Ep #169: Stop Leaving Money on the Table in 2023

You are listening to The Life Coach Business Podcast with Amanda Karlstad episode number 169.

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. Welcome to 2023. Happy New Year. I hope you all had an amazing new year and an amazing holiday season. We had a great holiday. In fact, we welcomed a new member to our family. It was so exciting. We welcomed a beautiful new puppy to our family this holiday. He has been such a joy and was a complete surprise to the kids. it was so much fun because they have been wanting a puppy for a long time.

I think I’ve talked about this before in a few earlier episodes, but my daughter actually used to be quite scared of dogs. over the last couple of years, she has made really amazing progress and has gotten to the point now where she’s not scared anymore. she has really been wanting a dog. so we decided to make it happen. we decided to surprise them right before the holiday. We picked up our new little guy, he is adorable. He’s a great puppy and has been such a great addition to the family.

I will say it’s also given me a chance to see my kids experience him and just this new addition in a very new way. So with this new little guy, I am so proud of them for the way that they’re helping out already so much with him, for taking him for walks and helping to feed him, taking him outside, playing with him, training him, all of the things. I have to say I’m really just proud of how they’ve stepped up and are really taking responsibility for this new little pup. It has been really awesome to see.

so the past few weeks have been a whirlwind for us. It has been a December filled with a lot of life. with all of the excitement that we’ve had personally, I’m also so excited for this year for all of the amazing things ahead for what I’ve created. I’m in the process of creating here in my business.

so personally, I have a lot of great things happening right now. I’m gonna talk a little bit about some of that today. But I’m also so excited for what’s happening in the business and for what’s happening with so many of my clients for all of the amazing successes that they’re creating. it’s been so fun.

Over the last few days, I have received so many different messages from my clients who are looking back at 2022, who are reviewing their financials, who are doing all of the debrief work that I teach them to do. So many of them are hitting such major milestones in their businesses. it’s been so touching and so moving to hear and read their messages because what they’re doing, the level of success that they’re creating is truly life changing. not only for them, but for their families, for the clients that they’re serving, and just the overall ripple effect of their work. so it’s been wonderful to receive so many of these messages over the past couple of weeks.

in fact, one of my high level clients who just messaged me yesterday and wanted to share a huge, huge win. She was so excited, and I have to say I was so excited for her that she hit $1 million in her business in 2022. $1 million, y’all. That is incredible. when I listened to her message, I literally got a bit choked up when I first listened because I immediately remembered our first call together and thinking about when we started working together and how much of a transformation she has made, and how she was in such a completely different place from where she is today.

so the transformation for this particular client that I have witnessed, both on a personal level but also in her business is really tremendous. I’m so, so proud of her and so proud of the work that she’s put in and so proud of the deep inner work that she’s also done to create that result.

so, I was thinking about this, and I was thinking about all of my clients and the wins that they’re creating. to give you another example, we had a client who came to me in late 2021 who was about to give up on our business, who was literally at a point where she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue on with her business. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to just focus on her career, or if she wanted to continue to build the business. obviously, she decided she wanted to continue to build the business.

fast forward to today, the same client has hit over six figures in her business this year. So I just got off a coaching call with her earlier this week. literally, she went from in less than 12 months wanting to potentially give up altogether on her business to generating over six figures in her business. this is, by the way, while also working in her career.

so now we have a plan to scale her business to a minimum of $300k this year after hitting over six figures in 2022 in less than 12 months. literally going from the brink of giving up to creating over six figures in her business. the best part is now she feels like hitting $300,000 this year is going to be easy. She literally told me that a couple of times over the last couple of weeks that she feels like hitting that number in 2023 is going to be easy.

the reason it feels so easy is because we’ve done so much foundational work in her business because she has put into place the systems and the marketing and the things that are really going to fuel her growth to that level. so having that level of clarity and doing that foundational work is where it’s at.

so I share all of this with all of you because it’s so important to see examples of this, to see what is truly possible when you have clarity, when you have the foundational things in place that I talk about in this show, when you do the deep inner work, when you shift your identity, when you start stepping into these next levels.

so lastly, another client that I want to share with you is someone who came to me earlier in 2022 and was at a point where she had reached six figures in her business, but she couldn’t see a path to making $200k. She wasn’t sure how she was going to take things to the next level.

so fast forward to today, she has made over $200,000 in her business in 2022. we made some big changes in her business. We optimized some major things. We got some major foundational things in place for her business. now she’s in a place where she can really look at what her next level is going to be. we had a conversation about that and about her next big jump to a million.

so again, I share all of these wins with you because it’s so, so vital that you hear examples of success like this. That you see the power of this work. when I look at just the significance of this, when I look at the significant wins, the significant transformation that I am seeing in my clients.

I’ve really been, I have to tell you all, sitting with this over the past couple of weeks as I’ve taken some time off and thinking about the power of this work and thinking about the power of coaching and what a tremendous impact it has made on my in life and in my own business. To now being able to see this happening at such a large level in so many of my clients businesses and in their lives. not only that, but to see how they’re transforming so much personally also as business owners, as entrepreneurs, as humans. It’s really amazing and such an honor.

it’s one of the reasons that as I look at my own goals for 2023, as I look at my own next level and where I’m taking my business to be able to help even more clients, to expand my impact even more. I’ve realized that what got me here is not going to get me there. that’s what I really want to talk to all of you about today.

Because so many coaches come to me when they hit that point, when they have reached a certain level in their business. they realize that what got them to where they’re at today is likely not going to get them to the next level. so I want to share this with you today because I think this is a really common place to be. I think that it’s something that you’ll encounter as your business grows and as you reach even greater levels of success in your business.

so for the clients that mostly come to me, when they’re coming to me, they realize that number one, they’re probably leaving money on the table because they’re not optimizing certain things in the business. Many of them are not sure what their next steps are, or maybe they feel like they’ve hit a plateau in their business. so also, it could be things like a need to start incorporating things like paid ads into the business or others just need help with clarity and having a roadmap.

for every client that I do work with, it’s also, I will tell you, extremely about the inner gain and becoming that next level self, and becoming that next level leader that the business actually needs. this is a huge byproduct of the work that happens inside of my containers is becoming that next version. As I’ve been reflecting on this and looking back on this past year and look at where I’m at today and where I’m taking things over the next year, over the next three years, the next 10 years, it has become very clear to me that what has created my current level of success is also not likely going to create my next level.

So when I think about where I’m taking my business in the next 12 months, in the next three years, in the next 10 years, I can see very clearly when I span out and when I look at that result, when I look at that business at that level, when I look at the business at that level, it becomes very clear that there are a few key things that are going to need to be optimized. There are going to be some new things that will need to be introduced. There are going to need to be systems that I’m currently working on that will need to be in place in order to support the level of growth that I will be experiencing. for me, this is a really, really exciting place to be.

so with that one of the things that has really come to me in the last several weeks as I’ve been doing this deep inner work and really setting the stage for the coming year is that I’ve decided that a big part of this process and a big part of me and my capacity in really taking things to the next level is something that I haven’t really talked about before, and that is prioritizing my own physical health. So really prioritizing my own self-care.

it’s really going to be about getting back to and building upon some of the things that in this past year quite honestly, I didn’t put as much focus on. I didn’t have as much of a priority on. Here’s what I’ve learned as a result of that.

I have learned just how important physical health truly is, not only on a personal level, but also to the business. I’ve realized as I look back on this past year that my physical health will be one of the most important aspects as I move forward. So as I move towards my three year, my 10 year, those big, impossible goals. As I carry my momentum forward into 2023 and beyond, it’s one of those things that it’s become very clear needs to be a focus. It needs to be one of my main priorities in the coming year.

I also know that it’s going to impact everything else and help me take everything to the next level. I have to tell you all when it comes to my physical health, I have always been a very healthy person. I have never struggled with my weight. I have always ate healthy. I have not had issues with food. I have not been somebody who drinks very much. I sleep well.

So physically, I have always been in pretty good shape. I have always been a pretty healthy person. I’ve been an avid exerciser my entire life. I’m very active. I enjoy being outdoors. I have two young children who are also very active and into sports. So for me being active has been a way of life. It’s something that I’ve done, whether that’s playing an organized sport, or having a consistent and pretty intense if I do say, workout routine. that is just in my day to day.

so when I’m not working, when I’m not on coaching calls and with my clients, the truth is that I don’t sit down a whole lot. I tend to be on the move. We are an active family. We are on the go a lot. I’m active in a lot of different ways.

But one of the things that I have noticed as I look back at this past year when it came to physical workouts, I caught myself so many times pushing them aside, and instead diving into things for the business thinking that I would fit in the workout later or at a different time. the truth is that it didn’t happen.

so I noticed this becoming a trend earlier last year, and I noticed how he started to feel. quite frankly, I didn’t like it. I didn’t physically feel fully myself, as I always have. so I definitely have realized that I haven’t been making my physical health as much of a priority as I had in the past. I felt the effects of that. It really hit me in the fourth quarter of this past year. so because of that, I made the decision that I was going to make that a priority, again, moving forward.

to help support me in this next level, I’m so excited because I have really been in a place where I’ve been assembling a great team around me, a great system around me so that I can really be set up for success with that. So that it can really be a priority once again for me, and I’m so excited to experience that this year and moving forward.

So I share that with all of you because that is one piece of how while even though yes, that’s more of a personal focus for myself this year. Without a doubt, I know that this focus on my personal health and my physical health, for sure, is going to have an extremely positive impact in my business.

I was recently at an event, and it was for a mastermind that I belong to. one of the speakers was a coach who works in the area of health and fitness. he was a former rugby player. He has worked with all sorts of professional athletes. now in his practice, he primarily works with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs at a high level and entrepreneurs that are operating at a very high level. so as we were talking about his work and what he does, one of the things that he talked about is how as entrepreneurs, we are very much like professional decision makers.

So when you think about a professional athlete, when you think about the level of training and the level of focus that they put towards their craft, towards keeping themselves in the best shape possible, towards being able to operate and play in a peak performance state, it really started to hit me as to it’s very similar in business.

Because when you get to a certain point in business where you are making bigger decisions, where you are making decisions that have impact, where you are making decisions that I talk about frequently that are literally million dollar decisions in your business, or million dollar decisions that you’re helping to make your clients make, like I do, when you start playing at a much bigger level, when you have more on your plate when you’re stepping into greater capacities, the truth is that it’s going to require more of you.

It’s going to require even more solid decision making from you. It’s going to require even more emotional maturity that I’ve talked about, which is a big part of being able to be properly emotionally regulated. It’s going to require even more brainpower. all of this is to say is because it requires that you’re thinking bigger. It requires that you’re innovating. It requires that you are creating at such a higher level.

So, in so many ways, as I started to think about this and reflect on my experience this past year, it really became clear to me just how important this is going to be for myself moving forward to be operating in a state of peak performance, not that much different, quite honestly, from a professional athlete.

So as I look into the future and as I look ahead into 2023, my goal of prioritizing my physical health, as an example, is a way that is going to help me optimize to peak performance so that I can operate at the highest level at a peak performance level. I’ll be sharing more as we move forward. Because what I’ve realized, again, to go back to what I alluded to earlier, what got me here won’t get me there. so I have to tell you all, this is definitely one of the biggest lessons that I am taking with me from 2020.

That to that to reach that next level, the level of evolution, the level of evolution in terms of your identity, in terms of your self-concept, that I have found to be truly an ongoing process no matter what level you’re at, it’s going to require an evolution. It’s going to require an evolution in your business. It may require an evolution of your brand. It might require an evolution of your business model. I will tell you this will come up as you reach different levels in your business.

so for example, I think one of the great examples here is when you hit that first $100k in your business, a lot of times clients will tell me, and I’ve experienced this myself, is that while hitting that milestone was great and it was amazing and it probably took a lot to get there, what happens is there tends to be a realization that you’re going to have to do things differently going forward. That it’s probably not going to get you to that next level. That it’s probably not going to get you to that next financial milestone, whatever it is that you’re doing.

I will say if that you’ve already hit multiple six figures, and you realize that getting to a million is definitely going to require some different things, it’s definitely going to require thinking differently in your business. sometimes this may be a new business model. Sometimes it may be a new marketing funnel. It’s going to be internal shifts that need to happen, and likely it’s going to be a combination of all of those things. So it’s really important to understand that no matter where you’re at, there will always be that next level that is going to require new and different things from you.

so I want to challenge all of you listening today to ask yourself some of these questions. What is it going to take to get to your next level? For some of you, it might be a simple answer. for others of you, there might be a bit more to it. But I want to challenge you all to look forward to 2023 and to think about where you want to take your business to next.

I want you to consider what it will mean in terms of your business strategy. I want you to consider what this means in terms of your program or the programs that you’re currently offering. I want you to consider the clients that you’re serving. What does this mean in terms of the clients that you’re serving in your programs? What also does this mean in terms of who you need to be? So when you think about the result that you want to create in this next 12 months, what does that require of you?

I will tell you all I was having a conversation with one of my clients earlier today on this, and we were talking about her goals for the upcoming year. That in order for her to go to the next level that it’s going to require a new way of doing things for her. It’s going to require gaining even more clarity in terms of her offer, in terms of how she is positioning her offer and deciding what she really wants her business to look like in the long term.

so I really challenged her on that because here’s the thing. What I’ve learned is that there are a lot of different ways you can go about building a coaching business. There are a lot of different ways you can go about your marketing, for example. There are a lot of different ways that you can structure your programs.

But one thing that I have found to be true is that the more you are in alignment, and you are working to your strengths, and you are clear on what those are and to what you are truly exceptional at. The clearer you are on that and the more that you operate, and you instill the foundational elements based on business principles and not trends, the more powerful it becomes.

But in order to do this, in order to put these things in place, it also is going to require a whole new level of focus for you. It’s going to require that you know with so much clarity where you’re going. so one of the things that I’ve realized in this past year for myself is that where I’m going, it’s going to require a deeper and more intense focus on certain things. Things like my physical health, like I shared with you today, and to not do certain things and to be able to delegate certain things.

So really leaning into support, really becoming even more dialed in terms of my own physical health, my own habits, and being even more protective of my time. again, I’ve been very dialed to this point. But I’ve also realized that in order to go to the next level and to make the level of impact that I know I’m being called to serve, it’s going to require even more focus. It’s going to require even more of a priority in terms of what I’m saying yes to.

I’m so, so excited to be in this place. I am so looking forward to this next level for who I am choosing to become in order to achieve it. It really feels so natural as I start stepping into this next level. Because the truth is, and I find this to be true for so many of you as well. It truly is who you already are. It’s just becoming that next version of yourself. It’s giving yourself the permission to step into your next chapter, to step into your next level.

So it’s going to be an amazing year, and it’s going to be an amazing ride. I want to leave you all with this. I want you all to consider who is that 2023 version of you? Who are you choosing to be as you walk into 2023? Who are you going to choose to be 12 months from now as you wrap up the year? What are you going to choose to put your focus, your intention, your energy on in the coming year?

I want you to consider how you can step into and operate from an even higher version of yourself in the coming year. What is it that you need to let go of? Where do you need to apply even more focus? What needs to evolve in order for you to go to the next level? Take some time and really answer these questions my friends. I want to challenge you to do this because no matter where you’re at today, I guarantee that your next level awaits you. You all have a huge opportunity in 2023. Let’s do this. All right, my friends. Have a beautiful week. 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.