165 - Debunking the Myth of Overnight Success: Building a Solid Foundation for Your Coaching Business
I have been doing research recently because I curious about transitioning some of my marketing efforts to Tiktok. I was surprised with what I have observed repeatedly. So many “coaches” or “gurus” are claiming and (falsely) promising their followers on how they can teach you how to earn $10K months and getting booked out without being transparent of what it really takes to get there!
But hey, it's not impossible! Just don’t fall for the hype!
In this episode, let's have a candid conversation about debunking the myth of overnight success and what it really takes to build a solid foundation for your online business. Discover the truth behind those flashy promises and unrealistic expectations in the coaching world.
Say goodbye to quick fixes and embrace the journey of learning, clarity, and effective communication. Tune in and be encouraged to give yourself the grace and the space to build a business.
👉 Create a profitable business that that looks good and sets you up to be respected through the Fast Track Business Building Boutique Program
👉 Check out my FREE Canva Workshop and learn how to create stunning graphics for your coaching business!
Transcript
Preview: You could make $100,000 in the first month. I know you can. And I know people who do it and I have been very successful in my coaching business, but I have lots of business experience. So take this encouragement from me. Give yourself the gift of time. Give yourself the space to build a business because once you understand all the pieces that I just discussed with you, guess what? You could get 20 consultations with the right people and you could have a comfortable conversation with them. They could convert into a client with the right clients you want to work with, and you could love your coaching business and you could make money.
Intro: Hello, I'm Debbie Shadid, the host of the Life Coach Business Building podcast. If you are ready to have more clients in your life coach business, then you're in the right spot. Each week I'm gonna teach you super simple strategies to grow your business without feeling overwhelmed and without spending money on paid ads. If that sounds interesting. Stick around and let's get started.
Well, hello, how are you? Listen, I decided to do this podcast sort of unplanned and I just want to talk candidly with you. I have recently done some research about moving on to TikTok. And when I did that research, I looked to see what a lot of their coaches on TikTok were doing to market their business to decide if it was a place I should market my business as well.
What I discovered really frustrated me. And so I want to just share my frustration with you because I feel like I want to sort of set the record straight here for a moment. What I saw over and over was people promising big things like work with me to get 20 consultations this month. It's kind of like those DM messages that you guys are receiving and actually that I receive on LinkedIn, on Instagram, on Facebook, where they are really big promises of what somebody is going to be able to do for you. Maybe it's like making a hundred thousand dollars in your coaching business.
Look, I can help you make a hundred thousand dollars in your coaching business, but here's the truth. You have to do many things. You have to learn many things. There are lots of things that you don't know before you get to $100,000. Now, I always give the disclaimer that of course, could you make $100,000 tomorrow? Yes, of course you can. But let's be real. What happens is that you, my dear friend, think that you're failing. You think something is wrong with you. In fact, many of you guys want to quit or you're blaming the certification company because it's like I got certified and this didn't actually work. The problem is that the online marketing space is misleading people about how easy it is to have a business.
If you go look at how much time it takes most of these people that are talking about having huge success in business, it was not overnight. In fact, if you talk to most people, it took years. They're just not telling you that part of the story. You are hearing the part of the story, which is like, let me get you 20 consultations this month. I'm kind of stuck on that one ad because I thought, wow, if somebody would hire this coach who would get her 20 consultations this month, most of you guys would not be prepared for 20 consultations because you wouldn't have clarity on your offer. You would have some doubt about your niche. You would have maybe not a planned, really comfortable consultation process, right? There are so many things that go into getting those 20 if you can get them, to actually convert. And before you can get 20 consultations, you actually really have to have clarity on your niche. You have to know what your offer is, right? You have to be able to communicate it effectively. You have to have all of the things set up like, how do you email back somebody like that if you don't have your email marketing set up?
So I just want to tell you, please, when you see those messages, don't get hooked in. Not saying that it's not possible, because again, it is. But what I would rather have you do is say, you know what, I'm going to spend the time to build a business. I think that so many people thought that it would just happen so quickly, like a certification or a website, or maybe even a few social media posts would equal clients. And they're finding out that it didn't. And that doesn't mean anything has gone wrong. I would rather that you have compassion on yourself and that you approach your business as like, I'm going back to school. I'm going to learn how to be in business. I'm going to learn how to market myself. I have to learn how to talk to people about what it is I do comfortably and confidently.
Remember, you came to coaching through a long journey. Chances are you've been reading self help books for years. Maybe you've worked with several other coaches, you know, who knows what it was that got you to certification. And so there was a lot of education first before you actually took that step. So there was education before you essentially hired your first coach. And so I want you to give that same grace to your clients, to your peers, to your friends, to your family that aren't buying coaching from you after you just got certified. You're thinking like, why are they not supporting me? The truth is they probably don't actually understand what coaching is.
I think that's actually the work that we all need to do. We all collectively need to really explain the value of coaching. We need people to understand what is the difference between therapy and coaching, or what's the difference between this kind of thing, NLP, or, you know, some kind of breath work for anxiety. I don't know. You guys know all the certifications. But we cannot assume that the general public, your friends or your family even know what you're talking about.
So, my dear one, I want to encourage you today to give yourself the grace and the space to build a business. You do not need to buy any more little Canva projects. Yes, I teach a Canva training and yes, I have templates. But what I find is that so many of you have seen an ad come up on Instagram and you're like, oh, that is it. That is the answer. I'm going to get that guide and somehow I'm going to use that as my opt in. Well, it could be a good opt-in. But most of you guys need to figure out how to even get the opt in in front of somebody.
Here's the part they're not telling you, you get the opt in ready and prepared, but then you have to market the opt in. And you're still saying, I don't know how to market the opt in. So. Let's take the time, let's figure out what steps you need to do to get a business that will work. Let me just kind of quickly tell you that is going to mean that you need to have clarity on a niche. You really need to commit to a niche that you're committed to, to stay with. You need to make sure the niche actually wants to solve the problem that you want to offer a solution to. You need to make sure that they have money to pay for coaching. You need to make sure that you're selling to people who can make independent decisions for themselves. They're empowered to make decisions. Then you need to make sure you can communicate effectively, that you can tell people what it is. Hey, this is what your problem is. This is what you're missing out on. And this is how I can help you. That sounds so simple, but it's tricky. Until you've practiced that, until you've mastered that, it's hard to communicate that confidently. And you know, what sells coaching is confidence in your message.
So after you create your message, then we have to figure out, are you going to put a website up? You don't have to have a website to have a business. You could have a single page website. But what needs to be on your website? I don't want you hiring somebody who says, I'll build your website for you because most of you guys are letting people build a website for you instead of you being the guide on what your website should include.
I want you to show up and be able to say, here's my marketing copy because I have written it. I know what my people's problems are. I know how to market to them. And this is actually what I want my website to look like. Do not leave your website in somebody else's hands who knows nothing about your business, who knows nothing about your personality, who knows nothing about the ideal client that you want to market to.
Next, you guys have to figure out how to grow your email list. Now, again, I mentioned to you, you can grab an opt in from somebody else. I actually have opt-ins that I create for my clients to make things simple. The opt-in is not really a big deal. What the big deal is that you have to market the opt in. You have to ask people, enough people, to sign up for your opt in to get them on your email list. And you have to find people that really want what it is you're asking them to take because nobody just gives your email address anymore. Now, that is not that hard. But the deal is, we have to think about where are your people and how do we communicate with those people on what platforms? I don't believe in paid ads. So, again, maybe you're hearing people say paid ads are the answer and they are an answer for sure. But you still have to have all these pieces that I am talking about worked out.
So, once you start building an email list, then you have to be able to deliver the opt in to them. And then you have to be able to nurture your list because just because somebody got on your list does not mean they're still going to sign up for a consultation. Some people will. I mean, some people will meet you on the very day they meet you, they'll buy coaching, but most people, they need time to learn, to understand you, to trust you. Think about it, you guys. People on the internet, you don't even know who they are. And we're very trustworthy. We've bought coaching and we'll buy coaching again, but so many of the people that you want to sell coaching, they have never bought coaching before. So we need some time to build up that know, like, and trust factor again. This is the reason why 20 consultations in one month will not be the answer. In fact, I can tell you from my own statistics 50% of the consultations that I get that come through my ad funnel, the Canva webinar funnel that you guys have probably seen, how to build a professional coach brand inside of Canva, 50% of those cancel. So I get consultations, but 50% cancel.
So, These are all things that you have to consider. 20 consultations does not mean 20 clients, even if you are a rockstar salesperson. And I am, but still, part of those people are going to cancel, part of them are going to no show, part of them won't even be your ideal client. And you won't even actually make an offer to them. Here's the secret you should know. You do not want to sell coaching to everyone. Just because they got in on your consultation, just because they have the money to buy, my dear one, you do not want to sell coaching to the wrong people because you have to work with them, right? You'll have to put up with them week after week. If you don't enjoy them, that's what it's going to feel like. I want you to say yes to the people that really are your dream clients that will energize you instead of cause you to feel burned out.
So I think I'm going to get off my soapbox now. Have you heard me? I'm frustrated over all of the misleading ads. Just make sure when you see one of those ads promising you the moon, and it seems like, wow, this is the answer. I want you to ask yourself, what do I not know about this that doesn't make sense. If you don't see your peers making $100,000 in the first month or the first six months that they are coaching, then probably you're not going to either. It is possible. You could make $100,000 in the first month. I know you can. And I know people who do it and I have been very successful in my coaching business, but I have lots of business experience.
So take this encouragement from me. Give yourself the gift of time. Give yourself the space to build a business because once you understand all the pieces that I just discussed with you, guess what? You could get 20 consultations with the right people and you could have a comfortable conversation with them. They could convert into a client with the right clients you want to work with, and you could love your coaching business and you could make money.
So let's do the other things first. I just wanted to fill you in on that. I hope you're not discouraged. This is really to encourage you. I want you to just know it is possible to build a business, but it just takes a little bit of time, a little bit of education, a little bit of know-how and some practice. And then my dear one, you will be on your way.
All right. Now, did I give you enough love? I called you my dear one about 10 times, but I really mean it. I want you to not give up on your dream. I want you to do what it is you know you were meant to do. I want you to stick it out. Don't quit, get the help you need and do not buy into people that are selling you quick solutions because that will just create more discouragement for you.
All right. Have an amazing day. Go get the help you need. And I hope that if you are in my world, that we can connect to talk about how I can help you actually learn the steps that I talked about to get to the other side where you will be able to build a business that you will love until next time. Bye bye.
Outro: Okay, ladies, that is it for today. Before we go, I want to invite you to head over to debbieshadid.com. I have this incredible Canva training, specifically designed for life coaches where I'm gonna teach you how to use Canva to create beautiful graphics to market your life coaching. All right. Have an amazing week. I'll talk to you very soon. Bye bye.