growasacoach

Learning from Life

I've done a few posts recently about some of the things I have learnt about moving to self employed.

One of my big learnings from the last year is resiliance is built off the ability to re-think and be flexible about how to achieve what you want.

What I want is to work doing work I love.

What I'd love that to look like, is a full coaching business that enables me to just do that, full time.

What I've learnt over the last year is that sometimes you have to be prepared to flex that dream, to fit with realities of life.  And what I hope is, as a coach knowing some of those potential challenges and realities, may help you think about YOUR strategy and reality.

Coaching Life is like a roller-coaster...

Life is like a rollercoaster...

Ok, when I wrote that I could feel myself having a real Forrest Gump moment.  Maybe I just need chocolate?  It is early here in the UK!

Working for yourself, looking for new opportunities can feel a little like a roller coaster.  One minute you are up, at the top of the ride, loving life and really enjoying what's happening.  The next, either the ride is all over or you're in the not terribly exciting bit.

And so with life.  Or, it can feel more with life that there are the very exciting bits and then the bits that you'd rather just do without, quite frankly!

As regular readers will know, one thing I find really important as a coach is to be authentic and name what's happening, in the hope it helps others.  So - it can be tough out there folks.  There can be days we wake up and forget how great it is we live this flexible life and remember all the knock backs we had recently.

So what can we do then? I've been musing on this, having had a few recently!

It's ok to feel that way.

The trick is not to get stuck there.  We all have our down moments and what is key is working out for you, what your strategies are to get up and back on the fun ride as soon as you can.  Sometimes I think by not listening to ourselves and our need to maybe just be a little bit sad about things, we miss the rich variety of life.  After all, if we dont have rain, we don't enjoy the sun as much, maybe?

And like the sun, if we don't have rain we don't have what makes our beautiful english countryside green.  So...

It's ok to not have everything go your way...

The trick is to think and reflect and learn from your experiences, rather than getting stuck on what didn't go so well yesterday.  Today is a whole new day.  A whole, beautiful, gift of a day where everything could go right, where that most fantastic and fabulous opportunity is just there ready for you - if you have your eyes open to spot it.

It's ok to ask for help...

In face, the trick is that this is recommended!  I always recommend having a great support network around you - they are great cheerleaders when things are going well and real positive when you've got a challenge.  They see things you don't and can give you a different perspective.  My coach Judith is great at doing this.  So are friends and family.  It doesn't matter here what your training is, the gift is in the connection, and the awareness.

It doesn't matter what techniques you use to get back on your feet....

The trick is to keep looking for your best techniques.  The ones which work for you.  To try new things.  To treat it as fun, as a game and as part of the great experience of learning to be independent and in touch with what the universe truly wants for you.  I am currently reading Wildly Wealthy.  I know that there is a learning in all this for me, I know that I'll love the One day Money Workshop that popped into my mailbox yesterday with Michael Neill.  The universe does send us what we need.

Our trick is recognising it, and enjoying the ride.  After all, we only get one trip!

How to start self employed life - 5 top tips

I've been working as a coach since 2005 and always thought of myself as doing that part of my work "self employed".  I had a day job on top of that and always thought about how when I was a coach, I'd be doing work completely that I loved, all day and every day.  After I got made redundant in November last year, I realised it was really time to know how to start that self employed life - and lifestyle!

I found some surprises in starting self employed life, I just wasn't expecting.  So, as I like to, I thought I'd share them with you along with some useful tips.  Now, I know my journey isn't your journey, so your experiences may be completely different.

Tip One:  How to go self employed is not the same as how to be self employed

Sounds like the same thing to you?  Here is what I mean!  In some ways, depending on where you are and what you want to do, it's easy to work out how to go self employed and actually, physically set up your business.  When you train to become a coach, it's easy to say that this means that I am going to go self employed, decide a business name, maybe get a website set up, define what sort of business you want to have set up.

How to be self employed, for me, is much more of a mindset piece.  How to get used to the fact that what you love doing is now part of what you need to do, and get paid for, to bring in the income you need to live off.  Or, how to bring in part time income whilst you are building up.

How to be self employed, is to recognise that it is different from being employed.  You are in charge.  The buck stops here.  The ability to get work, built contacts, build visibility, credibility and reach out to people, all stop with you.

So, you need to start planning and working through ready for this mindset of independence and 100% accountability to your dream of being successfully self employed.

Tip Two:  It's not money in the bank, until it is money in the bank

I think I talked about this before. How to be self employed is about recognising that your financial situation is different now.  You may have contacts, opportunities - until they are actually invoiced and paid - that is what they are, opportunities for work.  Recognising that will help you keep your eyes open for new opportunities until they start to pay off with money in the bank and the next commitment in the diary. This is based on the fact that you may be working with people who themselves have to justify why their spend, why your company.  Talk about what benefits their are to working with you, for your solutions.  Answer their pain.

This also means you need to realistically understand how much money you spend, what on and what you can change or cut down on.  Build yourself a full picture of what money you need, both for your personal life and your business.  Then you can see what can change in the short term, and what sacrifices or changes you may need to make.  Talk to your friends and family about what changes you are making, and why.

Tip Three:  Get as much support as you can

I am a gregarious, chatty person and one thing I have found very new is the whole idea that working for home could mean I go all day without talking to someone.  (For someone who was known in their last employed role for the size of their laugh, that's a challenge!)

Currently, I have a great support network. As well as my informal network of support, in the shape of my fiance, friends, family etc, I also have my own coach, and my own supervisor.  I am also working on business building, and am using a contra coaching coach whilst I also coach a contra coaching client.

All this helps me to stay on track, stay accountable and above all, focused and motivated.  I have also been using Business Link to find out what support is available in my area.

Tip Four:  Use resources to focus you on gratitude and abundance

Becoming self employed, means being persistant in the knowledge, the certainty that it will work. And this takes belief, especially when it takes longer than you would like it to!  I find I go through periods of being up, and periods of being down.  It's good to recognise that this can be the case, and also build yourself strategies and resources for moving yourself back up when you are feeling low and unresourceful. 

Keep a list of all the things you are great at.

Update your CV to show your new status - consider building a new, skills based CV (I can help you with this!)

Find out useful resources about abundance, wealth, and motivation.  I am just getting into Sandy Forster on wealth and abundance

Tip Five - Be direct as well as indirect.

I've built up a good name, especially on the internet as I have my Grow as a Coach site , Career Coaching website and supervision for coaches website

What I realised recently is that although I've done a lot of work, most of that has been behind the scenes, meaning I have visibility, and credibility, however I need to work on my outreach - my getting out and actually talking to people about what I do, showcasing it and putting myself in a position where people have experienced me, and/ or how I work.  How would you rate yourself as actually getting out there, and talking to people about what you do?  

Since I have realised this and started taking action, offers are pouring in!

ROI - Even more important in a Recession

Thanks today for The Training Zone for publishing their comments on some US research relating to the current economic situation and training in organisations.

The research, by The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) and titled Learning in Learning in Tough Economic Times: How Corporate Learning is Meeting the Challenges that whilst in many cases, training budgets were being reduced, extensive cuts were still the exception to the rule.

What is great here to learn from as a coach is that there is an increased focus within organisatins, of return on investment, and efficiency in the results of coaching.

As a coach, I am heartened by the fact that it is not wholesale cuts, and that with coaching consolidating learning, this can help the training impact be more efficient and effective.

Our challenge as coaches is to recognise and be flexible to the changing nature of the market place, and to focus on how we can help organisations with their long term people aims of employee engagement, retention and strength of the organisation.

Useful life and career coach blog lists

I was really pleased to be sent an email last week which includes 100 blogs related to career and life coaching.

http://www.ekgclasses.org/100-best-life-and-career-coach-blogs/

The full list is on the link, I am mentioned as a resource for coaches, so do let other coaches you know, know all about the list - and about us, of course!

Claire

When you are self employed, nothing is certain...til it's in the bank!

One big thing I have learnt since being fully self employed is that nothing is in the bank...til it's in the bank!

Unlike when you work for an organisation, when you know you will get paid on a regular basis on a set date, working for yourself means that you get to seek out your own opportunities.

Which is great.

As long as you remember, that until they have translated FULLY into paid work, and that money is in your bank, that it's just that - an opportunity.

Focusing in the present in that, will help you hold opportunities open and consider what priorities to place on work offers.  It will help you ask "what do I really want?"

It will help you remain focused on building your networks and the depth of your contacts, as simply put, you're never done!  Even where you have a full work sheet right now, you don't want to be losing the gift of the warm, human relationships you've reached out and made.

Managing Progress and Accountability & Marketing your Coaching Business

This is the 11th and final post in the series on aligning your marketing of your coaching business wiht your coaching core competencies

Managing Progress and Accountability:  If this with the client is about holding attention on what is important to them and leaving them with accountability to take action, with your marketing the important thing to take away is that you focus and find out what marketing works for you (both emotionally and in terms of results) and that you are holding yourself accountable for taking regular action in your marketing. 

If you struggle to keep this regularity, think about getting yourself an accountability partner, or a marketing coach who will help you manage your own progress.  Measure what success looks like and then you can see which marketing is worth the time you are putting into it.

Planning and Goal Setting and Marketing your Coaching Business

This is post 10 in the series on aligning your marketing your coaching business with your coaching core competencies

Planning and Goal Setting:  As a coach marketer, it’s important to have a plan for your marketing. 

The great thing is that you already have lots of tools out there to help you create your own plan and goals for marketing! 

What do you know that you coach to clients that will help you create a more structured approach to your marketing? 

One of the keys to marketing is consistency and a plan will help you with this.  Goals will help you measure whether you are being successful:  Set SMART goals to help yourself move forwards with your marketing. 

Then you can review them (see next post coming up!) to find out what is working.  Little and often is best with marketing rather than a big bang and then no contact for a long time.  This approach will also help you avoid marketing from desperation when you don’t have clients. 

Designing Actions and Marketing your Coaching Business

This is post 9 in the series of aligning marketing your coaching business with your coaching core competencies

Designing Actions:  When you are marketing what you do as a coach, make it clear about how coaching is focused on actions. 

Work out what those actions are, and how these will benefit your clients.  When you are talking to prospects, you can share what kind of actions people in similar positions you have worked with have taken, and what impact this has had for them. 

When you are designing new programs, again go back to what your niche wants to be different and think about what that means for what you offer and what actions, and questions you can focus on. 

Where you use tools and structures, talk about these up front with what benefit they can have.

Creating Awareness and Marketing your Coaching Business

This is Post 8 in the series of aligning marketing your coaching  business with your coaching core competencies

Creating Awareness: 

As a coach marketer, you want to create awareness for your products and services out there in the market which means getting comfortable with sharing useful resources and information with your niche. 

I build awareness through writing articles, blogging, and most recently through social media which fits with the coaching ethos I have of sharing and connecting – such as twitter and Linked in.