Ep #22: True Responsibility

You are listening to The Life Coach Business Podcast, Episode number 22.

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 well. I’m doing fantastic. Many of you know that I am in the process of launching my new group program, my 100K Coaching Mentorship, which is a group that I developed that is designed for coaches who want to build their businesses to at least 100K in annual revenue or more. And I am just so excited for this group that will be launching the results that we about to create in their businesses.

And I put a lot of thought, a lot of intention into this program that came from my own experiences when I was trying to build my business to that level and everything that I went through in that process. And my goal is to be able to help my clients move through this process at such a faster rate so that they can learn from my mistakes and also learn from the exact process that I went through that allowed me to build my business to a multi-figure business in a little over six months.

It’s pretty amazing, when I look at what we are going to be learning and what they are going to be implementing in the program. And I have found that this process to build your business to that first 100K and beyond, it really does require an all-out mentorship. It requires expert coaching that covers not only the strategies, but also the internal strategies and what it really takes to build your business to that level.

Because, let me just tell you, there is a lot. There’s a lot of transformation that is required if you want to build your coaching business to that level. And it’s interesting because, as I’m working with my clients right now on this exact process, and for some of them, they’ve been building their businesses for a few years and others are new to the industry, some have been recently certified as coaches and some have been certified for a while.

And what I see in every single case is that, unless you have someone looking at your business from a different perspective, unless you have someone that is able to help you see things at a higher level, someone that is able to help you actually implement the systems and the strategies that are required to grow a business to that level, someone that’s able to help you develop you to your next level and then hold you accountable to that, there is so much that you can potentially miss.

And unfortunately, what I see happening in the industry is that there are so many coaches who are trying to do what I call DIY their business. Meaning they’re trying to piece together their business from, you know, whether it’s all sorts of freebies or books or small courses. They’re spending so much of their time in this mode of consumption.

And what’s happening is they’re not investing in themselves or investing in their business, in a process, in expert coaching that essentially is going to make their success inevitable. And so, for me, that’s been a really important pillar in my business. It’s been a really important priority and focus that I bring into all of my coaching and both of my programs.

It’s really that I’m not here to teach you just one part of the process. I’m not here to teach you just one piece of the puzzle. Instead, my priority is to teach you everything that you need in order to grow your business to that level and beyond. And so, I have just been, from day one, in a place where I have been very clear that I only teach a holistic process that covers both the internal and the external strategies that are required to build a business.

So, yes, it is about the systems and strategy, but it’s also about who you are and who you are and how you function as an entrepreneur. And I will say, we go deep and we move fast and it’s because one of the most important things to have as you’re building your business is momentum. And so that’s my goal for my clients.

And if you ask my clients, they learn very quickly what are the things to focus on and what not to focus on that are actually going to create the results that they want. And when those results start to happen, it is so much fun to watch and to celebrate with them.

So, if you’re interested in building your business to this level and beyond, if you’re interested in doing million-dollar work and you’re tired of all of the nonsense that’s out there, if you’ve tried the courses, if you’ve read the books, if you’ve downloaded the freebies, or maybe you’ve even been in programs that lacked some key components of what it actually takes to grow a coaching business in the industry, then I invite you to apply for this program at amandakarlstadcoaching.com.

I will let you know; it is by application only as I want to be sure that every coach in this group is ready and is all in on their business and they’re ready to do this work. And I’m also curating this group so that every coach is 100% success-minded and is ready to be coached and mentored at a high level because, I will tell you, the work that we are about to do is million-dollar work.

What you will learn in this program will literally be worth millions of dollars in revenue over the course of your business. And I can say that in 100% full integrity. So, I hope you consider this, especially if you’re ready to make 2020 a breakthrough year in your business. Go ahead and apply at amandakarlstadcoaching.com.

Alright, today we’re going to talk about responsibility. And specifically, we’re going to talk about responsibility for your results in your business. And I decided I wanted to talk with all of you today about responsibility, which I think for every one of us, we all have a sense of what being responsible is.

So, for many of us, we probably grew up in an environment where responsibility was valued, where we learned to be responsible, whether that was through our own role models that were our parents or other people around us. And for some of us, it might have even come from a place of survival.

We might have been in an environment where maybe there wasn’t a lot of responsibility. So, it was through that process that we then developed a level of responsibility that allowed us to thrive in that type of environment.

So, my point here is that responsibility for all of us is likely not a new term. It’s something that we’re all familiar with, we all have a concept of. It’s actually a pretty simple term for most of us. And I’m sure that all of you listening have a sense of what being responsible looks like.

And what I want to talk about today is taking our concept of responsibility and taking how we think of responsibility as it relates to our business to a whole new level. Because the truth is, because responsibility is something that most of us have a sense of, it’s likely something that we’re practicing in our daily lives as it relates to our family, in our personal life, I think it’s also something that we can quickly lose sight of, especially when it comes to our business.

Because, here’s the thing, responsibility is something we think we’re doing, but a lot of times, our definition or our lack of awareness surrounding what being truly responsible is and looks like might be off. It might be missing.

And when that is missing, what I see very often is that we instead start blaming external things or others for the lack of results we have in our businesses. So, I’m going to have a bit of a tough love conversation with you today on this and it’s because it’s something that I’m seeing a lot of lately.

It’s something that I’m seeing everywhere, and it’s not just in the coaching industry. And I do believe that as coaches, as individuals that are responsible for helping others grow and develop, that we must first take a look internally. We must first look at ourselves and develop a high level of awareness for ourselves if we expect to help elevate others’ awareness.

So, today, I am going to challenge likely what your concept is of what bring responsible looks like. And that really is in fact my purpose with this conversation.

So, I want to challenge you with a new way of looking at responsibility and what being 100% responsible means in your business and in your life. So, typically, when we think about responsibility and what that means, we typically think about things like taking care of our family, taking care of our kids for example or taking care of our home, paying our bills, being a good human, things like that.

And, if we look at being responsible in business, I think many times, coaches think being responsible in their business looks like being on time for client sessions, as an example, or preparing for client sessions, providing great content, creating amazing programs, things like that.

And I want to say that I wouldn’t argue that those things are being responsible. In fact, I believe that all of those things are essential and all of those things, in my opinion, are standard when it comes to building your business. And so, it’s likely that if you’re struggling with doing those things, it’s likely that you don’t have much of a business at this point.

What I’m really talking about here is that once we cover the basics, once we move beyond the basic level of what I just mentioned, we need to consider to what level are we truly being responsible for our results. So, let me explain.

I think for coaches who are un the phase where they’ve just been certified and they’re starting out on their journey of building their business, or for coaches that have maybe been working for a while to build their business, there tends to be a lot of focus and a lot of energy on things in the external. Meaning, if we were to have a conversation about where they’re at in their business, or if we were to look at the results that they have in their business, there teds to be a lot of conversation about things that are outside of them.

The conversation is probably surrounding topics as it relates to their niche. So, for example, maybe they feel like their niche doesn’t have the money to pay for their program or it might sound like their email list that they do have isn’t opening their emails, so that’s why they don’t have any clients, their email list is not engaged.

Or they might say that they are confused about their messaging and they’re not sure how to even explain their programs to potential clients. So, as a result, they’re not having conversations. It might also sound like something to the effect that the market is saturated, that what they’re offering isn’t unique or that they don’t have the following that someone else does.

So depending on where that coach is in the building phase of their business, usually in that first zero to, really, 50K especially, that conversation typically revolves around those types of external reasons as to why they don’t yet have the results they want.

And what I want you all to consider instead here is that being fully responsible as it relates to your business is being 100% responsible for the results that you have in your business. And it means taking the idea, taking this concept of responsibility, like I said, to a whole new level.

And it means taking it to this level where you’re fully owning, where you’re fully understanding, and you’re fully living in a way where you are being 100% responsible for your results. So, what this means is that if you’re being 100% responsible for your results, that means there is no focus on the external.

That means that there is blaming. It means that there is no victim mentality. It means there’s no power being given away to anything that is external from you. So, being 100% responsible and fully owning your results, despite what is happening, whatever your clients are saying or doing or not doing, it’s about being fully in ownership of the financial results that you have to date in your business.

And it’s becoming aware of how your decisions, of how your actions have influenced your current level of results. Also, about being able to ask yourself, how have I created this result in my business? This is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself as a business owner, truly.

Because I am telling you, when you can move into this level of responsibility, your life and your business will change. And the fact is that we’ve all fallen into victim mode at one time or another, right? All of us have likely blamed someone or something outside of ourselves for our current circumstances.

I know I’ve done it and you’ve done it. We’re human. But one of the greatest lessons that I’ve learned in my own journey and what I want you to see with this conversation today is that once you develop a higher level of awareness to your current situation, to your current results and you genuinely can answer the question of how have I created these results or this result in my business by taking full ownership of that, your results will start to change.

And the reason your results will start t change is because you’re no longer working from the external. Instead, you’re only working from the internal. And that is the only place that real change can happen.

So, I want to be clear that this doesn’t mean that we’re not looking at what’s happening on the outside, okay. It doesn’t mean that we’re not looking at data. It doesn’t mean that we don’t look at how, for instance, our ads are performing or that we’re not considering the marketing strategy we’re using or how we’re even positioning ourselves in the market. That’s not what I’m saying.

In fact, doing all of that is part of being truly responsible in your business. What this means is being able to look at all of the external things, looking at how many clients we have or we don’t have, looking at what we learned in the last year or maybe in the last month, looking at our programs, all of it, and then being able to ask ourselves, how have I create this result in my business or in my life?

This is one of the most impactful questions and one of the greatest habits of success you can adopt and you can learn in your life. And it’s something I want all of you to take a look at today as it elates to your business and honestly answer the question, how have I created these results in my business?

So, take a minute and answer that for yourself. Look at your current results, or maybe it’s your lack of results, and ask yourself, how have I created this result in my business? Because the fact is, I’ve devoted this show and every episode, in one way or another, I’ve been talking about how our results are only created from the internal.

And last week in particular, I talked about how thought is the preamble to everything. And what that means is that thought is the preamble to our results.

So, we can’t have a result first without a thought or series of thoughts that ultimately manifest in our business or in our life. So, that’s why we have to first be working from the inside out and not the other way around. So, if you’re in a situation right now where you’re not happy with the results that you have in your business, maybe you’re feeling frustrated or maybe you’re feeling a lot of doubt about what you’re doing, I want you to really consider what I’m saying to you today.

I want you to take an honest look at your current results and answer, for yourself, how you’ve created them. And for some of you, I know this is probably a big shift. It’s probably a big shift away from looking at how every consultation you’ve had in the last few months was a no for one reason or another.

And for others of you, maybe you’ve had zero consultations because you haven’t implemented a real marketing strategy that even allows you to market your business. So, whatever your current level of results are, I want you to honestly answer for yourself how you’ve created your results in your business.

Because the answer to this is that you have. You are the only one responsible for the results that you have, not one thing outside of you and no one else has created your results. And, chances are, up until now, there’s been a lot of focus on everything that’s external. And you’ve likely not been able to see this far yourself.

You might have instead been blaming the fact that you don’t have the time or that your niche can’t afford what you’re offering, or that your life circumstances have gotten in the way. And what I want to offer to you is that all of that is probably true.

If you feel like you don’t have the time, it’s probably because you haven’t created the space or prioritized what needs to be done to actually grow a business. Or, it could mean that you’ve been focusing your time and your energy on things that aren’t actually moving the needle in your business.

And if you’re in a place where you feel like your niche can’t afford what you’re offering, it’s probably because they don’t see the value in what you’re offering. And I will say, in every case, it always comes back to you not seeing your value and not explaining the level of value that you’re offering to these clients.

If you feel like your life circumstances have gotten in the way, that’s probably true. It’s likely you’ve let them. So, whatever this is for you, I want you to take an honest look. Do not allow yourself to blame anything or anyone else. Answer the question, how have I created this with 100% honesty? Do not allow yourself to be a victim. Accept true responsibility from yourself. If you do this, I guarantee, your business will change if you do.

Alright, everyone, I hope this conversation served you today. Take some true responsibility in your business this week. Own your results; all of them. Once you do, you’re going to be shocked at how you’re able to move forward in such a more powerful way and actually start doing the things that will make a difference to you. Alright, have an amazing 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 the 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.