Ep #59: Laying the Foundation for 2021

You are listening to The Life Coach Business Podcast, episode number 59.

Welcome to The Life Coach Business Podcast, a show for coaches who are ready to up-level their business and take their impact, leadership, and results to a whole new level. If you’re ready to start taking powerful action and become the leader your business needs in order to grow and thrive, this show is for you. I’m your host, Amanda Karlstad, certified life and business coach, and entrepreneurial leadership expert. Now, let’s get down to business.

Hello and welcome, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you that are in the US. I know I’m recording this show before the holiday, but I know that many of you are listening on Thanksgiving Day or likely around the holiday, so I want to wish you a happy, happy Thanksgiving.

And I hope that you’re able to connect with your loved ones. I hope you’re having the best holiday possible. And you’re able to relax and I’m just wishing you and your loved ones well. I hope you continue to stay healthy and I hope you’re able to find some connection and also some peace during this time.

Alright, so an interesting thing happened as I was preparing for today’s episode. As I was gathering my thoughts and preparing my notes for today’s show. So to give you a little bit of background, every week as I work on preparing my episodes, as I work on really getting ready to record my show for the week, I usually have several topics, several concepts, several teachings on any given week that I am just really itching to talk about.

I always have tons of ideas in terms of concepts and teachings and just topics. And so typically, what I like to do is every week, I really think about what I want to share with you all. I have many topics, many ideas that I think about, that I reflect on.

And really just kind of get in my head a little bit about what it is that I want to share with you for the week. And that’s how I have typically prepared my episodes. And so this week, like I usually do, I originally had a topic that I felt really compelled to talk to you all about today.

And I was thinking a lot about it, I was thinking about the message that I wanted to share with it. And I sat down as I normally do during my time that I have scheduled to work on my show, and I started to prepare my outline for that particular topic.

And what I realized as I was going through my notes, as I was gathering my thoughts and putting them on paper, so to speak, that for whatever reason, it just wasn’t gelling. It just wasn’t flowing like it normally was.

So for me, when I sit down to really just outline the show, and my notes, my talking points, it really – I usually don’t have a problem. It really just flows very easily for me. So it was interesting because for whatever reason, this week, it didn’t.

And I decided that rather than trying and forcing it, I decided to just let it be. I decided to actually just walk away for a bit and just give myself a little bit of space. And I want to offer to you all that if you ever find yourself in a place where maybe things just aren’t gelling or they’re just not clicking as they normally do, for whatever reason, I think it can be really good in a lot of cases to just walk away for a bit, to just give yourself and to give whatever it is that you’re working on just a little bit of breathing room, so to speak.

So that’s what I did. So I went on with my day and because I decided to do that, what had happened was I usually have set times during the week that I work on my show, that I record my show, and do the things that I need to do to share the show with you every week.

And so because I decided to just walk away and give it a little bit of breathing room, give myself some breathing room, it threw my schedule off a little bit. And so it threw off my normal recording time of the show. But I really decided in that moment that it was more important that my message felt right than it was forcing it just to fit into my normal schedule.

So that is what I decided to do. And after I gave myself that space, after I just let it go for the day, I started thinking more and more about just the direction that I’m taking things in my business and my clients and just what 2021, what I’m planning in 2021, and just overall reflection on the business in general in 2021.

And I have to just tell you, I am so excited for 2021. I am so excited for all of the things that I have planned for my clients, for my business, for what I’m going to create in 2021. And just as I was about to sit down and give the episode another try with that topic, what was really interesting is I checked my email from my phone and I opened an email that I had just received from my daughter’s ballet school.

And so to give you a little bit of context on this, my seven-year-old daughter, she’s been dancing since she was very, very young. So we started out doing the whole mommy and me dance, and she’s just really progressed throughout the years. She’s actually been dancing competitively over the past couple of years.

And in the past couple of years, she has – her interest has really grown towards ballet. And so this year, we decided to kind of take things to another level because she has shown such a strong interest in it and really enjoys it, we decided to enroll her in a classical ballet school.

And she’s been really enjoying it, and she loves the theatrical aspect of it, which is also really fun for us. And so this year, we thought let’s let her give it a try, let’s give her the opportunity to try it out, to put her in an environment where it’s a bit more serious, where it’s a bit more structured, and let’s see what happens.

And so we have let her do that, and I have to say she’s really, really been loving it and it’s been awesome. And excitingly enough, as part of this school, she actually had the opportunity earlier this fall to try out for The Nutcracker. And the great news was that she was actually cast in The Nutcracker, which we’ve been really super excited about and she’s been really working hard on her rehearsals and on preparing for her performance.

And so over these last couple of months, she’s been spending a lot of time rehearsing and spending a lot of time just preparing for the upcoming performance. And so up until literally yesterday until I received the email, we were planning on the performance happening. We were planning on the performance happening in December, around the holidays.

And many of you might be familiar, you know that it’s typically a performance that happens around the holidays. But unfortunately, we got word that the performance was going to be postponed due to the pandemic. And to be honest, it’s not like this was a surprise. It kind of makes sense.

So I wasn’t totally surprised in reading the email. But of course disappointed to hear the news and of course, she’s disappointed. But we’re holding out hope that we’ll be able to perform in a few months. And so as I checked my email, right before I sat down to write my notes for the episode, I saw this email come through.

And it was a different email from the one that I had received earlier announcing that the performance was going to be postponed. And the email essentially said, and this was from the ballet studio, it’s something I want to share with you because it’s really what inspired this episode today.

And the email basically stated that because the two main revenue streams for this particular ballet school, which was the monthly tuition for the class and the revenue from the performance, and since the performance is currently postponed and there’s no longer in-person classes for the next few weeks, the email basically laid out just the concerns of being able to support the school, to support the artists, the faculty, and the staff moving forward.

And I have to tell you, when I read the email, my heart sank a little bit. My heart sank because I know how dedicated the faculty and the staff at this particular school have been. I’ve observed that over the last several months, and I’ve seen how much they really pour into their students, and it’s really more so a family operation.

And I’ve seen over these last couple of months how much time and energy and just overall dedication they’re really poured into the students, they’ve really poured into this performance. And if you’ve ever experienced a performance on this level, you know you have a sense of what really goes into a performance like this. It’s a lot.

And it’s a lot of time for the dancers, for the students, it’s a lot of time for the staff. There’s a lot of things to prepare in the background. And it’s something that when I look at this whole operation essentially, it’s really an impressive thing.

And what also just kind of hit me was also how important this really is to not only the students but the faculty, everybody that’s been so dedicated to this. It truly is an art form. And it’s a level of dedication that I think is really honorable.

And to see firsthand how this particular school has been navigating this time, I’ve been really, really impressed by it. So here we are, where literally in a situation, this decision to halt in-person classes and performances like this, which again, I’m not arguing. But this decision to make this move, even though it would be socially distanced for this particular school is really the difference between the school possibly surviving or not.

And it just hit me in this moment how vulnerable so many small businesses are in this moment. So we’ve been seeing this over the course of this year, and we see examples of this everywhere we look. And it just really got me thinking about how many are hanging on literally by a thread in many cases, and how many are really at a point where they’re having to make very difficult decisions, and what that’s like as a business owner.

And it hit me just in that moment how important it is if you are a business owner, no matter what industry you’re in, just how important it is that you are making money, that you are generating cash, that you are generating revenue in your business. And it’s also very important that you know how to pivot, that you know how to innovate, especially in this climate.

And so this thought about how important it is to be able to financially insulate yourself, to be able to weather these storms, just came on so, so strong. And I know we’re seeing example after example of what happens when this doesn’t happen.

And when I read that email, it really hit me because it became very obvious what I needed to talk to you all about today, which funny enough is exactly what I’ve spent a lot of my time recently thinking about. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on is how important it is, especially right now that if you’re trying to grow a business, just how important it is that you are generating revenue, that you are generating cash in your business, that you essentially know what you’re doing, that you understand the game that you’re playing.

So when I was thinking about this on a deeper level, one of the things that again, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about is in my own practice and working with clients is my mission, really my – one piece of my overarching mission is to really help my clients build true wealth.

And so if you’re growing a coaching business or if you’re growing any other type of business for that matter, it’s so important to be able to be putting the right systems in place that will not only help you right now but are also going to help you to create a sustainable business in the future.

So that’s really what I want to talk with you all about today is the importance of building a business, one that’s not only successful right now, right here in this moment, but one that can actually sustain you and sustain your family in the future.

And so I think with that, it’s really important to understand, when I work with clients and I just look around the industry as a whole, I have kind of a firsthand look at a lot of different things in the industry, and I just have to tell you that the more and more that I do my work, the more and more I see the importance of having a certain level of business acumen.

Having a certain level of understanding and knowledge as it relates to your industry, to the business that you’re growing, that can help you anticipate and weather the storms that we’re all going to inevitably face.

And so when I think about the work that I do and the bigger picture of the work that I do with my clients and I think about the future work that I’m going to do with my clients and how really important it is to understand this on a much deeper level, to understand how to sustainably grow and scale a business, to know what it takes to develop a level of mindset that supports all of that so you can grow a business to that level, I really think this is going to be non-negotiable moving forward.

And I think it’s already a non-negotiable, but I think it’s going to become even more important in this industry because the fact is that every market, every industry is going to continue to evolve through this. Business is changing. And if you haven’t noticed, look around.

You can look at all of our systems, look at our healthcare system, look at our educational system, look at retail, look at small business. We are in a place where we are shifting into a new level. And we are being forced to evolve right now. And with this evolution, it also requires a new way of operating.

It requires a new way of thinking. It requires a new way of creation. And so now more than ever, I just think it’s so, so important to be innovative, to really understand what having a real business foundation looks like and to be implementing that in your business.

And for those of you that are growing a coaching business, to really understand the evolution of this type of business, to understand the different business models and where that fits into your overall structure.

And because of that, what that does is that really helps you understand where to put your focus as a business owner, that you really understand the actual pillars to go into building a highly successful business, that it’s not a matter of just throwing spaghetti at the wall, but that you’re actually building proper structures in your business and you’re doing work that is actually going to sustain and build your business in the long term.

Because I want to be really honest with you all. Unless you are doing this in your business right now, unless you are putting some effort into this right now, I think you’re missing a huge opportunity. I think quite honestly, you’re missing the boat.

And I think if you’re not doing this, you’re also missing out on a ton of revenue if you’re not doing these foundational things. And the truth of this is that I don’t think in most cases, what is out there is actually even addressing any of this.

I think there are very few that even understand this in the industry. And so I think if you’re serious about growing your business, if you want to really play at a pro level, which I know many of you do, it’s something that I highly, highly encourage you to be investing in right now.

And really take stock of where you’re spending your time and where you’re spending your resources. And I’ve got to be honest, the time is over for these amateur approaches. And I say that because I don’t think that those will be sustainable going forward. They never were, but especially as we’re moving into this next chapter.

And so I wanted to have this conversation with you all today because I think as business owners in this online business industry, as coaches, entrepreneurs, consultants, whatever that is, I think we have a huge, massive opportunity in front of us that many, many other business owners don’t have.

And I also think that it’s important to be putting things in place, to be putting in the structures and the strategies along with the mindset that are actually going to help you grow the business, so that it’s not just a hobby, so that it’s not just something that seems nice to have, but actually helps you create a business that creates real wealth, a business that’s scalable and that can be sustained in the future.

So that really is part of my mission is helping my clients, helping entrepreneurs and leaders to create real wealth in their businesses. Because no matter what your thoughts are about money, no matter what your financial goals are, we can’t argue with the fact that money solves a lot of problems.

And especially if you look around right now, you can see the effect of that. And of course it doesn’t solve them all, but it does solve a lot of them. And unfortunately, there’s a lot of small businesses right now that are feeling this more than ever, that don’t have the structure, they don’t have maybe the same opportunity that we have in the businesses that we’re building to really scale and expand and weather this storm.

And so I don’t know about you, but I feel very much a deep sense of gratitude for that. I feel very much a deep sense of responsibility to help my clients build that within their businesses, to build that within my own. And it’s not something I take lightly.

And I think that if you are going to do this at a high level, I think it requires that. And so I just encourage you all that if you are feeling like you’re not sure what steps to take next, if you’re feeling like you want to make 2021 your best year and you’re ready to do the work, I got to tell you, there is no time better than right now to be laying that foundation, to be doing the work right now that will pay off for you in the future.

And I just have to tell you how grateful I am to have done this work myself, to be educated myself in this industry, to have invested at the level I’ve invested at so that I can bring that level of knowledge to my clients, that level of expertise to my practice, and to really when I think back to the whole of my experience, how it really has prepared me to do the work that I’m doing today.

I’m just so, so grateful for all of it. And to be able to do this work that I get to talk to you all today, that I get to bring this show to you every week, and that I get to work with just the amazing clients that I get to work with every day. And so I’ll leave you with this.

My last thought on this is this; I think it’s really important to, as I’ve said, be investing your time, be investing your energy, be investing your resources in your business in a way that is building a proper structure, it’s building a proper foundation.

And to also really understand how fortunate you are to be in this business, to have the opportunity to build a business that can scale to the level that you can scale it, that allows you to help the people that you can help, and so many of them, and to also do it with so little overhead.

I think it’s really important to recognize this and to look at what’s happening in our economy, that we are really fortunate in this economy that we can serve clients in a completely virtual way, that we have very little overhead, that we can literally use the technology and the tools at our fingertips to help us scale our businesses to a much higher level than many other small business owners. It’s really a gift.

And so again, that’s not something I take lightly. I am fully, fully grateful of that and that has been on my mind. And I look forward to helping so, so many of you in the future really build and grow and scale your business. And so I hope you all have an amazing holiday and week ahead. I’ll talk to you all again soon. Take care. Bye-bye.

Hey, if you’re ready for a real breakthrough in your business and want to grow and scale your business to at least six figures or more in annual revenue, I invite you to apply for my exclusive program The Mastermind at amandakarlstadcoaching.com/the-mastermind. I look forward to seeing you there.

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Life Coach Business Podcast. If you want to learn more about how to build, grow and scale your business and accelerate your results, visit amandakarlstadcoaching.com.