Before I give you my advice for new coaches, I am going to tell you a secret.
I don't really fit in with the coaching world of 2016. At least, not the part of it you come across most often.
I don't use much jargon, and I don't often read self-help books.
In fact I was well into my coaching training before I had heard of Tony Robbins. Or Marie Forleo. Even though I had been introduced to coaching several years before and was following coaching news regularly. When I admitted that to some of my fellow coaches in training they were pretty gobsmacked.
I am not a natural entrepreneur and the thought of putting my photo all over my website and doing loads of videos makes me shudder.
I am quiet, and reserved, an introvert. I was told this week (by a stranger) to not label myself as an introvert as it would stop me playing big. But she was wrong. I am happy with being an introvert, it is part of what makes me me, and it doesn't stop me from playing big and aiming high. It just means I go about it differently to others. I don't see it as a label which stops me from doing stuff. I see it as self-awareness, which allows me to adapt doing stuff to suit me.
There are some aspects of the coaching world which really irk me. All the noise about six figures for a start. Trust me, if it was that easy to build a consistent six figure coaching business, everyone would do it. It is fine for that to be part of your business plan and your goals. But there are not as many true six figure coaches out there as you may think. Trust me.
There is a kind of weird echo chamber that goes on in the coaching world. You sometimes get the impression that coaches only seem to coach other coaches. And there is in fact a kind of pyramid of coaches who are all about coaching other business owners to package up their services as coaching packages and sell them to other business owners, encouraging them to work from the same model. If you want to read more about it there is a fab article on the subject here.
I do coach coaches, but not as a pure business coach. I also have a coach, but again, not specifically a business coach. All of my clients, with a few exceptions, are business owners or at management level within their companies, but I still don't think of myself as a business coach.
But here is what I have learned, and here is my advice for new coaches: remain true to yourself and your unique set of values. Ignore the noise and the hype. You don't have to copy every other coach out there. You don't have to use the same marketing tricks and techniques. You don't have to fake it til you make it. You don't have to be an extrovert and you don't have to sound as if you have swallowed every self help book out there. Unless of course, you want to.
In short, as long as you remember why you decided to become a coach and pick up some basic business skills you can absolutely do it your own way. What works for some people doesn't work for others. And that is OK.
"My mum passed away yesterday but I wanted to let you know that because of the life coaching you gave me, and the mighty mama challenge I was able to really make the moat of her last months and days.
We have to be true to who we're, I don't want to coach coaches I want to help mothers who are struggling and that's ok.
Yeah, it is more than OK, it was why you went into coaching in the first place. Playing big doesn't have to mean being all over the place and shouting about how much you make or how awesome you are. It means not limiting yourself to staying small, allowing yourself to be heard, and giving yourself the voice you feel comfortable using. Introverts can have a big impact too, and that is demonstrated by the difference you made to your client's life.
I couldn't agree more. There are so many people bashing themselves as coaches, and with no regulation, it's not helping the industry and the whole concept that it's easy to generate 6 figure businesses doesn't help the mind set of new coaches as this expectation might be unrealistic with the skill set they currently have. That's not to say they can't work towards it, but to expect it off the blocks will encourage a sense of failure. Love that you embrace your introversion too. ??
But it is me and as you wrote staying true to oneself is most important no matter if you are a coach, a manager or a cashier in the shop.
Most of those who I was coached by (including You) are introverts and I learned a lot from them. Mostly because they are true and didn't try to sell me something that I don't want to be.