Have I given up?

Photo courtesy of Gratisography

Warning: brain dump incoming!

At the start of this year, I went back into (more or less) full time employment, having spent the last 4 years working (more or less) full time on my coaching business without making anything even remotely resembling a living from it.

I told myself and the world (well, more accurately, the 2 people on Linked In who read the post, but you know what I mean) that this was not me giving up on my coaching business.

But now I'm wondering about that. Because maybe I have.

I don't remember the last time I included a "call to action" in a post, or talked about my services. Quite often, the only thing I post in a week is about the Mission Imperfect podcast I co-host with Kathryn Ball. I don't spend hours worrying about making insightful comments on the right kind of threads to get me noticed, or which FB groups I should be showing up in, or about who I should send connection requests to and whether I should accept connection requests. The employment thing makes networking decidedly tricky, but l confess to having made no effort to find evening opportunities.

And you know what? It's bloody liberating.

Not because I don't want to coach, but because I don't think that coaching is about niches, or ideal clients, or pressing on pain points, or selling a transformation, or creating programmes based on what I think should work for others.

For me, coaching is listening and asking questions to help someone better understand themselves, and make the changes they want to make in ways that are right for them.

My "ideal client" is anyone who wants to take responsibility for determining how they show up in and experience their own life.

My "niche" is anywhere that something needs to change.

I can never guarantee that a programme I've devised based on my understanding and experience will help you, because whatever is going on for you is utterly unique to you - how can I understand it without listening to you and asking you about it? I am not and never will be an expert in your life, but, as a coach, I can help you believe in yourself as The Expert in your own life.

I believe that working on mindset can make a hugely positive difference to everyone, and I believe that coaching is a fabulous way of doing that. I don't ever want to stop talking about those things.

But I don't want the pressure of trying to make a coaching business work in ways that don't feel right for me. Of having to monetise what I believe in.

I don't think I'll ever not be available as a coach if someone wants to work with me (if you do, please don't hesitate to get in touch!!), but that feels very different to actively working on a coaching business.

If what the marketing people say about everyone having the attention span of an amnesiac goldfish and refusing to read anything that includes long sentences, proper paragraphs or polysyllabic words is true, then by now no one is reading. To the exceptions to the rule, thank you for sticking with me: you rock🤩

I'm still a coach and I still love to coach.

I still believe that you deserve to feel good about yourself and your life.

I still want to help you ditch the shoulds and find the right way forward for you.

If that sounds good to you, then drop me an email at kirsty@coachingbykirsty, and let's talk!