Ep #193: How to Overcome Plateaus in Your Business

You are listening to The Life Coach Business Podcast with Amanda Karlstad episode number 193.

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. I hope you’re doing amazing. Welcome to today’s show. I am super excited to talk to you all today. We are full on in summer here. It has been a great summer so far, we are gearing up for some travel coming up in the next few weeks and really looking forward to our plans. It’s hard to believe that we were already approaching July. That this year is almost halfway over. It has flown by. I don’t know how it’s felt for you. But for me, it’s really flown by.

It’s been a really incredible year so far. I’m looking forward to this last half of the year. We have a lot of exciting things happening. So many client wins happening right now. Clients that are launching new programs, clients reaching new levels of revenue, clients that are consistently generating six figures plus per month, clients that are generating multiple six figures in their businesses, clients that are up leveling in so many ways. I am just so proud of the work that they are all doing and what they are creating in this world.

So for all of you listening, I want to challenge you to ask yourself because I think this is a great time of year to think about how you want to end this year. Look at your year so far, look at the first half of the year, and evaluate where it is that you’re at. Really question: are you on track for your goals this year? This is an important question because no matter where it is that you are that is in relation to your goals, I want to encourage you that right now you have the opportunity no matter where you’re sitting today to end this year strong, to achieve your goals.

I will share with you all one of the things that I have learned as I have grown and scaled my business is that one day, one week, one month sometimes can change everything in your business. So no matter where it is that you are, I want you to know that you can achieve your goals. I want you to know that what you desire is possible for you. Wherever you are sitting today, it doesn’t have to be where you end.

Of course, I would love to show you how we can help you get there. You can go to the show notes or my website at AmandaKarlstadCoaching.com. I want to invite you to fill out an application to apply to work with us and let us help you grow and scale this year and truly achieve the results that you want in your business.

All right. Today, I want to talk to you all about something that I think so many of you right now are experiencing. I know this to be true because in the work that I do, I have the unique vantage point of seeing and working with so many businesses and helping so many businesses grow and scale through all the different stages in business.

So I know that wherever it is that you are right now, whatever it is that you are currently experiencing, I can tell you that if you feel like you’re stuck, or you feel as if you’ve hit a plateau in your business, there are some key reasons for this. This is what I want to talk to you all about today.

Because what I have found is that inevitably if you are a coach, and you’re growing or in the process of scaling your business, at so many different points in your journey what will happen is that you will find yourself in a place where you have either hit a plateau, like so many of my clients when they come to work with me, especially when they’re looking to scale.

Where they find themselves where they’re at a point where they’re ready to go to the next level. But in so many ways, they’ve also reached a plateau. They really need expert support in helping them to break through and take things to that next level.

This can happen, by the way, when you’ve reached six figures, when you’ve reached multiple six figures. It even happens when you reach seven figures and beyond. So no matter where you’re at, there will be a time. All of you will be there at some point in your journey. Many of you are likely there right now where you feel like you’ve hit a wall. You want to break through that wall so, so desperately, but you keep running into this wall.

So today, I want to talk to you all about why that is. I want to offer you some insights and some strategies on how you can break through whatever wall you’re facing and go to the next level.

Now, before I get into all of that, one of the things that I do want to mention here is that every business is unique. What I mean by that is that every business that I have worked with every single coach, every single business is unique in terms of the type of work that they do, in terms of perhaps the type of coaching that you offer, in terms of the impact that you want to make, in terms of the results that you provide, and how you do that.

So I want to tee up this conversation by saying that while every business is unique, the truth is it also doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what is your niche. It doesn’t matter in what it is that you do offer. It doesn’t matter on how you deliver your program to your clients, or how you work with clients. The fact is that there are key elements that every single business must have working in their business in order for that business to succeed.

To the degree that those elements are working in your business is the degree of success that you will experience, that you will be able to create in your business. I will tell you, I have never seen a business that was not immune to this. I have never encountered a business that didn’t need these key elements working in their business and have success.

So if you’re not experiencing the growth that you most want, if you’re not experiencing the results that you want, it’s because of what we’re talking about here today. Now, I also want to say that while I’m going to walk you through what these key elements are, I want you also to keep in mind that there is a ton of nuance here. There’s a ton of nuance to all of this.

What I mean by this is that with all of these elements that I’m about to teach you and walk you through because of the uniqueness to every business, because of the fact that every one of you is unique, this will look different for you. This will look different in how this plays out in your business. But knowing these fundamentals and knowing what these key elements are is extremely valuable to you as the business owner.

All right. So the first key element that I talk about all the time on this podcast and that is the foundation to everything else we’re going to talk about is the inner game. It is the inner mindset, the inner belief system, the inner dialogue that you have on daily basis that will dictate how effective you are in creating results in your business.

I can’t overemphasize this enough. Because as a coach, it’s always something that I am assessing and that I am looking at when I’m working with my clients and really questioning where is their inner game at? What is the belief structure that is driving then the emotions in the business? So I’m also questioning what is the emotional landscape that my client is experiencing, and how is this working for them? Or in many cases, how is this working against them and working against the goals that they have?

I’ve talked about this in depth in many episodes of the podcast, the importance of your beliefs, and the beliefs that you are choosing right now in this moment to hold. Also at the same time, the importance of having awareness and knowing how important your emotional landscape is, your emotional maturity, your emotional resiliency, especially if you’re a business owner. Especially when you are working to grow or scale your business.

The reason this is foundational is because it doesn’t matter what strategy you might choose to grow your business. It doesn’t matter what playbook or what roadmap you might be working from. If you are not in a place where you have the emotional capacity to effectively implement the strategies or effectively implement the playbook, what will happen is you will find yourself reacting to your emotions and making decisions based solely in that emotional state.

In so many cases, unconsciously, what happens is that you end up giving your power away to your emotional state. This happens especially in times of high stress. It happens especially in challenging times in business, especially during the times that you most want to create the results that you don’t yet have.

Yet at the same time, when you are trying to create those results, when you are in a weak emotional state. So, for example, if you’re attempting to build a million dollar business from a belief system that will never lead you or allow you to create that level of result in your business, it’s going to be impossible to do that. So this is how important this is.

I know so many of you can relate to this in what I just said in terms of being in those different emotional states. So I also want you to know that it’s also completely normal. It’s also something that you will encounter as you’re growing a business. Because you have decided to be a coach who is building a business, know that this will be part of the game.

So it’s something that has to be addressed in the journey. No matter what level of business you’re at, or what level of business you’re going to, which is why this is so important to understand that the work will never end. So often I think that we think that there is an arrival point. That there will be this point in time where we “arrive”. I want you all to know that that arrival point will just keep getting extended.

What I have found is that the journey becomes even more interesting. As you do this work and as you become even more aware, what will happen is your level of awareness will continue to grow deeper and deeper. This is why also it becomes such a beautiful journey.

Okay, so the first foundational element is your inner game. When I say inner game, there is so much that falls underneath that that will be unique to you, that will be unique to your experience. But I want you to know that in order to effectively implement the strategic elements, you must be continually working on your belief systems and those structures, which is why this is ongoing work that I do with all of my clients regardless of their revenue level or what their business looks like.

Okay, the next element that I have talked about in various episodes is your vision, and the level of clarity in what you’re actually building. Why it is that you’re building the business that you’re building. Why you’re doing the work that you’re doing. Why you might be choosing to leave or maybe you’ve already left your career in order to create this business.

So I want you to really think about what I just said. Think about the reasons why you’re building the business that you’re building, why you have chosen to do the work that you’re doing, why you have decided to either leave or maybe already have left a career that you have built, why you choose to work with the clients that you choose to work with. Why you are choosing to make the impact that you want to make.

I have to tell you all I think this is one of the elements that I see so many people skip over. I think this happens unintentionally because I don’t think that there’s a ton of awareness about around how important this really is. But I also think it’s very common, especially in this industry to see, for example, what someone else might be doing in their business, to look at another coach, to look at another program. Without a lot of consideration, to just start emulating what that other coach or that other person might have done in their business or maybe what they are doing.

At the same time, what’s happening that can be very, very tricky is that when you don’t really understand or have the vantage point of really knowing all of the different elements that went into the behind the scenes, that went into actually getting the business to that level, not really understanding all of the elements that went into their decision to even start the business that they started.

Or not understanding what it is that they were working with at the time, initially, or maybe even on an ongoing basis. It’s very common to think that you can just emulate a certain program or emulate a certain business, whether that be a membership or a course or a group program or any other type of structure or business model. I see this happen, particularly a lot with programs.

When you don’t have the full picture, when you are trying to emulate a program or a model, before too long, it’s so common. I see this over and over again with clients that come to work with me is that they start to realize that maybe it’s not a model that’s actually in alignment with their goals. Or maybe it’s a model that doesn’t actually bring them joy. Or maybe it’s a container that doesn’t allow them to work with their most ideal clients, which is why having your own vision for success, knowing what your vision is, knowing why you’re doing what you’re doing is so vitally important.

All right, the next element is your strategy. Now, I know a lot when it comes to strategy. In fact, this is one of my natural gifts. I am a natural high level strategist, which is one of the reasons that my work is so potent is because I am a natural strategist. In fact, it is part of my human design.

So I’m not going to dive into that today, but just know that when it comes to strategy, when it comes to creating revenue, money, success, one of my unique capabilities that is part of my design is that I am able to very clearly see the highest expression of my clients and their businesses, and at the same time provide the exact strategies, the exact roadmap on how to get there.

This is very uncommon, and it is hugely valuable. Because strategy is one of those things that I think when you aren’t really clear and when you’re just kind of looking for that next thing. So often, it can become very confusing, especially when you’re in the growth phase of your business. One thing that I see happen a lot is that a lot of times coaches tend to confuse strategy with tactics. This is why I don’t talk a lot about tactics or teach on tactics is because they don’t generally work over the long term.

So instead, I have found that it is much more effective to educate in this podcast, to teach in my programs, from true business principles. That it doesn’t matter what the latest fad is. It doesn’t matter what the latest tactic might be. It doesn’t matter because at the core foundation, there is actual principle. There is real business strategy happening. That no matter what the external environment is, no matter what social media platform might be hot at the moment. These are all strategies that will help create success over the long term. Not just what is hot in the moment.

Strategy is very important, you all. One of the things that I see so many coaches struggling with is their strategy, and it’s having the core of a real strategy in their business and working from a real strategy that will actually help to create the level of success that they most want. Something that I see happen so often at every revenue level is that if you’re feeling stuck, or if you are at a plateau in your business, one of the reasons for this is because you’re lacking real strategy. Because you’re lacking a strategy that is actually congruent with creating the level of results that you desire.

I share this with you all today because at the end of the day, you can do all the inner work. You can align all of your beliefs, and you can do this vision work. But if you’re not actually going out in an effective strategic way and focusing on the things that strategically matter in your business, the results will still not be there.

So what I want to offer to you, and if you feel like you’ve done the inner work, and you’re clear on what you’re building and why yet you’re still stuck, it’s likely because you’re not actually executing a real strategy, or the level of strategy that the business that you want actually requires, which is very important to understand.

So if you’re wanting to build a seven plus figure business then your level of strategy must also match that vision. It must be conducive to creating those levels of results, which for a lot of coaches is going to require them to go well beyond the level of strategy that they’re currently implementing.

So while yes, for example, social media might be something that you’re focusing on, but you also know that in order to go to the next level, the reality is that for most coaches in this space who want to build a highly successful business is that they also have to expand beyond what they’re currently doing in order to go to the next level.

The next key element in regards to your success is ensuring that you are building and growing from a foundation that will actually allow you to scale to the level that you want. Now, just like all of these key elements, there are so many things that go into every one of these elements that I’m talking about. There is, as I’ve said before, so much nuance, and it will look differently for every business.

However, if you don’t have a proper foundation in your business meaning if you are not clear on what it is that you’re offering, if your offer is not irresistible to your ideal clients, if you are not clear on who your ideal clients are, if you aren’t confident in what it is that you’re delivering and the results that you help your clients achieve, it’s going to be very difficult to grow to the level that you want.

So the foundation from what you build from is extremely important. The clearer that you are, the more dialed in you are. When you can articulate this very clearly, it will accelerate your growth, and help you reach all of the clients that right now are waiting for you, that are waiting for your solution.

All right, once you have all of these other elements dialed in, as you scale what becomes more and more important is how you structure your business. When I say structure, what I mean is in terms of how you deliver your programs, what type of support you have, how you market and sell, the content that you’re creating. All of those foundational pieces all then work together and support the growth of the business at scale.

So I know we covered a lot here, but this is why it’s so important, I believe, to have expert support, to really ensure that you’re building a solid foundation, to really build the strategy that is actually capable of growing your business to the level that you want. To do the ongoing inner work that will be required with each new level of business that you reach, to build your skills, your acumen as a business owner so that you create an environment for yourself to win.

All right, my friends. I hope this episode served you well. Have a beautiful week. I will talk to you all again soon. Take care. Bye, bye.

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.