Ep #10: Lessons Learned in 2019

You are listening to The Life Coach Business Podcast, Episode #10.

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. Thanks so much for joining today. I hope you’re all doing amazing. I’m doing fantastic. I just returned from Dallas-Fort Worth, and I had an amazing time. I have to tell you all, I love Texas.

And it’s been a while since I’ve been down to Fort Worth, but it was exactly the same as I remember it from quite a few years ago, I don’t think much has changed. And if you’ve ever been there, especially in the stockyards, you know what I’m talking about. It feels like it’s almost frozen in time. It’s so, so much fun. We had such a great time.

All right, I’m excited for today’s podcast. I’m especially excited, because today is officially my 10th episode. We are officially 10 episodes in. It’s a big deal. Ten episodes in? It feels like a bit of a milestone.

So, because of that, I thought, I’m going to do a little something extra special for you all today, and so that’s what I decided to do. And today I want to share with you all some of my biggest takeaways that I’ve learned in 2019, and that I’ve learned as I’ve grown my business and positioned my business to scale in 2020.

And, I’m going to distill this down to what I think the key things are, because I have to say, I’ve learned a lot, especially this past year. And, while I believe that it’s all relevant, no matter if you’re just starting out, or if you’ve been working to build your business over the past couple of years, and you’re trying to get it to that six-figure mark, or trying to scale your business, I really just want to hone in on the top five things that are going to make the biggest impact.

And it’s great, because what I’m about to talk about can be applied to whatever stage of business you’re at, and especially as you’re working towards that first six figures, so let’s get into it.

What I really want to talk to you all about today is what it takes to make that first $100K in your business, and what it takes to position yourself for multiple six and seven figures. Because believe it or not, those are two different things, okay?

And I’m calling that out specifically, because I know so many of my listeners, and so many of you, and so many of my clients come to me when they’re in this phase of business. When they’re working with a few clients, they’ve made some money in their business, but they just haven’t quite gotten things to that first six-figure mark, and that’s really what their goal is.

And, I also want to point out that, you know, really, their goal is to go well beyond that, but they understand that that’s really the starting point, right? That’s kind of like that big, first milestone for them.

There are some very specific things that you’re going to have to do if you want to build your business to that level, okay? There’s just really no way around that. And, having done this myself, and having worked with so many other coaches over the past couple of years, I think it’s really important to understand that what I’m about to share with you today, these shifts that you go through, is what is required to get to that level.

And it’s important to understand how they really apply to your own business. Because I’ve seen over and over again that when you’re not mastering these shifts, I’m calling them shifts today, or this process, I see a lot of coaches who gets stuck in their business, and they start spinning their wheels, and ultimately, they’re not getting the results that they really want in their business.

And they start to get frustrated, and they start to second-guess things, and start what I call throwing spaghetti at the wall, because they’re so desperate, and they end up taking all of this misdirected action out of desperation.

And while they’re taking action, the thing with it is that it’s misdirected, right? It’s appearing to be, quote-unquote, massive action that we all hear about, but at the end of the day, it’s not aligned, right? It’s not aligned to them. And that will never produce the level of results that you want.

Let’s get into this a little bit deeper. So, when I think about the evolution that a coaching business must go through, it really is universal. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what niche you have, what your offering is, or even what your expertise or background is, all of these things that you must nail down. These are all things that you have to step into if you really want to build your business to multiple six, and eventually seven, figures.

So, let’s talk about this first critical shift, the first critical piece that you’ve got to have in order, if you want to grow and scale your business, and that first shift is clarity. It’s huge. In fact, it’s so huge that everything else that I’m about to share with you – and I mean everything – even things that I’m not going to share with you today, everything hinges on this first shift.

So let me explain this in a little bit more detail. When I’m talking about having clarity in this context, I’m talking about having clarity on things like your niche, your ideal client, what you offer, what problem you’re solving, what is your program? And everything else in between and that goes along with that, right? That could be pricing, length of your program, delivery, all of it.

But, it also means that you understand and you can also stand confident in your messaging, in how you communicate about your business, right? All of that informs your messaging. And it’s having clarity in your marketing system, in knowing how you’re going to market your business, and understanding the different business levers, and understanding what actually moves the needle in your business.

So when I talk about clarity, I’m also talking about having clarity in your vision, in what you’re creating not only in the short term, but in the long term. It’s what you’re building within your business. It’s having both that long-term vision for your business, for your life, and also understanding, at the same time, what needs to happen in the short term, in order to be on track for that.

And clarity has to be that first shift that you make. And I want to point out, if you feel like you’re lacking clarity right now, you might need help with this. I did. I think every client, in fact that I’ve ever worked with, that comes to me, needs help in getting clarity in getting their clarity to a level where they can think on a much more intelligent level about their business.

When they can be in a position where they can unhook from the emotion of their business, because when you don’t have clarity, you can’t make intelligent and confident decisions in your business. And when you can’t make those intelligent and confident decisions, what happens is, is you start to second-guess what you’re doing.

And I’ve even seen coaches create programs and marketing materials and even websites that don’t even reflect what it is that they really do, what they want to do, or even what they’re good at. And they have a hard time moving forward because they’re always pivoting, right? They’re always trying new things, but they don’t have that real identity in their business.

So, when coaches are in this space, when they don’t fully understand what it is they’re doing in their own business, when they’re lacking this clarity, it’s a big reason why other people, and especially potential clients, don’t see them as someone that can help them. And it’s because they’re lacking such confidence in themselves and in how they can even serve clients.

So clarity is super, super important, and it’s the foundation to everything else.

All right, let’s talk about the next shift. So, the next shift that is extremely important to your success as you’re growing and scaling your business, is understanding the power of decision and commitment. I’m talking about after you’ve developed a level of clarity. Once you have a good handle on what it is that you’re doing in your business, then it becomes really important to make decisions that are then congruent with that vision. And from there, fully committing to them.

And this could look like many things. It could be a decision to move forward and create a program that serves a particular audience that maybe wasn’t a program you’ve considered before. Or, it could be a decision to slightly tweak the profile of your ideal client and how you want to market to them. It could be a decision about what type of investments you’re making in yourself, i.e. coaching right? Or, in your business.

And it could even be throwing out entirely what you’ve been doing altogether and launching a whole new program or offering. But whatever it is, it’s understanding the power of having clarity. And from there, once you’ve cultivated that, being able to make decisions that are in line with your vision, and being able to fully commit to those decisions and playing full out.

And I want to be clear that this doesn’t mean you don’t tweak or you don’t iterate along the way. In fact, tweaking, iterating, evolving, all of those things are always going to be a part of the process.

And I’m not saying that this is making a decision about, I’ll just use an example, let’s say a particular niche or ideal client or program offering, you know, and then not fully being invested in it, not being fully emotionally connected to it, and draining your entire savings or bank account trying to make something work and sticking to it for a year at all costs. That’s not what I’m saying.

What I’m saying is you have to first get aligned and get clear as to what you’re doing, right? And what you want to create, so that you can then make intelligent decisions about your business and move forward from that place.

And there’s a big difference between the two. Picking a niche because it seems like a good idea, but not having an emotional connection to it, that’s not a good recipe. And picking a niche and not being emotionally connected to it, and also spending all of your time, money and resources on pushing and trying to build something that’s not even aligned to you, that’s never a good idea. I’ve never seen that turn out well.

And so this is the power of having clarity, and being in alignment. Because when you’re faced with making new decisions about how to move forward, or really, for any decision, is having a level of confidence in your decisions because you know they’re aligned with where you want to go.

There is so much power in this, and freedom. When you have clarity, you can make decisions much more confidently and commit to them in the long term, so you’re not changing your program every month, and you’re not changing your ideal client, and you can actually start to get some traction in your business. This is super, super important.

Okay, let’s talk about shift number three. Shift number three is the importance of following a proven process. And I’m going to warn you guys, I feel very strongly about this one. And I feel so strongly about it because I have seen so many coaches struggle with this, and spend so much time, energy and money on things that aren’t moving the needle.

And what ends up happening is that they’re spending all of their time on strategies and doing things that, at the end of the day, are never going to make them the type of money they really want to make.

And so I want to be specific about this. If you want to build a multiple six or seven-figure coaching business, you are going to need to implement a real marketing strategy into your business. And that real strategy likely includes paid marketing.

Because if you decide that you want to be in the online business world, it’s going to require that you actually step into the online business world. And that requires having a real strategy that allows you to market and sell your business.

And I just have to say, you know, social media, and gaining followers, while it’s all nice to have and you may generate a few clients from it, I want to be real with you all that it’s not about that. There’s a lot of vanity metrics out there that we can so easily get caught up in.

So I want to be clear about this. Being able to sell your programs and market your programs is what will make you money. So please don’t be confused about this. And as you could probably tell, I am passionate about this because I see a lot of people that are trying to build businesses on social media alone.

And yes, social media has given us a tremendous platform to communicate on. But there’s a real difference in being on social media as a facet of your overall strategy, versus using social media as your only strategy. There’s a big, big difference.

In fact, one of the reasons that I created my coaching program was so that I could guide clients through a holistic process, through a true 360-degree process that teaches them everything they need to know to be successful, versus teaching just one small portion of the puzzle. I don’t believe in that type of approach.

All right, so let’s talk about the next shift. Shift number four is playing the long game. This is another important one, y’all. You have to understand that this is a long-game play. Building an online business is not a get rich quick thing, and I think a lot of people struggle with this, but it’s critical.

You have to understand that success in this game doesn’t happen overnight. Success is the product of consistent, and a lot of work behind the scenes, especially when you’re in the building phase of your business. And it’s about being able to do the work and being emotionally resilient at the same time, so you can keep moving forward, so you don’t give up when things feel too hard.

And I want you to understand that in order to have the long-term success you want, you’re going to have to put in some time. Because, pinch me if I’m wrong, or correct me if I’m wrong, successful businesses don’t just drop from the sky. And y’all, if you know one that does, please let me know.

But in my experience, anyone that’s experiencing any level of success in their business, it’s because it’s been a product of a lot of work behind the scenes, a lot of personal growth, a lot of development happening behind the scenes.

All right, so the last shift, shift number five is mastering your inner game and investing in mentoring. And I put these two together because I think they’re equally important, and I see them as very related.

And I want to be super real with you all on this one too. If you’re trying to build a coaching business, yet you’re not willing to invest in yourself in coaching, and you’re not doing the inner work you need to do in order to become who you need to be as the leader of your business, you might as well just throw in the towel, and I mean that in the most loving way.

Because honestly, there’s not one successful coach that I know that is generating over six or seven figures who’s not currently investing in themselves at a high level, or hasn’t invested in themselves at a high level to get them to where they are today. It just doesn’t happen without it.

And it’s never going to happen without mastering your inner game, whether that’s through your own personal self-coaching work, or working with a coach, you have to be willing to do that. And you have to understand the importance of mastering your inner game.

And it’s also important to understand that mastering your inner game and working with a coach, it’s going to be an ongoing thing. It doesn’t just happen once and you’re good for the rest of your life, right? This process is continual.

Because when you’re not mastering your own inner game, what happens is, is you’re not allowing yourself to even step up as the leader that your business really needs, as the true coach that you really are.

And for most of us, we need help. We need to work with a coach ourselves to help us do that. Because when you’re in it, you can’t see the forest through the trees. So even though we live and we breathe these concepts in our lives, it’s a whole other thing to have someone supporting you, to have someone see what you’re not able to see yourself.

Because when you’re in it, you’re in it. And when you’re in it, you don’t, a lot of times, have access to it. Things are too clouded. This one is a big one. So, you have to be working on your inner game, which usually requires investing in your own coaching, if you want to rise to the level you want.

Because you all know, your inner game creates every single result you have, and every single result you’re going to have in the future, plain and simple, it’s that easy.

So, I really encourage you all to take a look and see what shifts you might need to make. Some of you might need to go back and start with clarity. Some of you might have clarity, but you don’t have any strategy. And some of you might have both, but you’re not mastering your own inner game, and you’re not playing at the level that you could be.

So, no matter where you’re at, understand that it’s going to be a constant evolution. Understand that it’s going to be a journey, and don’t expect it to happen overnight. Play the long game, get clarity first and from there, start taking aligned action. You’re going to see results. I guarantee it.

Here’s to having a fantastic week. I’ll talk to you all again very soon. Take care. Bye-bye.

Hey, before you go, I have something amazing I want to share with you. To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m going to be giving away three free VIP Strategy Sessions, where I’ll be diving deep into your business and helping you put a strategy in place for the next 90 days, so you have a real game plan on how to create results in your business and finally gain momentum.

I’m going to be giving away one free VIP Strategy Session, the same VIP Strategy Session I offer to all of my highest-level clients, to three lucky listeners who subscribe, rate, and review this show on Apple Podcasts. Visit amandakarlstadcoaching.com/podcastlaunch to learn more about the contest and how to enter. I’ll be announcing the winners on the show in an upcoming episode. Thanks so much.

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.