Ep 277 – How to Invest Time Into Your Coaching Business So It Grows
Before you are booked with coaching clients it may be tempting to fit your coaching business into whatever remnant of time you have left in the day.
Look, I get it. You might have kids at home, a full time job, or both. You already have a rhythm of what you do day to day. You know your priorities. Adding a new business to your life is totally disruptive.
And, until you see the proof of your efforts in clients, you may withhold your positive energy.
The truth is, you can't grow a business on fumes. It needs regular care and feeding. It needs some of your mind share!
There's a mindset that goes with that fit-it-into-the-downtime approach. And, it's usually not a conscious one. It's what I call the hobbyist or the perpetual student mindset.
Let’s talk about how to schedule your time and make the most of that time you have until you can transition into a full time professional coach.
Find the full transcript and more resources for coaches at prosperouscoach.com/277.
Hey Coaches!
When I decided to become a coach, I negotiated my job into a part-time consulting position to have time to build my coaching business.
But, I'm embarrassed to say, even with the clear boundaries on my job and more at-home time, I didn't use my time well on behalf of my business.
And, no surprise, I didn't make much progress for that first year.
I realized that I needed office hours and that I needed to think of myself as going to work in my own business. That made an immediate difference in my earnings and satisfaction as a coach.
Setting office hours was my first step into the CEO role of my coaching business. Have you done that yet?
When you do, it signals to your friends and family that you are no longer in student mode. And, it motivates you to get creative and productive on a higher level. That positive energy flowing into your business helps it grow.
Now, you may only have a few hours each day for your coaching business. If that's the case, those are your office hours.
Tell your family, your friends and colleagues that you're not available to them during that time unless it's a true emergency.
Then use the POWER HOUR approach to maximize your time. More about that in a few minutes.
Block Time for Ideal Your Coaching Business
Obviously, the more time you find for your business day to day, the faster you'll grow so that you can replace your job with coaching.
No matter where you are in that transition, you'll need time to:
· Develop and post content consistently tailor made to attract your target audience
· Build your network of potential clients, centers of influence, and colleagues
· Nurture your audience as individuals follow you
· Enroll and onboard clients
· Serve clients in sessions and outside of them
Find & Nurture Your Future Coaching Clients
The lion’s share of your time, at least for the first years until you have a flow of referrals, is spent in finding and nurturing prospective clients. Ideally, that’s a 15-hour per week focus.
Don’t despair! When you target a unique audience, find out exactly what they want and what’s in the way of that … marketing becomes an authentic, loving way to build relationships of trust with your most ideal soon-to-be clients.
Design Your Coaching Lifestyle
I’m a big advocate for building a sustainable business — something you can manage with relative ease. It won’t swamp you, have you neglect your health or family. It is aligned with you and your energy.
Having a rhythm for your coaching business means you are highly productive and work less.
Here's my rhythm:
· I'm open for client calls only Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10:00am to 3:00pm.
· I keep a weekly time slot open at 8:00am and 9:30am to make it easier for my international clients.
· I never offer Friday – Monday for any type of call.
You may think you have to work weekends and nights. It truly depends on the audience you decide to target. A coach that was one of my VIP clients works with teens and finds it’s critical to offer late afternoon to early evening and one weekend day.
For most adult audiences, you won’t need to do that. I've come to learn that clients will make themselves available when I'm available. Think of it this way, if you are booked except for one time slot, that’s the time your eager client will take in order to work with you.
Other ways I structure my time include:
· I use Mondays for creating podcasts and other projects.
· On Fridays, I respond to VIP client emails until noon, otherwise I'm free.
This rhythm for my week makes it really easy to take a 4-day weekend whenever I want to. And it’s also convenient to schedule outside appointments on Mondays or Fridays.
The Secret to Getting More Done in Your Coaching Business
If you want to work less or you have fewer hours to dedicate to your coaching business, here’s the way to maximize the time you have:
POWER HOURS. It’s the way I accomplish all tasks so I can have more time for other things.
The day BEFORE you sit down to your desk to work take the time to decide what HIGH PAYOFF ACTIVITIES you will accomplish tomorrow.
Then, on the day you’ve planned to work, make the most of the time you have.
Turn off your phone, close out your email and get focused.
Set a timer for an hour and work swiftly and methodically.
Do the most difficult thing first. That’s how you break free from procrastination.
These are high payoff activities — the ones that make you squirm and help you take leaps towards your biggest goals – attracting ideal high paying clients and earning well.
Other Time Management Tips for Coaches
Fit quick tasks in between client sessions. Leave at least 1/2 hour between client sessions to send session recaps, have a bio break and get mentally ready for your next coaching call.
Always check in with your body to be mindfully aware of when you need a break. If a day or week is starting to look too full for me, I mark the day as busy so that no one else can book the time with me.
Now, set your rhythm …
What do you want your coaching business rhythm to look and feel like?
What would fit with your natural rhythms? What boundaries will you set on your time to safe guard that?
How will you set office hours and block time for specific tasks and appointments?