impression

·      It is the defining factor that will have you standout

·      It’s your sense of purpose or your mission

How do we find our stories and tell it in our business?

 5 elements for you to consider in developing your story:

1.      How did you come to do this work? Look for the hook that will capture hearts and minds. This can be: defining moments that changed your life, triumphs you’ve had, painful challenges you overcame, lessons learned, etc. Dig deep.

2.     What are the top 3 values that show up in your story? Confidence. Spirituality. Harmony. Purpose. Etc. These are the components that create connection and impact for your clients or your audience.

3.     What’s the energy behind your story?  Inspiring, educational, victim to victory, reflective, visionary, to evoke shock, influence, etc. Focus on the intention behind your story.

4.     Be able to summarize and articulate your story in 2-3 minutes.

5.     Continually revise and practice!

Remember, your business is an extension of you. Not only do you bring your expertise but you also bring your entire life experiences to the table. Your business is part of your life story; share it freely as you do business. In doing so, you will attract the people you are meant to work with.

Do you need help putting your business story together? Do you want to tell your story in a compelling and succinct way? Let me help you! I’m offering specialized Brand Storytelling sessions for a limited time. Reach out at to learn more.

10 Things You Can Do This Summer To (re)Fuel Your Mind, Body & Business

I love the summer time. I really do.

Outdoor music festivals, street fairs, sunbathing in the park, trips to the beach, rooftop parties.

There’s nothing quite like summer in NYC.

I don’t know about you but my productivity tends to go way down in the summer. My soul longs to be outdoors during this time of year breathing in fresh air and soaking up the sun.

The summer is notorious for slowing us down especially at work.  It’s a great time to take advantage of the slow season and refuel our senses. To clear away the busy work and focus on tasks that will build us up and sharpen our skills.

Over here we’re doing our best to take advantage of the summer months, stay sharp, and do what we love to do in empowering women entrepreneurs.

Here are 10 things you can do to refuel this summer:

1. Take a Toastmaster Class. Perfect your public speaking skills. Whether you speak publicly for work or not, improving this skill is a game changer for confidence, presentations, and enhancing brand visibility. Check your local Toastmaster chapter to attend a meeting.

2. Spruce up on Your LinkedIn profile. Are your roles up to date? Does your summary need refreshing? Is your photo outdated? Your LinkedIn is your most valuable asset as an entrepreneur; it leads to potential clients and strong partnerships.  Make sure it leaves a positive, professional impression.

3. Listen To A Business Empowerment Podcast. My favorite podcast at the moment is Being Boss. It is an amazing hub of resources and information from top experts in business with content updated regularly.

4. Purge. Out with the old, in with the new. Carve out time to clean out your inbox, organize client files, file away business cards, clear off your desk of old coffee mugs and random papers. Get rid of anything you no longer need.

5. Get new headshots. If your current shot is more than five years old, time for fresh new photos.

6. Start a Passion Project. Passion projects have a funny way of leading to new business ideas. What is a new fun creative idea you want to try for your business that won’t take a lot of time? New blog series, 7-day challenge, new program you want to test out, etc. Tap into your passions and (re)create from this place.

7. Revisit your goals. You know those goals you wrote down on January 1? Time to check in on them. Evaluate your progress, re-examine and re-align to stay on track.

8. Summer Reading. Grab your favorite business book you’ve been meaning to read, go to the park and read it under a tree. Some of my favorite books I would recommend are The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, Miracles at Work by Emily Bennington, and Start With Why by Simon Sinek.

9. Volunteer. I recently gave a talk to Dress for Success women’s group on interviewing and the most amazing experience. One of the most amazing ways of giving back is volunteering your time to those who need what you do the most. Research your favorite organization and reach out to them about doing volunteer work.

10. Remember Your Joy. Always, always, always remember to have fun. As entrepreneurs sometimes the work is consuming and we forget the most important ingredient is to always have fun. Take a painting class, go bike riding, or in my case play a sport. Making time for joy clears your mind and energizes you so that when you return to business you are focused and replenished.

Do you have any other ways that you love to refuel in the summer? Share with us in the comments below!

 

5 Ways Women Entrepreneurs Undermine Their Confidence

There is an invisible barrier that is hurting the population of women entrepreneurs everywhere. It is not often talked about openly when it comes to launching our own business, getting new clients, making more money, giving birth to new ideas and playing at a higher level. As a result, we suffer in silence; we put on a brave face, and keep to ourselves unable to talk about the real issue that so many of us struggle with. 

The issue: Confidence.

In the past week alone, I’ve had several private conversations with women entrepreneurs who were incredibly talented, passionate about their work, and had impressive accomplishments that still bump up against bouts of self-doubt when it came to their business.

So often as women entrepreneurs, we pour so much of ourselves into our dream business to make it work. Many of us have taken huge risks and made great sacrifices in order to create and do what we love. To some, a business may mean a chance to align with our purpose, build a legacy, make a difference, solve a problem or help others. Naturally, we can become susceptible to voices of doubt and insecurity that cause us to unknowingly fall into traps that undermine our self-confidence. I have done things in my own business that cause me to hold back and play small so when I see it in other women, I know it all too well. Here are some of the ways I see women entrepreneurs hold themselves back and what we can do about it.

1.      Shy away from self-promotion. Many women loathe being self-promotional. I get it. A lot of this comes from conditioning we learned when we were little girls that it’s not polite to gloat or toot your own horn. We worry about coming off self-serving and that we will put people off. Mothers aren’t worried about this when they talk about their children so why then should we not hold that same pride and enthusiasm when it comes to our business creations. When you share genuinely, it will not come from ego so don’t worry about turning people off.

What to do about it: Consider any biases you may have around self-promotion. What does it mean for you to own your accomplishments and share them with others? What proud results have you achieved in business do you not bring up in conversation with clients to avoid being self-promotional?

2.     Questioning their readiness. I put off submitting my articles to editors for years because I didn’t think I was “ready” to call myself a writer. I convinced myself I needed to have more articles under my belt in order to be taken seriously. Often I hear women say I need more education, more training, more research, more information, a website, business cards, etc etc. When we want to take our business to the next level, we will undoubtedly always feel unready. Left to our own devices we’ll fill our time with countless activities to feel “more prepared” but underneath they just serve as distractions. In some instances maybe you will need additional training but in most cases, your voice of doubt may be sneaking in.

What to do about it: Question the voice that says you’re not ready. Focus on what makes you prepared right now.

3.     We box ourselves in. When I was younger, I used to always copy what my big brother was doing. I followed him around and wanted to play with the big kids and do what they were doing. As entrepreneurs, we often do the same thing. We look to what other key players in our industry are doing and we emulate them. Sometimes in following other people’s creativity we stifle our own. While it is wise to learn and follow in the footsteps of others more successful than you, be careful not to box yourself in.  What may work for them will not necessarily work for you. You have to find your own way to stand out and dare to be different. Entrepreneurship is a great vehicle for creativity and authentic self-expression. People will buy from you based on what you uniquely bring to the table.

What to do about it: Find where you might be putting yourself in a box based on industry standards. Where can you add a bit more creativity to how you do business?

 4.     Self-comparing our success to others. I see this so many times and it still creeps in for me from time to time; self-comparison. Social media also plays a major factor as scroll through our feeds to see confident women crushing it in business that causes us to questioning our own progress. First of all social media presents a curated stream of success that does not represent the whole picture, just the highlights. Every woman who’s reached a high level of success had a beginning and a middle in their journey that didn’t look as glamorous. As long as we define ourselves by what others have achieved we always find ourselves falling short.

What to do about it: Search for and define your own definition of success for your business. Make it something that inspires you. Is it the number of followers you have (totally fine if that is your gauge)? Is it the people you inspire even if it’s just one person? Is it consistently hitting your sales goals? Make your success personal. This way despite what you may see other people doing, you can stay focused hitting your own targets in a meaningful way.

 5.     Blending in or hiding behind our work. Sometimes we can get so comfortable behind our laptops or even for those of us who do one-on-one work with clients, this can be the best place to hide. Yet many of us want to be seen and heard, to bring more visibility to the work we do and be a voice in our industry to reach and empower the masses. We must be willing to put ourselves on panels, in front of audiences, and at the head of wild ideas. To speak up and speak out about the problems we are here to solve through truth and conviction. In doing so we learn to become the leaders we secretly desire to be and lead the way not only for our clients but also for the next generation.

What to do about it: Inventory the time you spend in your business. What percentage of the time are you working solo or privately with clients? On social media promoting your business? Take an honest account of how you might be hiding in your business.

Remember, it’s not about reaching pinnacle levels of confidence and being confident all the time. Inevitably you will confront challenges that threaten to rob you of your confidence. But what we can do is practice seeing where we might be guilty of stealing our own confidence and giving our power away.

Where do you see yourself in the list above? What other ways do you see yourself undermining your confidence?

 

 

 

Starting a business and dealing with uncertainty

The most common reason I hear brilliant, talented women hold themselves back from running their business full time is that the thought of leaving their full time job is terrifying. Some of them have kids to take care of not to mention health insurance and affording just the basic necessities to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world. What if the business doesn’t earn enough income? What if I lose my home? I am just not ready to give up my lifestyle i.e. daily café lattes, brunch with girlfriends on the weekend. The fear is justified. However this fear keeps us trapped.

In this article, I won’t try to convince you that you should take the leap into entrepreneurship. I won’t tell you to jump and the net will appear. I won’t even give you a bulletproof plan to successfully leave your job and start your business. I don’t believe those exist and you certainly don’t need me to create a plan for you. I will tell you this however, when it comes to trading in your regular paycheck for a dream that may or may not work you are choosing a level of uncertainty that can be so uncomfortable it will make you squirm. That uncertainty of being your own boss will never go away. I have spoken with women who have been in business for ten and twenty years who still to this day combat uncertainty in their business. I recall a conversation with a woman business owner when I first started my company. She ran a startup and shared with me times in her business when she wasn’t sure she could make payroll for her employees. I’ve spoken with women in business who confided in me times where they’ve laid on their kitchen floor in tears wondering how they would make the business work. Paula Tursi, my speaker at this months Dreaming + Doing event openly shared that in the first years of running her yoga studio, she says “we were broke and I seriously questioned if we should close the doors.”

The uncertainty struggle in entrepreneurship is real folks. The success stories you often hear and read about from people who are doing really well in business are not without its dire, nail biting moments of pushing through uncertainty.

In interviewing over 50 successful women in business throughout the years, one of the main themes that constantly shows up in our conversations is that they learned to take risks. They are no different than you or I; some had families and kids to take care of, some had gone through health challenges, some even started their business while holding down a day job, and supporting a household.  They saw the risk in starting a company and accepted it.

Taking risks and moving through uncertainty is a muscle we learn to strengthen over time. Risk doesn’t have to mean giant leaps like quitting your job today and going into business the next although it could be for the person who believes this is right for them. Taking risks can also be the actions you take that start off small but ultimately lead you to where you want to be. There is no right or wrong way to “do entrepreneurship” but make no mistake about it, weathering bouts of uncertainty will always be apart of the story. Instead of avoiding it completely, let it become your wisest teacher. After all, we deal with uncertainty on some level every single day. Maybe it’s time we start using it to guide us rather than running away from it.

How do you deal with uncertainty? What do you think you could learn from it when it comes to starting your business?

If You’re Thinking About Becoming A Coach, Read This First!

I often get asked the question of how I became a life coach. People are genuinely interested in how one chooses a profession such as this. The first life coach I met hired me to do her headshots when I was freelancing full time as a photographer. Even then when I met her, it didn’t click until much later that coaching was for me. While working as a photographer, I realized I wanted to help people beyond just taking pictures of them. I wanted to inspire and motivate them. Finding photography was life-changing for me and it wasn’t until I had gone through my own transformation of leaving my job to work for myself that I felt joy in teaching others to do the same.

Many of the coaches I know became coaches only after experiencing their own personal change that transformed them. Careercoach.com Founder, Tanya Ezekiel switched gears when she realized there was much more to life than what she endured in her demanding career as a Wall Street executive. Mark Schall, became a coach after the loss of a dear friend which helped put things in perspective for him. Tara Mohr, author of Playing Big became a coach when she grew tired of her B+ life and pursued her calling to help women play bigger in life and work.

Very rarely does one set out to become a coach but somehow coaching tends to finds us instead. We experience it first as a deep desire to help people and connect with them beyond the mundane. We hold a deep love and appreciation for humanity and the potential we all have for transformation and greatness. We have witnessed it in ourselves and find pure joy in bringing it out in others. It is a true privilege to be a coach. However it is also a big responsibility. Being a coach for the last six years and building a business coaching others, I’ve learned some hard-earned lessons around what it takes to be successful. With so many new coaches starting out, I’m passing along my top 8 lessons I learned about building a coaching practice.

While this list is specifically tailored to coaches, it can be applied in most businesses where you are providing a service. 

Lesson #1 Decide if you want to get certified as a coach. There are a lot of pros and cons to getting the certification. The coaching industry is not regulated so anyone can say they are a coach without having the credentials. I chose to go through a coach training program to become certified. At the time, since coaching was so new to me I wanted to learn more about the methodologies used to be an effective coach. Having your certification also builds credibility. However, in all my years of coaching I have never been asked if I am certified but I have gotten amazing work opportunities that specifically wanted certified coaches. That said, it is up to you and ultimately it is a personal choice. If you do decide to pursue a coaching certification, do your research of the program that will be right for you.

Lesson #2 Coach, coach coach! I see so many new coaches make the mistake of getting their website done, having business cards, setting up Facebook pages and worrying about their niche first. When I ask them how many clients do they have, most of them say none. In the beginning of building your practice focus on building your craft first. Find pro-bono clients and even some paid ones and coach as much as you can. This will help build your confidence and know the areas you help people the most. There is nothing worse than a coach who is not confident in her abilities so focus on the people side of the business first then all the other things will fall into place.

Lesson #3 Don’t confuse your self worth with the value your clients are getting. Price accordingly. Another major block that gets in the way for most new coaches is devaluing their work. I did this in the beginning where I charged really low fees while trying to build a sustainable business. I constantly questioned my worth as a coach and whether clients saw me as worthy enough to pay a certain amount. This screws up the work that you do for your clients not just from a business standpoint but energetically, it creates a block both for you and for your client. When you use your self worth as a gauge for your fees you neglect to take into account the actual value that you are providing to your client. The work you do for your client should always be about the value they receive not whether you think you are worthy of being paid a certain amount. That kind of thinking stems from ego and gets in the way of truly serving at its highest level.  I’ll give you a quick example:

One year while building my practice, I raised my rates to the highest I’ve ever charged. I quoted my new fee to a prospect that was interested in working with me. She was afraid of the price tag but I stood firm and she made the payment. The entire time I coached her, I was so worried that she would think I wasn’t worth the money she paid so I constantly felt like I had to prove myself in each session. This particular client ended up being one of my best clients and had the biggest transformation through our work together. At the end of our time she shared with me that although she was afraid in the beginning to spend so much money she quickly saw the shifts in her life and business that the money became a non-issue. She said the breakthroughs she experienced both personally and professionally were priceless.

So again, don’t let the money get in the way. Serve your clients by creating the most value for them.

Lesson #4 Surround yourself with successful coaches. There’s a lot we don’t know as coaches when first starting out. If you truly want to make the biggest impact and do good work seek out the best in the biz and learn from them. I was very fortunate in that I was able to make some really good connections with coaches and secured opportunities to work alongside them. I learned the nuts and bolts of building a coaching business, creative ways to secure steady streams of income, and also learned powerful coaching techniques. The key to any great success in business is spending time with people who have done the thing you desire to do.

Lesson #5 Walk your talk. The thing about being a coach is that it keeps you honest and constantly presents opportunities to develop yourself personally. The law of attraction is real folks. I constantly find myself attracting clients and situations in my own life that are the same as what my clients go through. This happens to a lot of coaches as well. Use these situations to practice your craft and transform yourself. If you don’t, how will you be able to do it for your clients? If you are a health/wellness coach you better make sure you are honoring your own health. If you are a divorce coach, you must be able to speak to how you successfully navigated a divorce yourself. If you are a life coach, you better make sure your life is perfect. Just kidding on that last part! Being a coach is not about having your shit together or being perfect at anything. It’s about being human. We have all stumbled and made mistakes but you must be in your integrity when working with other people. People can sense when you’re being disingenuous. 

Lesson #6 Invest in your own coach. Many of us want to be coaches but we don’t want to hire our own coach. I hear so many excuses why this is the case. If you want people to hire you, they will have the same excuses that you have for not doing so. Even doctors need their own doctors and therapists have therapists. This is not a game you want to play alone. Left to our own devices we cannot bring out the best in ourselves, even the most successful. I resisted hiring a coach until my 2nd year of business and have worked with different coaches since. I wasn’t making a lot of money then so it didn’t make sense to me. But I was making the decision based on the level I was at the time, not the higher level I wanted to be. This shift changed the game for me. I hired a coach, relaxed into the process and more than double my income that year.

Lesson #7 Don’t be afraid of the hustle. In the beginning, I hustled like mad to network and get clients for my business. I told everyone and anyone that I was a coach and to keep me in mind if anyone was looking for my services. This helped me to get out of my comfort zone; it taught me to get myself out there and ask for what I want. Your clients can come from anywhere. Your only job is to constantly “show up” and be of service. The hustle never stops so find ways to enjoy the process. There are days when I spend hours on the not so sexy back-end stuff like making phone calls, writing sales pages, and prospecting. This is all apart of the work you are doing in the world to serve people. It’s not for everyone so be honest with yourself in what you are choosing.

Lesson #8 Find your own way. This was a huge turning point for me. In my first few years as a coach I tried doing what everyone else did to build a successful business. I was on social media, had a Twitter account (even though I NEVER used Twitter), went to BNI networking meetings at the crack of dawn because other coaches had done it, flew across the country to attend conferences from big wig coaches who had houses on the beach and bought their programs for thousands of dollars – I did it all. I got burnt out very quickly chasing down gurus to mimic their success. In the end, I stopped chasing and focused on the things I was really good at. I was always a good writer so now I focus my time on writing beautiful articles and essays. I love to speak and do motivational talks so I make sure to do speaking engagements as much as I can. I love having thought provoking, inspiring conversations with people so I carve out time to do this regularly. All of these ways have led clients to me, sometimes unexpectedly. My advice to you would be, listen and learn information from others who have been successful but take only what works for you and leave the rest. What worked for them may not work for you. Don’t be afraid to find your own way.

There is SO much more I could say about becoming a coach. I loved my journey. It wasn’t without its bumps and difficult challenges but the people I have met along the way, more than make up for it. When you choose this life you embrace it all.

Which of these lessons resonates most with you? What has been your experience as a new coach?

 

SHE WENT FOR HER DREAMS COACHING ~ We offer strategic advice and empowerment without the fluff. Take advantage of our special discounted summer rates for new clients. Set up a 30-minute free creative business brainstorm session to see how we can help. Details to join are here.