EP 363 - Why Coaches Burn Out (It's Not What You Think)
If coaches in your life are telling you that you're doing too much, or you're drowning in advice about funnels, software, and complicated systems, this one is for you.
If you're new to my channel, my name is Debbie Shadid. I'm a Business Growth and Life Coach and the founder of the Business Building Boutique. For over two decades, I've helped women learn how to become coaches, get clients, grow their businesses, and create meaningful income doing work they love.
In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the exact three systems I've used to build my business - the same ones I teach our clients inside the Business Building Boutique. These aren't complicated. They don't require expensive software or a huge following. And they compound over time when you stay consistent with them.
In this video, we'll walk through:
What content mapping actually is and why it's the foundation of everything
How to identify your niche client and build content pillars that work for the lifetime of your business
Why a free Google phone number is all you need for client communication (yes, really)
How to create a non-negotiable weekly schedule that keeps your marketing consistent without burning out
The truth about what's actually keeping most coaches stuck (it's not what you think)
How to start repurposing content in just a few weeks so you're not starting from scratch every time
Why B-minus work will grow your business faster than waiting for perfect
Simple is how you build a sustainable coaching business. When you get it complicated, you get burned out - and a lot of coaches never even get started because they're making it too hard. These three systems are the blueprint. When they're running together, they compound, and that's where the real growth happens.
If you're ready to stop spinning and start building, book a free Business Blueprint Call and let's talk about your business: debbieshadid.com/schedule
Or grab the Free Masterclass and see exactly how this works: coaching.debbieshadid.com/masterclass
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Transcript
I tell you, I've had coaches tell me for a long time, "Debbie, you're doing too much. Your business is too complicated. You're doing too many things for your clients." But I'm gonna be honest with you right now, I have a very simple business. I have three systems that I'm gonna share with you today where you can see exactly what it is that I do in my business. And I wanna tell you something upfront because I do think it matters. I have generated over $10 million in my business and I am not sharing that to impress you. I am sharing it because I have a small following. I have no big social numbers. I have no complicated funnels. I do no bro marketing. There are three simple systems that I run consistently that I have run for a long time. That is what I wanna talk to you about today because those are the conditions that you can actually replicate. Everything I teach you can do. So when I share these systems with you today, I want you to know this is a system from somebody who has done it. It is the same system that I teach to our clients. This is the actual blueprint to build a real business with real revenue, serving real clients who get real results. Here's the deal. It breaks my heart because So many women are staying stuck. They're overwhelmed. They're spinning indecision. They are trying to do what everyone is telling them, and now there's AI on the scene. So they're doing a bunch of AI stuff that is actually slowing them down, none of which is getting them any clients. That kind of stuff doesn't actually work, and I know you already know it or else you would have clients. Let me show you what actually does work. Here is what I see happening right now. The coaching world has so many things going on, so many people telling you conflicting stories about what works, and I'm gonna tell you to simplify. I know there's lots of fancy software out there. Many people have already bought some of that fancy software, and you might be one of them, and you don't actually need it. You don't actually need to automate every system because right now you don't have a bunch of clients, and even if you had a lot of clients, you don't actually need some of the things that people are telling you. Those systems will actually complicate your business. There is no reality in business where you start out your business and you're posting a couple times a week and you're sitting on the beach. That is just not the truth of what happens. So what can happen for you? When you put in the time and the effort and set up systems and you show up consistently, what can happen is you can have a real business. Here's the thing, I'm gonna be honest with you right now. There is a difference between doing the right things and doing a bunch of busywork, and there's a lot of the women that I talk to that are doing lots of busywork. Most coaches are exhausted, not because they're actually getting very much done, but because they're working night and day on the wrong things, and a lot of it is that they are learning things that they're not even implementing. You are posting without a plan. You're showing up without a strategy. You're creating content that isn't even converting, And I have to say, a lot of you aren't creating enough content, and you might fall into that category. So let's talk about what it is that you can do with the three systems that I'm gonna share, things that will actually help you build a business, and when they are running, they compound. When we talk about getting something set up that will work, I have used these same systems in my business for the lifetime of my business. What I'm teaching you today is how I have generated all that income. System number one is called content mapping. So I want you to think about your ideal client. Niching is very important. I will get into that in an upcoming episode. But for today, let's think about who are you talking to, what is their problem, and what is it that they want instead of the problem that they have right now? That is the foundation that you start with. Then you build your content pillars on top of that. The key topics that your ideal niche client, this one who has this problem, who wants this new reality, what are the things that you would be talking to that person about? And you pick your topics, and those are your content pillars. You create that, and that will be the foundation of all of the content that you're going to generate in your business. You only do this one time. You can use that same person, that same niche client, the same problem, the same outcome, and those content pillars for the lifetime of your business. That's what I like to say. We build a business for your lifetime. You might already have some content, and if it fits into the category that we're talking about, great, then you can use it again. Otherwise, we're gonna start from scratch. One of the great things about using the same content pillars and the same person that we're talking to, the same niche client, is that at some point you'll be able to repurpose old posts, old videos, old emails. The ones that are proven to work, you want to reuse those. And here's the great news. You only have to do a few weeks of content before you can start repurposing what you already have. There are many ways to create the same piece of content and just give it a slightly different spin. And you want to talk about the same thing over and over because your person needs to hear it over and over. Your ideal client, there are new people coming into your world all the time. They need to hear the same thing over and over as if they have never heard it before, so that they will remember that you are the go-to expert on that very thing. So before you sit down and create your content for the next week or the next month, sit down and ask yourself, "Do I already have anything that could work, that fits in those content categories, that speaks to that ideal client?" If so, then use it again. Otherwise, we're gonna start out and get some content created and get you on your way to where you can repurpose that content at some point. All right, the second system is so simple. It is a way for you to stay in contact with your clients. You do not need a client management system because you don't have enough clients to manage. And even if you did, honestly, that tech, as I've already mentioned, it just tangles people up and it slows you down. Also, it's a lot of money that you don't need to be spending, especially in the beginning of your business. So let me tell you, you can stay in contact with your client. Get ready. Here it is. It's this simple. A free Google phone number. Yes, a free Google phone number. You download it onto your phone, you download it on your computer, and you use that as your main client communication portal. I did this for years, and I'm telling you what, it's so incredible to say to somebody, "Look, you have access to me twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week," because that's the truth. you can text me, you can voice message me, you can attach something. Whatever it is. You can send a video for goodness sakes. Any of that is possible through your Google free number. Google Voice has free phone numbers. Okay, you don't need a professional one. Just get a personal one. That Google Voice phone number, when somebody communicates with you, then you have a thread of communication with every client. This is so incredible. I actually had a client who just changed her niche. She worked with me three years ago. I went back to that Google phone number to see what was the communication that I had had with her, and in that thread I could see where she was getting overwhelmed, kind of the obstacles that she had. And I'm talking about from a mindset point of view. And now I know when she comes back to work with me on this new niche, I already know what to expect because I had that. It was so easily accessible to me in that one thread. So that is as simple as it is. All you have to do is get a Google free number and start communicating with your clients there. Okay, now I said you have twenty-four/seven access. That is true, But you as the coach, guess what? You're not gonna answer the phone twenty-four/seven, because that doesn't give you the freedom that you want in your business. So what you do is you keep your phone on silent, you keep the ringer off, and you check it on a regular schedule. So it is true that your client can leave a message anytime they want to, but I want you to create some boundaries around that so that you aren't working twenty-four/seven, and so that you do maintain the schedule freedom that you want. And so you just answer the messages, let's say, between nine to five, Monday through Friday. This is what we do inside the Business Building Boutique. I teach these simple ways for you to build a boutique business. This is a business where you schedule in time in your schedule, where you schedule in time to work, time to play, and time to have the life that you want. Clients get to hear from you. They get to have this hand-holding experience, and you get to have the business that really supports the lifestyle that you desire. So having that kind of structure, I'll tell you, is a win for your clients, too, because their anxiety goes down. They know that you're not gonna ghost them. They have your phone number. They can be in communication with you, and they're not scrambling to figure out, how do I get logged into something to talk to my coach? They can just text you. It's simple. That's a clear way of communication. You can create a consistent flow of conversation. And I would encourage you, outside of the regular coaching calls, that you actually check in with people at least once a week. I do that with our clients once a week, once every other week. I do a message back to them, kind of checking in to see what's going on. That's the way that you create really satisfied clients that stick around and that really give you good testimonials. Okay, I want to pause for a moment. Can you see how simple this is? I'll bet you're thinking like, "There's no way that she could have done this," and yes, this is how I built that business where I have generated that much money. I really do keep it that simple. I work with one niche client. I have my content pillars, and now we're gonna move on to the third system where I actually have a non-negotiable schedule. This is what I want for you, too. The truth is you have to be consistent in your business. To have a business that creates consistent income where your clients feel consistently supported, you have to have a schedule, and I'm gonna talk to you about a schedule that can help to create consistent income and a consistent flow of clients. This is nothing fancy. It's another one of these simple methods that you're gonna be like, "Wait, is this how I do it?" Yep, this is how you do it. So I'm gonna tell you the non-negotiable schedule that I use with my marketing. I have picked the platforms that I'm gonna market on. I have a particular schedule. You guys can use my exact schedule, and I would encourage you at some point to use my schedule. I'll tell you how you can start kind of smaller to begin with, but this really is a system that we teach our clients inside of the Business Building Boutique, and I want to invite you. If you are ready to grow your coaching business, if you know that you are tired of having a hobby, if you really just want to get it set up and you're intrigued by the simple way that I'm talking about building a business, let's connect. I'll leave the link in the show notes. I'd love to have a conversation with you about how we can support you. So here's the schedule, I record one podcast or YouTube video a week. They're the same thing. I record them on a video, I put them on YouTube, and then I send them over as a podcast. That is one piece of content, and we send out our podcast email every Wednesday. There has been times in the last few months when I've done two episodes a week or even three episodes a week. But for years, I did one episode a week and that is all that you need to do. We are creating a simple, sustainable content system, and so one episode a week. Then I've grown an email list. I don't have a huge email list. I do not have a huge following. I don't have anything fancy. I'm not running paid ads. All of it's much more simple than you think. So I grow my email list through lots of various ways, through freebies that I have, through workshops that I have where I invite people to grab something in the show notes. that's another way to grow your email list. And then I email my list. I email it regularly. In the beginning, I'm gonna ask you to email one time a week, and as quick as you can move to more than that, I would do that because not everybody opens their email app every day. Now everybody's in their inboxes, but whether they're opening your email up every day, that's another question. So the more often you're in their inbox with a different subject line or a different concept, the more likely it is that at least once a week somebody's gonna open your email. But for now, we're gonna start with one email. The next thing that I do is I do social media every day. Now, you might be saying like, "Oh man, I can't do that. There's no way. I don't even wanna put myself out there on social media." Let's clear this up. I do not show you what I eat. I do not show you what I do in my day-to-day, and you don't have to either. I don't know where this crazy idea is about putting yourself out there on social media, but you don't need to do that. What you do is you talk about what your niche client is most interested in. You talk about how it applies to you. You talk about what it looks like to have that result in your life and what it would look like for them. And then along the way, there might be a time where you do wanna show something about your life. If you follow me on social media, Occasionally, I'll show a trip that I've been on, mostly a business trip. You'll see me out on my walks or on my golf cart. That's about it, okay? So get over the idea that social media is about putting yourself out there and consider this instead. Social media is about you reaching the world for free. That is what social media is, and that's why I want you to do it. So start with what you can do now, but I would definitely work up to once a day for sure, if not more. The next thing that I do is two workshops a month. Now, you can do one to start out, but I do two. Every other Tuesday, I do a workshop. This is free education that showcases my expertise on the topic that you are interested in, and you're gonna do it for your ideal client. It can be open coaching, it can be a workshop, it can be some kind of journaling session, whatever fits for your ideal client. But it is a way for you to showcase your expertise. This is something I really want you to do. Where we are in the market now with all of the AI-generated content, consumers need to get to know you, they need to trust you, and they need to like you. So when you do long form content, which is either doing YouTube videos, podcasts, or workshops, people can get to know you. They can hear that you're not AI generated. They can tell you're not reading AI scripts. I highly encourage that you do workshops and the long form video content, or if you don't wanna do video yet, at least do a podcast so people can get to know you. I teach what I teach our clients. Give people your best for free because when they see what knowledge you have, they'll be much more interested in taking the next step and scheduling a consultation call. Okay, so that's it. That is my non-negotiable schedule. Can you see how every single week I don't have to worry about marketing? I know exactly what I'm doing. When I say that I can do a month of content, like in a Sunday afternoon, this is how it works. I go to my content pillars. I know who my niche client is. I know that every single week I'm gonna do a YouTube video. Every single month I'm gonna do two workshops. I'm gonna be emailing people regularly, and I'm gonna be on social media every single day. I want you to do that, too. Create your non-negotiable schedule, and that is the third step of my blueprint that will help you create a business that you will love. This is not doing too much. This is doing the right thing. Once you learn how to do it and you get the system set up and going, you can go back and repurpose things. This is how you have the opportunity to make thousands, a few hundred thousand, or even millions with a small following. This exact system that I have used. So that's it, guys. Three systems, content mapping, your simple client communication so you have happy clients, and that non-negotiable schedule. That's the blueprint, not 10 things, Not a complicated tech stack, just three systems that work together that will compound over time, that will build you the business that you're genuinely proud of. So here's what I want you to catch before we wrap up. This is much more simpler than you think, and I bet you are thinking there is no way. There's something that she is not telling me, and I have to tell you, simple is how you create a sustainable business. When you get it complicated, you get burned out, and guess what? A lot of the coaches that I talk to, they never even get started because they are making things far too complex. If you want to get started, just this week, here's what you do. Pick one system, just one. If you don't have a content plan, start right there. Sit down for 30 minutes and answer these three questions: Who am I talking to? What is keeping them up at night? And what is the one thing that they want to change for them? And that is it. That's your niche client. Then you're gonna pick your content categories, then you're gonna pick your content topics. Those will be your content categories, and there you go. Just start your marketing from there. I love to think about B-minus work. That's just get started, right? Leave perfection aside because it's very hard to grow a business and stay consistent and to be perfect all the time, okay? B-minus work, that's what I call it. Get that content system put together, and then just get out there, start posting, start putting yourself out there, and eventually you'll be at that point in just a few weeks where you can begin to repurpose your content. Three simple systems that can generate the business that it is that you deeply desire. I would love to invite you to be part of the Business Building Boutique. We have a small, intimate community of beautiful women who are growing coaching businesses just like you, who are using these systems to build real businesses that create real money where they have the time freedom that they desire. The link is in the show notes. Come join us. Have a beautiful day and a beautiful week, and we'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye.
