Committing to radical support looks like this
Why coaching works
Mindset Mastery is a weekly newsletter about the psychology of self-employment from Jenni Gritters. If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while and you receive value from it, I’d encourage you to sign up for a paid membership. You’re also helping me make business coaching for self-employed folks more accessible to all.
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I spent about six months in 2023 looking for a coach to help me take my business to the next level. I knew I wanted someone who understood me and my journey. I wanted to hire someone who’s business looked like mine, too — which is, honestly, a challenge. In November, I found that person: Amber Lilyestrom.
Because it’s so fresh on my mind, today I want to talk about why spending money on support can make a huge difference in your business and mindset.
I’m paying Amber several thousand dollars per month to be my coach. When I first looked at those numbers almost a year ago, I sighed and closed her web page. I loved her work and her values (or at least what I could see on social media), but I felt like I couldn’t afford it — and at that time, this was probably true. But when I looked at those numbers again a few months ago, now that my business is a completely different size and shape, I challenged myself. I asked instead: HOW could I afford this?
My husband and I sat down and looked at our monthly numbers. We figured out how many more coaching clients or writing projects we’d need to take on in order to cover the expense of working with her. And, perhaps most importantly, we discussed the value that could be added to our business if we brought a well-vetted, powerhouse professional into the picture.
In the end, we realized that we could make it work.
And here’s the unlock: Saying yes to working with Amber has forced me to step up and in to my coaching business in a whole new way. Spending the money on this kind of thing — the largest sum I’ve ever put toward career development for myself — feels like a huge commitment to myself and my business. Money is, after all, representative of energy. Putting a lot of money (meaning, value) behind this decision signals my commitment to really show up.
For a long time — a decade, really— I’ve relied on my writing business to pay the bills. After 10+ years of working in media, I know the writing world well. And despite not being super excited about some of the assignments I get, the honest truth is that they come to me with minimal effort and I can do them quickly. I’ve paid my dues to get to this place.
But I know working on projects that bores me will lead to resentment. (I preach this to y’all all the time!) From a values perspective, I’d so much rather spend my time coaching. And yet, up until November, I’d been giving 70% of my time and energy to my writing business. I was effectively stunting my coaching business’s growth — on purpose, because I was afraid.
By hiring a coach, I was saying out loud: I want to make my coaching business my main hustle, not my side hustle. Hiring a coach was also me committing to getting clear on what I want my coaching business to look like, and understanding why I feel so afraid and blocked when I do things like offer new packages or raise my prices.
As Amber said to me the other day: “Now, you’re willing to take more risks, because you know you have a support structure. We can brainstorm and adjust quickly if something happens.”
Within the first few months of working with her (six weeks, at the time of this writing), so much has happened. I want to share this because I want you to know that coaching works. It works because it asks you to put in the time and effort to change your life, with accountability and a thought partner. Here’s what has happened so far:
I’ve completely reworked my coaching model. The way I was running my 1-1 coaching business before wasn’t sustainable. (The irony of me having a program called SUSTAIN and yet running a coaching business that wasn’t paying the bills is pretty damn funny.) In short, I was running my coaching business like a freelance business; that’s not an effective model! When I explained what I was doing to Amber, she immediately showed me how it could change. That wisdom turned a $10k/ month business into a potentially $40k/ month business in one conversation.
My energy toward my coaching business has totally changed. By saying, “I want this!” I’m attracting clients who are ready to dive in. I had more people set up intro calls on my calendar in December than I had the entire year prior.
My husband and I changed our monthly financial goals to create a budget that feels sufficient, that’s more than enough, instead of one that just includes the basics.
My coaching business made over $10k in revenue in 10 days — and close to $25K in the first two months — all from people buying packages and signing up for my membership program. I’ve already made back my investment in coaching.
I’ve been digging deep into internal blocks around expectations, boundary setting, pricing, and the dance between parenthood and running a multi 6-figure business. As these unlock, my invitations to work with me as a coach are changing, too. I’m sure you can feel it through this screen: I WANT to work with you. I’m not scared to go there. I have capacity for it. And that feels pretty new!
Being coached has reminded me of the absolute power that comes with saying yes to support. When you join me in my coaching room, you’re paying me — which of course helps to support my family. But it also means I’m able to provide that value to you, too, so you can grow your business and support your family as well. Abundance begets abundance.
Being coached has reminded me of the value of working with someone who is compassionate, high-energy and experienced. It’s reminded me that what I do, matters.
It’s also reminded me that we can’t do this work of growing a business alone. We weren’t meant to do this alone. Being in a room of people who get it, and having a well-trained, experienced person to help guide you, who believes in your dream, is everything — especially if you’re feeling stuck.
My advice to you, as we step into a new paradigm in 2024, is this: Get support. It’s time to let go of whatever is blocking you from building a business that feels right-sized, so you can do big work. It’s time to get a new perspective in the mix. This doesn’t have to mean hiring a coach, although it might. But it could be as simple as rounding up a group of your peers so you can share lessons learned.
This is your permission to let go of the idea that independence means isolation. There’s so much more available to all of us when we join forces.
xo,
Jenni
Curious about my background? I’m a writer and business coach based in Central Oregon. I have two small children and I work part-time so I can spend a lot of time with them. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with non-linear business building and teaching people how to build successful businesses that support their human needs first. Check out my coaching offerings here, and follow me on Twitter & Instagram.
Ugh, I feel like this is my sign to invest in the mindset course! 😩