Prosperous Coach Blog - Rhonda Hess

5 Tips To Make More As A Coach

October 11, 2010 | Read 2 comments and join the discussion

Last year, the coaching industry magazine choice featured an issue devoted to “The M Word” — too discreet to even print the word in large type. Money is perhaps the most taboo topic, yet it’s in the back of every coach’s mind – how to make more of it, more easily and consistently.

For me, it boils down to this question – why do some coaches make more than others? I’m studying this right now, not only for myself, but also for coaches who seem to only get pro bono or trade clients. And for the coaches who continuously over-deliver, under-fill their business, place a low value on their services, and haven’t yet realized how the power of coaching grows when clients fully invest in themselves. It can be different for you, if you really want it to be.

Financial success in coaching

The Big Secret

The #1 reason why some coaches make more than others — they ask for it! That’s the big secret.

You’ve heard “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. That applies here too. It’s not about being smarter – except for the fact that they are smart enough to ask. You don’t need more coaching skills and certifications. And it’s not about having more experience or being better at coaching and marketing. But you do have to believe in yourself enough to ask for more.

People who make a great living in coaching think strategically about money often enough to plan for it. They analyze their sales, and innovate ways to increase them. That doesn’t mean they are obsessed with the bottom line or less heartful than other coaches. In fact, some of the highest earning coaches are very spiritual in their approach to business, knowing that abundance means there’s enough for all.

What else do coaches who earn more know, that you can apply right now?

Continue reading 5 Tips To Make More As A Coach

Topic: Charge What You're Worth

What Keeps Coaches From Narrowing Their Niche Enough?

October 5, 2010 | Read 4 comments and join the discussion

Who, besides me, says that narrowing your coaching niche is the shortest, smoothest road to success in coaching? Coach training schools, industry leaders, business gurus – and of course, coaches who have done this. We all agree that choosing a viable coaching niche is the first key step to a sustainable coaching business.

So why don’t more coaches give themselves this powerful advantage?

I want your input on this, and here is what I’ve repeatedly heard from coaches so far:

“I don’t know what makes a niche viable.”
“I thought I had chosen a viable niche, but I guess I didn’t, because it’s not working.”
“Don’t I have to be an expert to target a narrow niche?”
“I don’t know how to narrow.”

All understandable. So, let’s break these down one by one.

Continue reading What Keeps Coaches From Narrowing Their Niche Enough?

Topic: Niche Marketing for Coaches

Business Friendships for Fun and Profit

September 28, 2010 | Read 4 comments and join the discussion

Last weekend I flew to San Diego to go bowling with friends and build my business. OK, not necessarily in that order. I attended a networking summit with a bunch of conscious business owners in the Internet marketing space. Besides the bowling, we also shared marketing tips, tried out new business ideas, and set up promotional partnerships. But the point is, I was among friends.

Old alliances were refreshed and new connections sparked. And, I brought home the precious feeling that these guys have my back. If I’m looking for a particular resource, or I need perspective on something I’m working on, I know one or more of them will be there to help.

A peer network supports coaching business success

Don’t Build Your Coaching Business Alone

Even if you’re somewhat of a loner, you still need other people to hold space for your evolution while you grow. I know that for some it can be a stretch to hold your own in a group. I’ve been there, many times. But the rewards are rich – starting with the intrinsic reward of camaraderie, that priceless feeling of good fellowship on the journey.

And it doesn’t stop there. The truth is, every business owner needs a success team. You need team members you can trust with the tasks that are not the best use of your time. You also need mentors who help fill the holes in your knowledge, fans who cheer you on, and business friends who check your sanity, hold up an honest mirror for you, and help you spark new ideas.

I owe my business success to an ever-growing group of human angels. Their questions have sharpened and clarified my vision. They’ve believed in me when my belief in myself flagged. They’ve helped me accomplish more than I ever could have alone. And sometimes they’ve led the way to a clear and easy path forward.

Continue reading Business Friendships for Fun and Profit

Topic: Coaching Business Tips

Suspending Your Disbelief Opens Doors to What You Want

September 21, 2010 | Read 5 comments and join the discussion

Every time you try something for the first time – launch a coaching business, start a blog, speak publicly — you enter into the great unknown. For adventure seekers, the unknown is a double dog dare. For innovators, it’s where the spark of brilliance always strikes. For the rest of us, it can be absolutely terrifying territory… but it doesn’t have to be.

suspend disbelief
Everyone has fear. Some “feel the fear and do it anyway”. They consciously suspend their disbelief that they can do it, long enough for the combination of their trust, persistence and subtle energies to coalesce dreams into reality. Our favorite stories are about regular people persevering to reach their destiny despite all odds. Without super powers, people do this every day.

To get to where you want to go, first suspend any disbelief that you can arrive there.

Break Through by Letting Go of Attachment

When I was eight I thought I’d never be good at downhill skiing, because experience told me I’d never be good at any sport. Totally psyched out, I struggled pitifully. Then one day, when I wasn’t scrutinizing my general lack of coordination, I hit the zone!

And then of course, I knew I could ski. There was no longer any question of that. Before long I could make it down a black diamond and practically float down the rest of the slopes. Having crossed the unknown and come out the other side, it was easier to become a pretty decent skater and halfback in soccer. I broke through the belief that I couldn’t do sports.

Believe in Stories of Success

We all need role models to grow to our full potential. It’s helpful to know that others have achieved your dreams. And to believe with all your heart that if they can do it, you can do it too.

Something really poignant happened last week…

Continue reading Suspending Your Disbelief Opens Doors to What You Want

Topic: Abundance Tools for Coaches

Perfectionism: The Anti-Strategy For Your Coaching Business

September 13, 2010 | Read 2 comments and join the discussion

Mistakes are the best teachers. In fact, if you’re not making mistakes regularly you’re probably not taking enough risks in your coaching business. Holding yourself back until everything’s perfect is a losing strategy. Whereas, allowing yourself to be “bad at something” and get rapidly better as you go, actually feels better and brings the best results.

If you think about it, perfectionism has a kind of irony or arrogance to it – as if you could ever get your coaching business completely right in your head, without having to take it to the street and get some feedback from the real world.

I guarantee that you’ll save yourself gray hair and stress fat if you train yourself out of perfectionistic tendencies starting now. Believe me, I know it’s challenging to let that habit go. But fussing over details won’t help your outlook, life experience or coaching income, and will absolutely cost you time, money and sanity.

That doesn’t mean you want to make every possible mistake. If you have the opportunity to learn from someone else’s mistakes without making them yourself, it’s a boon! So, let me humbly share four classic mistakes I’ve made in my coaching business, so that you don’t have to. All of these mistakes share that quality of trying to get it right in your head, being afraid to try something out and get feedback.

4 of My Favorite Coaching Business Mistakes

Agonizing over things that don’t matter in the big scheme of things.

Not once, but three times I “perfected” my logo and business cards. (I just unearthed and filled my recycle bin with unused cards and brochures!) I remember agonizing with designers and printers over colors, my logo and card stock. Here’s the kicker, over 13 years of being a coach I’ve used less than 100 business cards! Shocking? Not really. Most coaches just don’t need that many.

A word of advice for you – Vistaprint. It’s likely all you’ll ever need for your business cards or other printed materials.

Saying yes to opportunities because I was afraid not to.

Good opportunities are a dime a dozen. But the right opportunities – the ones that fit your success criteria like a glove – are worth waiting for. I know it’s flattering when everyone wants a piece of you, but it’s also distracting.

Continue reading Perfectionism: The Anti-Strategy For Your Coaching Business

Topic: Coaching Business Tips

Overwhelm: A Bad Habit You Want to Break

August 31, 2010 | Read 3 comments and join the discussion

I’m tired of overwhelm. Aren’t you? Nothing sucks the joy out of your coaching business like that over-burdened feeling – a burgeoning to do list, an overflowing inbox, too many learning curves to traverse.

If we are truly committed to our own success, then surely success includes keeping our sanity while we get there! After all, the freedom of working for ourselves is part of why we’re doing this, right? So when are we going to start acting like we’re free?

The truth is, overwhelm is most often just a bad habit wanting to be broken. Whatever the reasons, we choose to feel overwhelmed. Like the boy who cried “wolf”, we’ve trained our brains and bodies to perceive challenges as emergencies. We’re actually OK, but don’t know that we are.

So how about making a different choice? I agree with David Risley’s smack-you-upside-the-head post about overwhelm. It’s time the vogue went out of our crazy busy lifestyles.

Overwhelm is caused by:

Non-stop stimulation
Procrastination and chronic disorganization
Scarcity consciousness, and
Not knowing how to resource

This is Your Brain in Rehab

It’s no wonder we’re all over-stimulated. There’s so much coming into our psychic space all the time — we’re never without connection to global media and entertainment (much of it anxiety-ridden).

The New York Times reports there’s a neurological reason that all that digital input doesn’t seem to make us any smarter. It turns out, when people keep their brains constantly stimulated with input, they miss the mental downtime they need to effectively learn from all that incoming information.

Continue reading Overwhelm: A Bad Habit You Want to Break

Topic: Coaching Business Tips

Read More About: Abundance, Business Tips

Sources of Inspiration for Your Coaching Business

August 24, 2010 | Read 4 comments and join the discussion

Do you ever find your hand rising up to your forehead to try to coax your coaching business ideas out into reality? Whatever answers you’re trying to figure out rarely come from cognitive processing alone. True creativity is a much more open, organic process that starts with a spark of inspiration. But where to find that spark?

Inspiration Ideas

Here are three places to find reliable and quick inspiration that will catalyze ideas for your blog posts, coaching programs and products… maybe even your coaching business model.

Music & Art

To help my right brain engage when I’m generating anything – writing, planning or developing ideas into something usable – I stream Pandora online radio from my computer. With this online app, you can customize your musical taste. Consider buying it for $16/year – it’s well worth it to get rid of the ads.

Choose calming, wordless music – whatever works best to slow you down and keep your creativity flowing. (I like Karunesh, George Winston or David Darling.)

Anything you do to feed and exercise the artistic side of your brain will also help you bring more creative juice to your task list.

Continue reading Sources of Inspiration for Your Coaching Business

Topic: Abundance Tools for Coaches

Read More About: Abundance, Business Tips