A year ago, I graduated from school…the best school for coaches creating sustainable and service driven businesses in the world (in my opinion 😊 ) – the AJC Coaching Career School 2022
On the final day of the school Ankush K Jain said: ‘Go and share everything you have learned out there in the world. Don’t hold anything back.’
So that is exactly what I am here to do. I am also inspired by an amazing share from the magic man Moritz Lembert 🪄
I have been reflecting on the past months and there is so much I can and want to share.
For now, here are some of the things that have been massive gamechangers for me in growing my coaching business:
1) What gets measured, gets done.
When I began to measure how much time I was actually spending in service to people, my business started to grow. I noticed that when I measure the process (being in service) and not the outcome (getting a client), I became way more effective.
To me, the process is to serve, and the vehicle is conversation. I asked myself: Am I truly serving people? Or am I faffing around with ‘other stuff?’
The more accurately I measured time spent in conversations, the more in service I got, the more hungry I became to serve people. Action begets action.
I had more than 130 conversations with potential clients in the 6 months during the school, not including my existing clients. This is more than double compared to the previous 6 months. The same trend occured in my revenue.
2) It’s more important to have a full coaching practice than the fee you charge.
Most coaches, including myself, get caught up in the idea that if they charge a higher fee more quickly, they will make money more quickly. I have found the exact opposite to be true.
Hiking up my fees back in 2020 didn’t serve me well at all. It meant that I signed a few clients and then there was tumbleweed in my business. I was coaching less and felt stuck because I kept getting no’s. The thing I didn’t want to face was that my skill as a coach had to catch up with that fee level. Notice, that I didn’t say self worth. I said skill level.
There is a fee level that if you had that fee, your coaching practice would fill relatively quickly. This is amazing because it means you are coaching frequently. The more you coach, the better you become, the quicker your practice becomes full.
Once full (and this can look different for everyone), you can incrementally raise your fees. This way of growing a coaching practice is sustainable, enjoyable and keeps you doing the thing you love…coaching.
3) Give a lot for a little
It’s easy to give a lot for a lot but the real sweet spot is to give a lot for a little. I want people that work with me to be willing to pay me at least twice that when we finish working together. I am always looking for ways to overdeliver.
4) Testing vs Trusting
Rather than trying to trust if something may or may not work, go out and test it.
I have experimented a lot these past 6 months, and I am continuing to do so. I used to wait for a feeling of trust and certainty before I took action, and now I encourage myself to take action regardless.
JP Morgan said: ‘I don’t feel certain because I know the outcome. I am certain because I have decided to take the action.’ In other words, once I choose to take an action, it is done. Whether it works or not is irrelevant.
Every time I have tested something, I have been in a state of action. Effective learning happens in the land of action, not in the land of trying to trust. I have found that the secret sauce is not to try and trust, but to go firmly into the land of action and test, test, test. That is where the greatest growth occurs
Is there something that you want to test out, that you are not yet taking action on?
5) Your quality of listening creates your world & everything in it
There is a level of listening available to us all that if we truly listen in this way, our entire world changes. That listening for me became apparent when I imagined the one person in my life that if they sat next to me right now and began speaking, I would drop everything and give them my undivided attention and deepest listening; no matter what they were saying. They could call me an idiot and I’d still look for the gold in it.
When I realised that this listening is a state of being, and not exclusive to my relationship with that one person, I started to see opportunities to listen to everyone in my life differently, including myself.
This distinction has transformed my relationship with me, transformed me into an infinitely better coach, changed my marriage from being good to great, and so much more. I could write endlessly and speak about this distinction for days.
6) Don’t wait until someone has paid you to fully serve them.
Serve them in EVERY interaction that they have with you, from the first moment that you connect. Then, keep serving.
7) Don’t stop creating & never stop serving
I used to get soooooo caught up in the results, that I would stop creating / serving to analyse all the things I effed up on along the way. This meant that I spent inordinate amounts of time judging and analysing.
Just because I get a no, doesn’t mean I have to stop creating.
I can get a no, learn from that no, and continue serving the next person. The amount of time I have gotten back because of this way of being is immeasurable.
8 ) Give it ALL away & hold NOTHING back
You are a walking breathing, transformative creation. Share your insights, share your powerful stories, share your resources and give it all away freely and lovingly. This way of being is that of prosperity, rather than scarcity.
Give give give, without an agenda.
9) The Health of the Healer matters
‘A coach without a coach is not a coach’ – The Prosperous Coach.
I don’t claim to be perfect but I am actively invested in myself and my commitment to me shows. I have received coaching fortnightly / weekly for 3 years, and I don’t intend to stop any time soon.
Why? Because if I am working with people on being less stressed and creating peace of mind, I want to be actively and consciously creating my life from peace of mind rather than stress. I can’t give what I don’t have.
And the results speak for themselves – I recently enrolled a client that I have known for 18 months and they said one of the reasons they signed up was because of how much I have evolved in that time. Another client of mine renewed with me 4 times, over the space of 2 years, another renewed with me twice over 2 years. This is happening because I am so committed to my own transformation, that I am constantly evolving.
10) Referrals and renewals are one of the greatest indicators that I am improving as a coach.
11) Conversations are everywhere
Filling my calendar used to feel so difficult.
Last year, I had a conversation with my coach and I realised that I no longer have a problem filling my calendar. I can fill it for weeks in advance. The reason it is coming with more ease now is because I am not focused on myself.
I go into the world and ask myself: Who can I serve today?
When I live into the question: ‘How can I help?’ as a daily practice, my calendar takes care of itself.
12) Tools, not rules.
Using everything as a tool, rather than a rule, has freed me up to bring ME into my business. When I first started building my business, I thought there was a special formula that I had to follow to be successful. I started to follow the ‘rules’ and it all became very clinical and void of ME.
Treating everything I have learned as a set of tools, means I can choose which tool would be more effective to me in any given moment. I get to use the tools, rather than be driven by rules.
This has helped me to unleash my raw, true, authentic self into the world. The more I am myself, the deeper my relationships become.
Phew….I have so much more to share. But I will stop for now.
I’d love to know what you found most useful and if you’d like me to continue sharing my learnings.
I’m happy to serve 💛
Love
Rajni 💛
