Should you Start a Coaching Business?

Better face the facts. It’s highly unlikely you’re going to retire at your current place of employment. This means your current day job is temporary. Some employees hear this and “go ostrich.” Fearfully, they stick their heads the ground and ignore this truth. Other employees wake up to the fact it’s their responsibility to create a side hustle now, before their jobs are eliminated or outsourced.

I meet people nearly everyday who weren’t ready for this harsh reality.

Their jobs were secure one day and suddenly non-existent the next. Understandably, this creates panic in people that have what I call a “long-term contractor” mindset. Contrast that with what I call a “functional freelancer” mindset. These people don’t worry at all. Notice the differences below displayed in the chart I pulled from my book Day Job to Dream Job.

In today’s podcast episode I share 9 reasons why now is the best time to start a coaching business as your side-hustle. (Listen to this episode via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher).

How to Create a Successful Side-Hustle

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting you go and quit your day job today. Quite the opposite. Actually, I’m encouraging you to keep your day job while you start your side-hustle. The odds of succeeding are actually in your favor. In fact, according to an extensive study, you’re 33% more likely to succeed in your start up if you don’t quit your day job cold turkey.

Check out this excerpt from the Harvard Business Review:

Entrepreneurs who give up their day jobs in stages are 33% less likely to fail in their start-ups than those who leave their jobs precipitously to run their new businesses full-time, according to a study of thousands of Americans by Joseph Raffiee and Jie Feng of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The staged approach, which allows entrepreneurs to gain important knowledge about their new businesses while phasing out their paying jobs, has become much easier with the rise of digital technologies that reduce the cost and time commitments of starting new companies, the authors say.

Earn Extra Income while in your Day Job

In 2011, while still in my day job, I saw the writing on the wall. Although I loved the people I worked with and the organization I worked for, I also knew I had untapped potential and unrealized dreams.

I began coaching a few clients on the side. After a few months of seeing clients become souls on fire, I knew I was hooked. The extra income helped me realize I could scale this side business and eventually leave my day job.

The model was so successful people began asking if I could teach them how to start a coaching business on the side. I took their requests seriously. I showed them how to use content from my book Your Secret Name content with their clients. In a short time, we certified over a dozen speakers, coaches, and trainers from all over the world. Today we have well over a hundred team members certified on 3 different programs:

* Your Secret Name

* The Deeper Path

* Dream Job

9 Reasons Why Now is the Best Time to Start a Coaching Business

These are the 9 benefits we provide for each of our coaches:

1. Worldwide Certification: The ability to speak, coach, and train, any individual or group anywhere in the world utilizing the curriculum (Your Secret Name OR Deeper Path OR Dream Job Coach), products, and content.
2. Total Profit: You keep 100% of the proceeds, honorariums, and income you receive from your services.
3. Daily Support: As a member of my private on-line coaching group, you are encouraged to ask questions about your business and brand. I’ll respond back with tips, tools, and tactics to help you create quantifiable success and significance as a team member.
4. Video Training: Take a front row seat and we’ll show you exactly how we run our own live events, coaching sessions, and programs. You’ll also receive videos of my keynote speeches. You’re welcome to customize these for your own speaking gigs.
5. Audio Training: Listen to over one hundred hours of coaching calls, each categorized for an ultimate audio educational experience.
6. Transformational Resources: I give you the exact same resources I use when I speak, train, and coach. This includes bumper videos, exercises, object lessons, slides, handouts, workbooks, and leader guides.
7. Marketing Tools: Digital downloads customizable for your own event.
8. Promotional Partnership: We list you and your bio on our website. Visitors are encouraged to contact and hire you through your branded email address we provide you.
9. Global Community: Lifetime access to the Igniting Souls Tribe, our global community committed to each other’s personal and professional success.

Apply to Join our Global Team of Speakers, Coaches, and Trainers

A few times per year we receive applications from quality candidates who have an interest in joining the Igniting Souls Team. We’ll open our teams on June 20th and close them on June 27th. If you’re interested in applying please click on the respective link below. And if you’d like to apply for all 3 simply fill out an application for one and we will consider you for all three.

* Your Secret Name

* The Deeper Path

* Dream Job

I look forward to helping you start your coaching business NOW.

Shiny Objects Steal Your Best From You

Shiny objects are simply dressed up distractions, designed to sabotage you and your success. They often arrive in your inbox appearing as “good” opportunities sent by sincere people.

Unfortunately, pursuing them demands a hefty price tag—measured in dollars and hours. If you’re not careful, they’ll suck you in. You’ll emerge months or years later bankrupt of energy and enthusiasm. They’ll rob you of your best ideas and leave you footing the bill.

In today’s podcast episode I share how to say no to these distractions.

(Listen to this episode via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher)

Clarity Steers You Away From Shiny Objects

Can anyone resist shiny objects? After all, their “pull” is so strong. Besides distractions are a common coping mechanism we use when we feel overwhelmed with life. No wonder why so many of us crave them.

A life of distraction will never produce a life of meaning.

If you want your time to count then you must count your time. You must wake up to the fact that life is too short to chase shiny objects for too long.

Over a decade ago, I sought out distractions on a regular basis. Truth be told, I used them to numb my pain. Thankfully, I woke up to the fact that numbing my pain was also numbing my potential.

At that same time, I met a man named Chet Scott who helped me break free from my addiction to shiny objects. He showed me a process in which I authored my OPUS.

O = Over-arching Vision

P = Purpose

U = Unifying Strategies

S = Scorecard for Significance

I took that Deeper Path and put pen to paper. I emerged with clarity for the first time in my life. (Read my OPUS by clicking the image.)

Courage Helps You Say No to Shiny Objects

Dreams aren’t given to you; they’re given through you.
Your dream is a temporary trust and unless you take action, it will flee you as quickly as it found you.

Start Dreaming. Stop Doing

I want you to imagine a life you love. If you’re like most people then this isn’t your current reality…at least not yet. But turning points happen in an instant and this could be your defining moment. Change happens when we decide to think differently and then back that new thinking with new acting.

I just recently returned from a trip where I wrote, spoke, and coached some amazing men and women from all over the world. I taught 4 different times. I also connected with many industry leading colleagues at something called the Epic Breakfast Club. I didn’t pay for my housing, my travel, or my food on this trip. Every single place I went, my ticket in the door was simply my books.

Reflecting over this past week and over my last 15 years, I’ve discovered how to turn my books into a dream business.

Turn your Book into your Dream Business

Books are somewhat magic. They open doors you didn’t even know existed. Here’s what I mean.

D – Demystify: Books help you clarify your message.

R – Refortify: Books help you strengthen your brand.

E – Edify: Books help you build your business.

A – Amplify: Books help you increase your impact.

M – Magnify: Books help you expand your reach.

In today’s podcast episode I share how to turn your book into a business. (Listen to this episode via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher)

Stop Dreaming. Start doing.

If this sounds interesting, I want to show you how to do the same. I want to teach you how to turn a Book into a Dream Business. This week I have a FREE webinar where you can discover:

—> 5 Reasons why your Book ISN’T a Business Card
Business cards don’t change lives. Books do! I’ll show you 5 reasons why your book is actually a business. Better yet, I’ll show you 1 simple step for turning your book into a dream business.

—> 3 Differences between Poor Authors and Smart Authors
Although I was traditionally published, I made 3 major mistakes with my first 3 books. As a result, I kept my day job. I’ll show you how I made the switch and turned my next 4 books into 4 separate 6-figure businesses.

—> How to Turn your Book into 18 Streams of Income
No hype…just hope. I’ll give you a roadmap for turning your current and future book into 18 streams of income. Sink your teeth into a proven model that gets results. I’ll unpack each model and give you one simple step to start your dream business today.

The webinar is free, but our spots are almost full.

Register now and get your free ebook immediately.

Visibility?

What would you give in exchange for more of it? Your reputation? Bank account? Friends or family? Your soul?

The quality of your soul is much more valuable than the quantity of your followers.

Your book, brand, and business doesn’t need more visibility. Rather, it needs more vision. When we lose our way—which we all do—we’re tempted to go after a quick fix…visibility. However, in these moments, what we truly need is something else…vision.

Vision over Visibility!

Bono, frontman for the band U2, tells his faith journey in a song called Moment of Surrender. Recently, my friend Chet Scott founder of Built to Lead, turned me on to the song and the meaning behind it. In the song he says:

At the moment of surrender. Of vision over visibility

Bono had a choice between vision OR visibility. Early in his career Bono chose vision over visibility. Let’s be honest. Most rock stars would do anything for more friends, fans, followers, and finances. The reality?  They “sell out.”

Ready for some more honesty? We’re not that different. Are we? As bloggers, authors, speakers, coaches, entrepreneurs, and humans…we have this same choice every single day of our lives.

In today’s podcast episode I share a proven strategy to help speakers, coaches, and authors regain their vision. (Listen to this episode via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher)

Vision.

“When we lose our way, it’s because we’ve lost our why.” —Gail Hyatt

We may start out incredibly clear, but then life happens. You get that call. Or that email shows up in your inbox. Or your proposal gets rejected. And in a matter of minutes, your vision suffers.

I call this a hack. Just like phones and computers get hacked, people do too. I call it a hack attack, and losing your vision is just 1 of the 8 negative results of getting hacked.

Is your book everything it could be?

For far too long, we’ve witnessed inferior books outshine superior ones simply because of better marketing. Although it might not be fair, it’s reality.

The Author Elective Series is designed to help authors and aspiring authors create more influence, impact, and income from their books.

Don’t worry. You don’t have to become someone you’re not. And we’re not talking about settling for spammy or salesy.

Instead, you’ll meet authors just like you who followed our model and found the way to win.

By redefining selling as serving and marketing as storytelling, you can level up your game too, just like them. In this live FREE 3-part Master Class series you’ll discover:

#1 – How to get your book into Barnes & Nobles and other bookstores

#2 – How to spike your book sales with a killer trailer and launch party

#3 – How to get 50 or more Amazon reviews in 1 day

As an author it’s easy to feel like everyone is against you. Imagine finally writing a book and then having Barnes & Nobles and other brick and mortar bookstores tell you:

“Sorry we CAN’T carry your book.”

Notice I used the word CAN’T not WON’T. The problem is that many authors don’t know the insider secrets that allow Barnes & Nobles to carry your book.

It has nothing to do with self-publishing. (HINT: It has everything to do with createspace and several other important factors.)

Remember, I’m a coach to over 300 authors. It’s my passion and joy to create a system that removes all the obstacles from your book getting into Barnes & Nobles and other brick and mortar bookstores.

I’ll tell you more about my proven model on our upcoming Author Elective Series.

I look forward to sharing these insider secrets. It’s time to stop playing small. You and your book are worth it.

Hope you can join us. Click on the pic below or this link. We have a limited numbers of seats for these FREE LIVE Master Classes.

Some coaches, speakers, and authors give away everything. As a result, they cheapen their brand; they burn out too. Others never give away anything. They come off as greedy and stingy; they repel people too.

FREE is a tool.

It can catapult or cannibalize your business. The difference depends upon how you use it.

So what’s the balance?

Are there guidelines for using FREE effectively?

In today’s podcast episode I share a proven strategy to help speakers, coaches, and authors level up. (Listen to this episode via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher)

Using FREE Too Much

Many authors, coaches, and speakers struggle charging money for their products and services. Maybe they don’t believe in themselves? Maybe they worry about others rejecting their prices? Regardless, giving everything away will put you out of business quickly.

Even if you could afford not charging for anything, your customers would soon devalue your products and services. An ancient saying goes:

“Where your treasure is, so is your heart.”

In other words, if you don’t invest any money, you’ll probably never invest your heart either. Commitment follows cash. (Tweet This)

Think about your own life. Have you ever failed to read a FREE book, attend a FREE webinar, or show up at a FREE event? If so, you’re not alone. When something is always FREE then it’s not usually taken seriously.

Using FREE Too Little

But never using FREE is a mistake too. If you never use FREE then the barrier of entry is often too high. Some people will never sample your products or services. Brands and businesses know this.

iTunes let’s your sample a song via an excerpt.

Amazon let’s you sample a book via look inside feature.

Producers let you sample movie via a preview.

FREE works when it’s used the right way.

My wife (Kelly) and I now love Nature Box. They give away their products to first time customers. We found a link like this and got $20 in healthy snacks. Not only was the food FREE, it was also painless process. Although I normally wouldn’t order snacks online, since it was FREE Kelly gave it a try.

To this day, we’re Nature Box fans. The dried peaches are my favorite and I now anticipate their arrival on our doorstep. (Go ahead and give them a try by clicking on the pic below. It’s FREE.)

Using FREE Just Right

I’ve found that free done well answers these four questions:

F: Filter = Who should I invest in?

R: Repurpose = Where can I repurpose this content?

E: Expand = Will this expand my influence?

E: Engage = What is their next step to go deeper?

If you’re a speaker, author, or coach you can use FREE just the right amount. I’ve helped hundreds of thought leaders catapult their business by using FREE the correct way. Here are a few examples:

Speakers can use FREE…

I’ve seen speakers use FREE effectively by creating a speaker’s reel.

Potential customers can view past appearances via a one minute highlight video.

Also consider including a TV excerpt or audio sample from a podcast.

I do a FREE monthly event called the Igniting Souls Fellowship. (Check out our next one. It’s FREE.)

Coaches can use FREE…

Many coaches have success by offering a FREE complimentary coaching session.

This FREE coaching session could be face-to-face or virtual via skype or Zoom.

Consider doing a 3 session FREE mastermind. This is group coaching.

I like the combo of speaking FREE and then offering a coaching package at the end.

Authors can use FREE…

Most authors already use FREE on Amazon with the Look Inside Feature.

Consider doing a FREE KDP Select campaign for your Kindle. (There are pros and cons.)

Use an excerpt from your book in an article or blog post.

Do an audiobook. It’s the hottest publishing platform. Plus people can get a FREE sample.

I have something FREE for you

On October 9, 2014 I woke up in the middle of the night with an idea. I wanted to write a story that would help us see the power of our dreams and the obstacles that often prevent us from achieving them. That book—Elixir Project—took more than 2 years to research and write.

Do you have a website?

Some experts have said if you don’t have a website then you don’t exist. Although this could be taken the wrong way, if potential customers and clients can’t find you then they can’t hire you. A website done well can communicate clarity and competence. It can also increase influence, impact, and income. But a website done wrong can send people packing within seconds.

Are you making 3 common website mistakes?

In this episode you’ll discover:

(1) What NOT to do: The top 3 mistakes people make when creating their website.

(2) What TO do: 3 components essential for communicating with online visitors.

(3) How TO do it: A bulletproof plan to help you increase your online influence.

(Listen to this episode below or via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher)

Questions that help bring clarity: 

1. Essence:

What is your site about?

What emotions should the site invoke?

What is being celebrated through the site?

Who are being encouraged or who need your services or products?

What sort of advice or information is being offered and to whom is it offered?

2. Feel:

What colors will best create the feeling you desire?

What textures, effects, and theme will best reflect the essence?

What key elements communicate the values of the site and inspire the emotions you desire?

3. Features:

What features are necessary to effectively run the site?

What would your readers and customers want to see?

What other attributes must your site possess?

People who should listen:

* Business leaders who want to spread their message
* Non-profit influencers who want to propel their mission
* Aspiring authors who have a story to share
* Coaches and speakers who need more clients
* Professionals who want to increase their credibility in the marketplace
* Published authors who aren’t sure how to market their books effectively

Other Links Mentioned:

* Clearwater Counseling
* How to quit your day job and become a professional blogger
* How to become an author
* Coaching Insurance
* Business Cards
* Fresh Eyes Inc

(Listen to this episode via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher)

We don’t get what we want, we get who we are.

If we want to attract excellent clients then we must strive for excellence ourselves. After all, we can’t lead others where we haven’t led ourselves.

In this episode I share how attracting excellent clients comes down to one word: GIVE.

G = Generosity
I = Initiative
V = Victor
E = Enthusiasm

Enjoy your gift for a limited time. 

In the second half of this episode I also give a gift, as much as I am legally allowed to give away. Just listen and you’ll see what I mean.

———–

To download the entire gift for FREE use this link:
https://bit.ly/2gBpQIE

And then select the Elixir Project Audiobook:
https://amzn.to/2gDHIlX

OR if you’re already an audible member, for a limited time the complete audiobook is $1.99 here:
https://adbl.co/2mtylYx

(Listen to this episode via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher)

The Problem with Outliers

Too many times we pay attention to obscure examples of success.

We obsess about the exceptions, the outliers, and the one-offs.

But patterning yourself after these people is a recipe for regret. If you want to tilt the odds in your favor pay attention to these 10 Trends instead.

The best part is anyone can do them. Ironically, that’s also the problem. Because they’re available to any of us at anytime, these 10 Trends are underrated. As a result, hardly anyone implements them—except these Rockstars. They found a way…and now you can too.

The Solution with Rockstars

1. Brian Wagner = Relentless Serving

2. Laura Harris = Pure Courage

3. Shanda Heilman = Unwavering Resourcefulness

4. Laura Diehl = Authentic Compassion

5. Chris McClure / Mark Williams = Imperfect Action

6. Renee Vidor = Savvy Integration

7. Pat Gano / Erica Foster = Generational Collaboration

8. Jim Akers = Systematic Storytelling

9. Stuart Lamont = Methodical Preparation

10. Merrilyn Hughes = Committed Victor

Each of these Rockstars are part of the Igniting Souls Tribe. This unhackable community is comprised of our clients. One recent member said this about the Tribe:

I just wanted to take a minute and share with everyone how unique I have found this tribe to be. I am a part of six groups…three are free and three I pay between $20 and $30 per month to participate. Some of the groups have more members than Igniting Souls, but they all fail miserably in the area of support and interaction.

(Listen to this episode via itunes, audioboom, or stitcher)

It’s been said that you should be choosier about picking a business partner than even picking a spouse. While I don’t necessarily agree with that I do know that business partnerships often begin on a napkin at a restaurant and end with a judge in a courtroom.

Choosing the right business partner is incredibly important. It can sink your future or solidify your present. In today’s episode I share how to pick an UNHACKABLE business partner.

U = Unique
N = Noble
H = Happy
A = Adept
C = Collaborative
K = Keen
A = Achiever
B = Believable
L = Learner
E = Electric

For additional content have you and your current or future business partner take the FREE Unhackability Assessment.

Or watch the FREE Unhackability webinar.

https://elixirprojectexperience.com