Archive for February, 2008
Coaching Commons
Posted by: | CommentsThere is a wonderful new website in the coaching community called Coaching Commons. This is a non-profit site which has been organized and funded by The Harnish Family Foundation. They describe the site as “a non-partisan ‘big tent’ under which coaches can freely create the future together in a non-commercial setting on the world wide web.” This is an incredibly exciting project to me – just listen to this tag line “where radical possibilities are explored and pursued.”
My explorations of this site show that is much more than just another coaching discussion list. There are some vibrant and interesting articles there. There are places for discussion. There are calendars of events and sections for coaching news. There is a marketplace where the conversation is about creating a joint coaching product with many contributors. There is a section devoted to visual images of coaches and coaching.
Go check out the Coaching Commons. I have met one of the creators of the concept, Andrea Lee, and she is one of the truly innovative people in the world of coaching. I expect there will be some proactive information, important projects and true innovation that comes from this group. Join me on their mailing list and let’s see what unfolds!
The Right Way to Start a Coaching Business
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday, one of my groups of beginning coaches again reminded me of the basic truth about start-up coaching businesses. That basic truth is that every business is unique because so much depends on the coach themselves. Many of us begin on a part time basis as a route to being able to leave a career that no longer fits us. Others, jump in with both feet immediately and are flying before you know it. I remember in my first coach training class, one of my friends had a website up within 6 weeks of the class starting. It took me a year to get to that point.
More than five years later, my fellow coach is no longer way ahead of me. I needed to start and learn and do in the way that was right for me. He did as well. There is a proliferation on products and systems on the market that encourage coaches to build there businesses in certain ways. CDs, books, membership sites and more all tell the coach that they have THE secret to being successful and this is not always a service to the new, often confused coach. Many of these programs are very valuable, but only if you know how to pick and chose programs and techniques that work for who you are as a coach. When I wrote my e-book for startinga coaching business, I devoted a large part of the book to helping the new coach learn about themselves. Only if you do this work can you then go out and know what systems and products will be helpful to you.
One of my coaches in group said it well when he said, “I can get myself to do things, but if I am not clear on why I am doing it, what is the point?” A new coach must ponder, experiment and learn about themselves as a coach, about the world of business and about what they want their business to be. The growth of a business is best done as an intentional and planned process. Avoid believing the hype that a certain coach’s system or product is the answer, but learn from them about marketing, sales and business. Notice what you like and don’t and then apply it in a away that works for you. The bottom line is that the right way to build a coaching business is whatever is right for you, the coach and business owner.
See the Future for your Coaching Business
Posted by: | CommentsIt is amazing to me how many of us, myself included, step into starting a coaching business without a clear sense of what we are creating and why. Coaching businesses are not capital heavy, do not usually need a funding source like a bank loan and so the business owner is seldom requested to make a business plan. In addition to the obvious problem of not having planned where the business is going and how to get there, this lack of business planning often leaves the coaching business without even a clear purpose for existing.
I was reminded of the frequent lack of business vision this week when I discovered a great new business website – www.jimcollins.com. Jim Collins is the author of the renowned book, From Good to Great and this site is a wealth of information about the basics of succeeding in business. What I was particularly drawn to on the website was what Jim has to say about business vision. Although he is talking about major corporations, the facts hold true for solo-entrepreneurs in the coaching business as well. If you haven’t thought through this process or haven’t done it for a while, I encourage you to sit with these ideas about vision.
First, you need to know the core values of your business. These are the values that you believe in that will not be compromised no matter what the business trend or situation. Some coaches chose things like customer service, others chose quality of service, others believe most strongly in respect for the individual. Next, think about your purpose for being in business – I call this your mission, but it is basically the soul of your business. The purpose for your business is the bigger agenda that your business is reaching toward. The purpose, i.e. improve human life through effective relationships, is not something that we ever can obtain, but it serves to guide us in making our contribution to the world.
The second part of your business vision is to have a clearly envisioned future. Doesn’t that sound like a coach talking to a client? Yup. Have a really big goal for the distant future and a vivid description in mind of what it will be like in the future to have achieved that goal. This is where your passions really come into play. When this picture is clearly created, it can be your source of motivation for the hard work of business creation. I urge you to explore the website since there are lots more great concepts there. Most importantly, I urge you to develop the vision for your business. Spend the time you need to find the soul behind both the coaching and the business side of your company. Happy visioning.
New Coaching Manifesto
Posted by: | CommentsThere is an interesting person in the coaching field named Milana Leshinsky who is always on the cutting edge of the coaching business. In the past few months, she has outdone herself with writing a great document called the New Coaching Manifesto and hosting a coaching telesummit about the business side of coaching.
If you have not read this document or heard about it, you can get a copy of it at http://www.newcoachingmanifesto.com/blog/. Milana says her “manifesto” is “the whole truth about the coaching business” and goes on to deliver her opinions on that subject. I want you to know two things about her report and programs. First, much of what Milana has to say about the problems of coaching is very accurate. There is a huge gulf between the coaches that are getting great success and the vast majority of coaches who are not making a living from coaching. Milana’s point is what I have been saying for a long time as well – it is not enough to be an excellent, skilled coach. If you do not think like a business person and use business techniques, then your coaching business cannot grow.
The second thing I want you to notice from Milana’s work is HOW she does what she does. Her technique is a proven one to get business and even in the writing of her manifesto, there is a business reason behind it. She is promoting her coach training class for taking coaches to the higher levels of business and selling her book about coaching. The idea she is following, and this is an idea that works, is that you give away something of value and at the same time promote what people can later purchase. This positions you as an expert, gives your prospects something with true content and helps them know and trust you enough to make a purchase. Milana is giving away the manifesto with solid content and she even has two videos on the blog where she talks about important aspects of the coaching busines, all the while mentioning her products that you can purchase. I hope you will go on over to her blog and look at her information and her methods and think about how you can apply them in your own coaching business.
