Okay, so this may sound corny. And I’m not trying to make this like one of those competitive reality shows. But there truly is a success factor that can be applied to anything in life that YOU want to win at.
And when I say win, I mean achievement that comes from passion and commitment, not purely for the sake of fierce competitiveness.
Whether you want to succeed at love, sports, or reaching your full potential, you need this factor.
Olympians have it in spades. And it’s a huge part of the entrepreneurial spirit.
If you want to win at your coaching business, you especially need this thing going for you.
Why especially? Because growing a successful coaching business is a significant effort and accomplishment. The good of that achievement ripples out into a larger community and positively affects lives.
I think that small business is the territory for heroes. And it’s an apt place to grow your full potential.
It’s incredibly rewarding to succeed at business and it will bust your ass on the way there.
And, you’ll be all the better for it.
A Powerful Force
Have you guessed the success factor I’m talking about? It’s DRIVE.
Drive is that awesome force that carries you forward on your journey. It buoys you up during challenges. It gives you the energy to leap and leap and leap.
Trying to build a business without drive is like pushing on the gas with the emergency break on. You’re not going to move much and you might damage something.
Having drive comes down to this … how badly do you want to be successful at your goal?
Do you want it enough to make it happen, to allow yourself to grow into the person who achieves that goal?
Take a moment now. Ask yourself … do I have enough drive to succeed at my coaching business? And don’t say ‘no’ because you don’t yet know enough. That’s not what this is about.
I can easily say ‘yes’ about myself. And that’s why I’ve made it for 20 years despite slipping into all the typical pitfalls.
There’s nothing special about me, that you don’t have within you too.
But still not everyone will succeed in their coaching business.
If fact, less than 1 in 5 will make it year after year. If those numbers intimidate you, I get it. But if that is enough to stop you, then you don’t want this particular goal — of being successful at your coaching business — enough.
Foundation + Drive = Success
When I work with coaches, we do all the foundational things to set them up for success including:
- landing a smart niche that connects to their zone of genius
- creating effective messaging that will grab their audience’s attention
- designing offers their audience will buy
- developing systems that help them build relationships of trust, and
- enroll ideal clients with ease into programs that pay the coaches well
Some coaches take that foundation and reach success. THEY make it happen.
Sure, it takes consistent action and an experimental mindset.
And they don’t let mistakes or failures stop them. I heard this said recently:
Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s an integral part of it.
So, you need enough drive to carry you over those roadblocks or pull yourself up out of a pitfall — experiences all business owners face often.
And, having drive doesn’t mean you’re a maverick or that you don’t need anyone else to succeed. Far from it.
Part of the drive is creating support systems for yourself as you need them — a peer group, your own business mentor coach, training.
Support is essential.
4 Possible Reasons You Haven’t Found Coaching Success … Yet
If you confirm that you have the drive to succeed in your coaching business but you’re not there yet, here are some possible reasons:
1. Time. It does take time to get there. This is the reality. Give yourself time. You don’t expect an acorn to be a great oak in a few months.
2. You’re playing it safe and avoiding the actions that scare you, which are often the most important actions to take.
Now I’m an introvert and I have full compassion for the reluctance to get out, to build community, to make connections. I fully understand that desire to do only the things that feel easy or safe.
But staying small and safe won’t build a long term, sustainable coaching business where you get to bring your gifts to the world and make an impact.
Here’s truth … you can’t play it safe and win. You can’t stay small and grow.
3. Getting easily discouraged and becoming complacent.
Disappointment, discouragement — they’re toxic feelings. Something inside you is blocked. You can move past it with help or by employing your own toolbox on yourself. Don’t forget, you’re a coach!
4. No one is getting your message.
All the social media posts in the world won’t do a thing for you if your target audience isn’t engaging with them.
Monitor results from time to time. Don’t keep doing what doesn’t work. But don’t make sweeping changes either. Sometimes you need help to analyze your results and make a small but smart shift.
In any case, when challenged, rise to the occasion.
If you hit a roadblock, find the way over or around it.
When you have a problem, create a solution.
5. Your intention is pure but your goal isn’t aligned
The Right Goal
When I was a kid, my mom worried about me. I dropped out of a lot of things — Girl Scouts, piano lessons, choir, church school, cotillion – ugh! Right?
She thought I was a quitter.
But that wasn’t it. It was because she was picking my goals for me.
Have you ever seen that in yourself or noticed that with your kids? That there’s no enthusiasm for the things you’ve chosen for them.
Sometimes choosing the right goal takes trying a few things out.
Some people love the idea of coaching much more than the idea of being their own boss.
If you haven’t quite admitted that to yourself yet, go ahead.
Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. Let go of that goal and pick another that aligns better with you.
Pick one that will DRIVE you forward.
Here are some options if you want to coach but you don’t want to be a coaching business owner:
- Incorporate your coaching skills into a job. Negotiate that opportunity with your supervisor.
- Become a part of a coaching firm. For example, become a Tony Robbins coach. There aren’t a lot of these situations out there, but if you want that enough you’ll search the world for the right place for you. You may have to prove your skills or take training to be accepted into a situation like that.
- Pay someone to bring you leads. I’ve noticed loads of these people lately. But do your due diligence to make sure they are on the level.
If you do want to succeed at building a meaningful, financially satisfying coaching business and you want that strong foundation under you then I want to work with you!
Why? Because I know that you’ll have the drive to make it happen. I know that my investment in you and your investment in you will bear fruit. What we do together to set you up for success will pave the street and your drive will get you there.
Ready to take a first step? Grab a Strategy Session with me and we’ll nail down a viable audience and smart niche to start.
It’s time to drive baby, drive!
The next Episode is: What’s Your Zone of Genius As a Coach?
