Ep 98 - Client Success Story with Nola Gephart
In this episode…
Women’s Growth + Success Coach, Debbie Shadid, is talking with Women’s Coach, Nola Gephart, about her transition into coaching women and how she’s navigated building her coaching business in just six months.
During the month of February, we’ll be featuring one client each week who’s made incredible strides in their coaching businesses. We’ve got a diverse group of women with all different niches, but they all have one thing in common - they were coachable and took intentional action to achieve their goals.
This week we’re talking with Women’s Coach, Nola Gephart, who works with women, primarily mothers, who are looking for purpose, to improve their relationships, and love their lives again.
Listen in on this episode to hear Nola’s journey of how life coaching made all the difference in her life and business.
Connect with Nola on her website.
Transcript
00;00;06;08 - 00;00;23;05 | Debbie
Hello, my friend. Are you ready to have more clients? I'm your host, Debbie Shadid. I am a master at building businesses. I can help you get more clients with super simple strategies. Plus, I can help you with a mindset so you can overcome the drama and the doubt.
00;00;23;10 - 00;00;41;23 | Debbie
Let's get started. Welcome to the women's business success show today, I'm going to be talking to now, Nola Gephart, she is another one of my coaches that I work with and I want to be talking about kind of the thoughts that she had about becoming a life coach.
00;00;42;03 - 00;00;55;26 | Debbie
We're going to talk specifically today about the marketing that attracted her to coaching. And the reason why I want to talk about that is because, chances are, whatever attracted her to coaching is also probably what attracted you to coaching.
00;00;55;26 - 00;01;11;11 | Debbie
And this is a clue for you in your business to think about your marketing. I also want to talk about the inspiration for her business, and she'll share about that a little bit. She actually coaches moms who really want to find a purpose beyond parenting.
00;01;11;11 - 00;01;24;04 | Debbie
We'll talk about that, too. And then just about overcoming any fear. And I don't know that she had fear, but whatever fear there was to start her business, so Nola, tell us a little bit about you and about your coaching.
00;01;24;15 - 00;01;41;06 | Nola
OK, so I am a mom of four kids and they're getting to the point of being grown and flown or 23, 21, 18 and 16. I was on a kind of a journey for many years without really even realizing the journey that I was on of figuring out my next.
00;01;41;07 - 00;01;52;10 | Nola
I knew that I was feeling like all of my kids were heading out. They didn't need me like they used to. I was a stay at home mom, although I did, I was a CrossFit coach and other things on the side, I really didn't have a career.
00;01;52;10 - 00;02;04;19 | Nola
I'd given that up when my oldest was born, pretty much. And so I was trying to kind of figure out what the next chapter of my life is going to look like because I felt very lost. I felt very untethered.
00;02;04;21 - 00;02;15;29 | Nola
Although, you know, I love my husband, I love my kids. I knew that there was going to be some need for me to get out into the world and contribute in some way, whether it was financially or whether it was just volunteering.
00;02;15;29 - 00;02;29;12 | Nola
A series of things happened within our family with illnesses and things like that, and I realized even more acutely that I really, truly needed to figure this out. I had done a lot of exploration as to what really makes me happy.
00;02;29;12 - 00;02;45;02 | Nola
My husband had asked me a question which was very benign of like, What's your goal? What makes you happy? Like just simple, simple questions like that. And they were really soul crushing because I couldn't answer what made me happy beyond my four kids.
00;02;45;12 - 00;02;55;05 | Nola
Like, what do you really want? I don't know what I really wanted. So anyway, that was my journey. I came to life coaching because it was a way to help people, which is one of the things that drives me.
00;02;55;17 - 00;03;12;23 | Nola
And it was something that really interests me, the human mind has always been something that has ignited interest in me. I've done a lot of reading on that subject. I actually found the life coach thrill in two different ways, but the more pertinent one here is through Brooke's podcast.
00;03;12;23 - 00;03;26;11 | Nola
The podcast kind of captured my imagination and some of the things that she said. I felt like I had sort of a laser beam on my forehead. Oh my gosh, she's talking to me. Then I started doing this deep dive, I'm kind of a researcher by nature,
00;03;26;11 - 00;03;40;16 | Nola
I did a deep dive into all the different schools and how many different ways I could get it certified and all the different things and kept on coming back to the school. That's sort of how I got myself into being certified with life coach school and my journey to get there.
00;03;40;17 - 00;03;47;06 | Debbie
So the podcast was actually useful to you. You feel like it really made some transformation for you.
00;03;47;06 - 00;03;55;29 | Nola
Yeah, I think I needed to verbally hear it more than just see the website. So for me, it was really, really captivating.
00;03;55;29 - 00;04;07;27 | Nola
It was - then I could start doing my, you know, deep dive into, OK, what? How do you do this and how do you do that in these different schools? And how much time and how much money and how much energy and effort do you put towards these things?
00;04;07;27 - 00;04;15;09 | Nola
But I needed my imagination captivated. And for me, that was the podcast from a marketing point of view.
00;04;15;09 - 00;04;26;07 | Debbie
You guys, I think Nola's making an interesting point here, and I hear this back about this podcast is people tell me that because they can hear my voice and they're not just reading, you know, like Nola said
00;04;26;07 - 00;04;38;15 | Debbie
words from a website or something. They messaged me separately and say, Oh my gosh, it's like you're so passionate about it. We can feel it when you're pleading with us. Come on, you guys, please. This is so much easier.
00;04;38;26 - 00;04;46;10 | Debbie
And that must be kind of what you're saying is that you heard some things that specifically resonated because Brooke was passionate about it.
00;04;46;10 - 00;04;56;03 | Nola
Yeah. And that's one of the reasons why one of my big goals this year is to get a podcast up because although I'm writing a blog and it has been well received, I know
00;04;56;03 - 00;05;09;12 | Nola
that not everybody is going to take the time to read that. But you know, you're in your car, you're in the pick-up lane, especially moms or the pick-up lane. You're in your car lot. You know, I call them to and from years, you know, you're dropping off and picking up before your kids have licenses.
00;05;10;00 - 00;05;23;13 | Nola
That's a great opportunity. Or, you're going for a walk, you're walking your dog. Whatever it is, it's a great opportunity to just plug into something that gets your brain stimulated. And I definitely want to offer that to my population of my clients.
00;05;23;15 - 00;05;37;02 | Debbie
And I just want to tell you guys, I want to encourage you to just. Start a podcast and not even know how to do it truthfully. You don't have to be perfect from the beginning, and the only way that you get better is by just doing it.
00;05;37;03 - 00;05;49;20 | Debbie
And so I would really encourage you to figure out the very basic things that you need to do about starting a podcast, which Jennifer and I have talked about. You know, where do you host it and about a microphone and about a little bit of layout and those kinds of things?
00;05;49;20 - 00;06;04;23 | Debbie
And there are, of course, is strategy. But I'm telling you, if you just start on some of these things, you'll make an impact. And if we go back and look at the 400 podcasts and we get to that 400 and something episode, Brooke at the life coach school, we go back and listen, you can hear the
00;06;04;23 - 00;06;08;03 | Debbie
Debbie
evolution of it, but everything she has to say along the way is still valuable.
00;06;08;03 - 00;06;17;21 | Nola
Yeah, definitely. I'm doing a little research now, and you know, like Debbie had told me where to look and how to get myself kind of up and running.
00;06;18;03 - 00;06;27;26 | Nola
So that has been it's on my calendar every week to do kind of chip away at one more piece of it. I do intend to get that up like it is absolutely something I'm going to do.
00;06;27;26 - 00;06;33;12 | Debbie
I have no doubt, but I want to mention too that one of the things that knowledge is said if I gave
00;06;33;12 - 00;06;54;27 | Debbie
Her opening line, which she helps moms find purpose beyond parenting, and she said that she was trying to figure out what her next was, and she helps people figure out what their next is beyond children, beyond being a parent, what's outside of that and knowing that targeted message just like that, that specific message and her target
00;06;54;27 - 00;07;13;28 | Debbie
audience, I should say, is moms who have children, and it sounds like maybe children that are getting ready to quote leave the nest that will actually really help her when she creates a podcast because she anybody that hears that message if you're a mom that's trying to find out what's next after parenting will instantly know that
00;07;13;28 - 00;07;17;26 | Debbie
the podcast is for them. So you've done a great job of figuring that part out, for sure.
00;07;17;26 - 00;07;25;11 | Nola
Oh, my niche drama was real. It was legit. Yeah, I think we worked on that when I first came to you, Debbie.
00;07;25;12 - 00;07;42;26 | Nola
I've just sort of had all of these different like fingers that I wasn't willing to just like, loosen my grasp on. And what really happened is as I get client after client, although they may come to me, for one thing, we work on so many things because a mom who's trying to figure it out is also
00;07;42;26 - 00;07;57;24 | Nola
struggling with self-worth or with weight or with relationships or with whatever it may be. And a lot of those things are what's really actually holding them back. Although, you know, niche down and I found my avatar, I'll call it greatly due to you helping me niche that down.
00;07;58;01 - 00;08;11;25 | Nola
You don't necessarily go to coach for one specific thing, although you go there for that. So many other things open up as you're coming to a place of honesty with yourself. So true, and that is the fear that most people have, including me.
00;08;11;25 - 00;08;21;27 | Debbie
I mean, I have the same thing sometimes when it comes to business and I try to tell people what I'm going to help them or what I'm going to do with them. You know, they don't know what, they don't know what we need to do.
00;08;22;06 - 00;08;37;14 | Debbie
So they come in because they want to get more clients. And then if I told them all that we needed to do to do that, sometimes they might be like, Wait a minute, I don't actually want this, this or this same way with those moms, they come in for something and you are right.
00;08;37;14 - 00;08;49;21 | Debbie
Actually, you get to coach them. You didn't have to decide if you wanted to coach on weight loss or overdrinking or, you know, all the things fit under that container because they come and they don't even know what they don't know that they need.
00;08;50;04 - 00;09;04;02 | Debbie
It's so, it's so great. So tell me about your thoughts about starting a business when you came through certification and you thought, I'm going to start a business. What was your expectation or your sort of idea about how that was going to be?
00;09;04;02 - 00;09;06;02 | Debbie
And I know that you have a business background.
00;09;06;02 - 00;09;21;24 | Nola
When I finished certification I had no intention of starting my own business. I wanted to just go work for a life coach while I have been very fortunate to be hired by a life coach school, but I also wanted and they are wonderful in that they allow you to have your own business.
00;09;21;25 - 00;09;35;08 | Nola
I decided that I was going to get that going while I was kind of waiting for everything to ramp up with the Life Coach School. And I have found, honestly, I came out of that when I decided, OK, I'm going to go ahead and start a business.
00;09;35;09 - 00;09;53;00 | Nola
I was literally kind of grasping at straws and not really having any clear idea. I was trying this and trying that it wasn't organized. It wasn't, my mind was kind of I wasn't, I was kind of letting the lion out of the den and it was running around like wild in the jungle, but there was no
00;09;53;03 - 00;10;03;05 | Nola
way to tame it. And that's when I found you, Debbie, and that's when I was like, OK, I know that I want to do this. I know that I'm not afraid to do this, but I have no idea how.
00;10;03;05 - 00;10;14;27 | Nola
And you were like the manna from the heavens of, like, here's the how. You know, I can, I can help you with the how. At the Life Coach School, my biggest hurdle was overcoming my fear of failure.
00;10;14;27 - 00;10;26;20 | Nola
I think when I graduated, I have failed so many times and so epically in front of all of these people that that fear no longer held me captive. But for a very long time, all of my life really that.
00;10;26;29 - 00;10;43;08 | Nola
Fear had kept me playing small. Once I laid that mantle down, all of the sudden starting a business didn't seem scary at all. It's like, OK, if I fail, I fail, I'll try something else. And if Debbie tells me to do that and I figure out how to do that and it doesn't work, and that's OK, I'll
00;10;43;14 - 00;10;53;29 | Nola
figure out why it didn't work and all of those things. The fear of failure was a real thing for sure, a real thing when I came to the school, but it wasn't a real thing by the time that I graduated.
00;10;54;00 - 00;10;56;04 | Nola
It was more of I needed help with the help.
00;10;56;04 - 00;11;09;08 | Debbie
That's awesome. Yeah, I think one thing people don't think about when they start their business, and I would hate to be the bearer of the truth is that not everything is going to work and we hear that you have to fail.
00;11;09;15 - 00;11;19;14 | Debbie
You know, along the way and it's like, OK, whatever, I don't want to fail along the way. That only makes sense. But it is true that your business, just like you, evolved as a coach and sort of work through things.
00;11;19;23 - 00;11;33;16 | Debbie
Your business is the same way to you. Put out a message, you start coaching somebody and or coaching many people. In your case, you have a lot of clients, but you start coaching and then your business ideas evolve as they go, too.
00;11;33;17 - 00;11;44;20 | Debbie
So you're making a few shifts and then you go out and market. And as soon as you do something, almost not until you do it. Do you see that there could be a different way? I mean, it helps when you have a coach.
00;11;44;20 - 00;11;53;25 | Debbie
Look at it too. But I mean, even yourself, you guys, until you do. Don't you think that's the case for you to know that you've got to get done? And then it's like, Oh, wait, I could change this.
00;11;54;05 - 00;12;05;23 | Nola
Yeah, you've got to excavate. I mean, you really do. Like, I started a blog and I've just made a simple, simple spreadsheet on Excel of how many people opened it, how many people have read it, how many people click through.
00;12;06;02 - 00;12;18;03 | Nola
And it gives me an idea of what actually resonated. And I also have gotten feedback from that. So I know that even if not everybody is, it's resonating with at least it's resonating with a good number of people.
00;12;18;04 - 00;12;31;19 | Nola
I also tried other things, and when I started to really excavate them, I know that they were really epic failures. Then I need to figure out, OK, why is this just not a good platform for me? And it's not a good way for me?
00;12;31;19 - 00;12;49;00 | Nola
Or is this just not? I didn't do it well. I didn't give it all. I didn't manage my mind before I went into it or whatever the case may have been. I think it's really important if you just keep flailing and keep kind of throwing darts and hoping one of them will land without realizing why there are darts
00;12;49;00 - 00;13;07;02 | Nola
are not landing that I think you're missing a huge opportunity. And I think you also will wind up getting into your own head of like, see, I keep failing, I keep failing, I keep failing. But if you figure out, OK, why are you failing, then all of that mind garbage doesn't have to be there because as you
00;13;07;02 - 00;13;17;04 | Nola
become more of a learner than a failure, as that shift happens. OK, I'm just learning about another family. I'm just learning, and that's an important shift.
00;13;17;04 - 00;13;23;04 | Debbie
Now the analytics that she's doing on her email, which is not a big deal, you guys.
00;13;23;04 - 00;13;42;02 | Debbie
I mean, it does take a little bit of extra time, but just that small step in having something documented so that you know what is working and what's not working. So you can actually, you know, separate the thoughts, the story from the facts, the circumstance when you have those numbers down like that then it really is
00;13;42;02 - 00;13;54;11 | Debbie
a circumstance. And then the thought, of course, what you have about it. But yeah, that's very helpful to look at the facts. I know I often have many clients who say I've done or new people I've talked to.
00;13;54;11 - 00;14;04;15 | Debbie
I should say that they've tried everything and it's like, Well, what have you tried? You know, how many times have you done this or how many? And it's sort of some of the things that you do in business feel so big.
00;14;04;16 - 00;14;10;23 | Debbie
You forget it's only one action or only one step. So that's good that you're documenting that for sure. Yeah.
00;14;10;23 - 00;14;18;09 | Nola
And it's interesting that just that statement, like I've tried everything. I've offered that in my own head and then I was like, OK, let's talk about this.
00;14;18;09 - 00;14;32;11 | Nola
What is everything? You've done everything? Because there are so many things I really haven't done everything. I just feel like that because my, you know, maybe I just lost a client, or maybe I just, you know, whatever it may have been.
00;14;32;16 - 00;14;44;28 | Nola
So I've tried everything. No, I haven't tried everything. That's just what my brain is offering me because I've just experienced maybe a foul. OK, well, why? Why do they fail? And the next question?
00;14;44;28 - 00;14;49;28 | Debbie
Well, I know when it comes to marketing, I know in our group coaching, we've talked about, like all the places that
00;14;49;28 - 00;15;03;10 | Debbie
you could actually market your business as you're listening to this podcast to find some of your girlfriends and get together and think of all the places that you guys could market your business. Because Nola has ideas that are different than one of my other girls, that's different than me.
00;15;03;10 - 00;15;22;07 | Debbie
That's different than somebody else. And truthfully, you guys, there are so many places to market your business. The knowledge is not crazy about marketing her business on social media, and that's OK, too. So talk about that a little bit and how you found some other avenues to market your business.
00;15;22;07 - 00;15;40;26 | Nola
So I am not a social media person, although I guess a podcast technical. We have social media, right, do that. But in terms of Facebook and Instagram and all of that sort of thing, I'm not a social media person and largely it comes from my belief with my own children is I hate it for them.
00;15;41;07 - 00;15;58;19 | Nola
Hate's a very strong word, but I dislike it for them. They are all on social media and our statement in our house is always like, Hey, here and now, because they can easily get sucked into all the fun things that are happening on their screen and miss out on the family time that's right in front of
00;15;58;19 - 00;16;14;08 | Nola
them. So for me, it feels almost hypocritical to then be so focused, and I know that's a story totally telling myself that story. I recognized that I could do this in a way just like Debbie has offered that you can schedule it and there are absolutely ways.
00;16;14;08 - 00;16;26;18 | Nola
But I am personally not a fan of social media. It's just not what I want for my business, and I know that that creates an instant blockade where there doesn't need to be. I know that it slows down my growth.
00;16;26;19 - 00;16;38;29 | Nola
I know I'm fully conscious of all of the bumpers. I'm actually putting on my business by doing that, but I've chosen that. That's what I want to do down the road. Maybe I'll choose differently, but for today and chosen, that's what I want to do.
00;16;38;29 - 00;16;54;06 | Nola
And I like my decision, and I like my reasons for why I have sent out an email, which was actually a big step for me, which was one of the first things Debbie had me do. And that was sort of a Band-Aid that got ripped off because again, it felt very exposed.
00;16;54;18 - 00;17;05;29 | Nola
But I sent out an email and then I started. That email now goes onto my website as well. So it's a blog on my website. So it kind of I do both at the same time and that has been well received.
00;17;05;29 - 00;17;21;13 | Nola
I've actually gotten two clients from that, which has been great. It's hard because it's sobering, but it's also a great outlet if you like to write, which I do. So I've done that. I've gone to a couple of different services and signed up with them.
00;17;21;14 - 00;17;39;07 | Nola
I've also spoken at and taught a class for a friend of mine who owns a holistic business, and so I did a whole mindset for her, a sales team. I've done an event at church. I have spoken to a women's group and I've got a couple of other things that I'm exploring.
00;17;39;21 - 00;17;52;22 | Nola
And I've also just recently joined a meetup if you will. I think it's called a meetup locally here in Nashville. That'll be interesting I haven't yet gone to one, so I can't speak to whether it's productive for me or not.
00;17;52;23 - 00;18;02;15 | Nola
I'm getting myself out there in a different way. I also was a lacrosse coach for several years, and I've gotten clients kind of through just being out in the community and pretty visible.
00;18;02;15 - 00;18;08;19 | Debbie
Yeah, the important part here is you guys and Nola is a client that it's like, I want to help make sure she gets results.
00;18;08;19 - 00;18;25;22 | Debbie
And if social media was not her thing, all right. And then we have to find another way. And she has found some other ways to make that happen because people just don't come just because you have a website, in fact, probably which a website is 100% necessary and is required to do this.
00;18;25;22 - 00;18;39;07 | Debbie
It really is, you guys. But probably not very many people are visiting websites, especially in the beginning stage, because, according to Google, you can't even really be found. It takes a while before the content that she's producing on her website.
00;18;39;08 - 00;18;53;17 | Debbie
Essentially, the blog does help her get found. But truthfully, you guys with a blog, you have to have hundreds of blogs before you begin to get found by Google. So her doing these, you know, speaking things and essentially networking is another way to be doing that.
00;18;53;17 - 00;19;06;05 | Debbie
So for whatever way it works for you is OK. But just be honest with yourself about what you're willing to do, and then let's find or you find a way around that that will keep you out there consistently.
00;19;06;07 - 00;19;22;04 | Nola
Yeah, yeah. And I was really appreciative because I know that social media is also the easy answer because it's not easy, but it's the more obvious answer that you were willing to work with me and not insist that that had to be done.
00;19;22;15 - 00;19;29;01 | Nola
And that was helpful to me. And I know that it was, you know, most people probably don't have the aversion that I do to it.
00;19;29;01 - 00;19;40;06 | Debbie
So I don't know. Most people don't like social media. I know that most of the people that are our age and I'm older than you, but that most people really feel exposed and
00;19;40;06 - 00;19;54;13 | Debbie
feel like everybody's looking at them. And it's it's sort of hard to get past that, honestly. So, as Noah said, one of the things I talk about is scheduling your social media out in advance so that it's not on your mind all the time.
00;19;54;13 - 00;20;02;21 | Debbie
I'm scheduled out so far that people will say, Oh, your post? And I'm like, I don't even know what I posted because I posted a month ago because I don't want to be in the midst of it either.
00;20;02;22 - 00;20;13;10 | Debbie
So even with all his newsletters, there is a plan that goes in advance of what? What is going to be the next for next year's? You have the next year, don't you, newsletters?
00;20;13;10 - 00;20;14;08 | Nola
Yeah, yeah.
00;20;14;08 - 00;20;20;03 | Debbie
Yeah, that's one of the things that I feel like is important in what I teach on is that if we have some kind
00;20;20;03 - 00;20;33;28 | Debbie
of plan in place and it's very simple, it was not hard to come up with that plan. I haven't actually seen it in writing, but I know. That she did it because we talked about it. But when you have a plan in place that just changes the way you market your business because it's not like, what am
00;20;33;28 - 00;20;44;08 | Debbie
I going to do? It's like, Oh, I know what I'm going to do. There's not a question of what is it? It's like, No, this is what I'm going to do. So it's a great way to direct that bratty brain.
00;20;44;11 - 00;20;54;05 | Debbie
So tell me what your feeling is about your business today. I don't know if you've been in business for six months. You've been in business less than six months, probably, since fall?
00;20;54;05 - 00;20;58;12 | Nola
Yeah, yeah, it's exciting. I mean, I'm excited about the business.
00;20;58;12 - 00;21;14;00 | Nola
I'm excited about where I started and where I am today. I love my clients. I've had some amazing, amazing clients. So incredibly blessed by that. I feel like I've learned so much and I've grown as a person and obviously, I've grown as a business.
00;21;14;00 - 00;21;25;09 | Nola
It's an exciting time. It's a very exciting time. I have no regrets whatsoever for kind of ripping off Band-Aids and being like, Alright, what do I have to lose a little bit of anyway? It's all that. A little bit of shame.
00;21;26;12 - 00;21;36;20 | Nola
Shame. It's just a feeling a little bit of like fear of failure. OK, that's just a feeling, too, when you would like to start hammering down and instead I get to step into the life that I actually want to be living.
00;21;36;21 - 00;21;39;21 | Nola
And so the trade-off is all worth it.
00;21;39;21 - 00;21;51;10 | Debbie
And then, you know, Nola, I know that you are like most people and that you want to coach. That's what you want to do. And in order to be a coach, you have to consistently put yourself out there.
00;21;51;10 - 00;22;09;27 | Debbie
You have to be doing these, these uncomfortable things. And I will say what I notice is that about and with my own business, with about six months in of consistent action, it's like your business blooms. It's like you had it was a seed and you fertilized it and you like it looks like nothing's happening.
00;22;10;06 - 00;22;27;02 | Debbie
And then all of a sudden there's a bloom there and you can see like, oh, I did produce something. Sort of when you least expect it, but, I think most people consistently and I'm talking about weekly action, you guys daily thinking about it, not thinking, but doing, doing the steps.
00;22;27;02 - 00;22;35;07 | Debbie
They missed that part. And so their business doesn't bloom for a long time. Yeah, but you've been able to do that consistently, which is super, super great.
00;22;35;07 - 00;22;41;27 | Nola
Yeah, it's kind of not letting yourself off the hook. It's so easy to be like, oh, I don't, I don't.
00;22;41;27 - 00;22;59;28 | Nola
I don't want to live in the I don't know or live in the confusion. And I think the best gift I gave myself, honestly, I mean, truthfully, not just because I'm on this podcast, but was the gift of view of hiring you and saying, OK, I'm going to invest in my business and I'm not going to invest
00;22;59;28 - 00;23;13;27 | Nola
in another thing. I'm not going to go to more school. I'm not going to go to more edge. I'm going to invest right here in Debbie and get my business up and going. And that was one of the best gifts I've given myself because it gave me.
00;23;13;27 - 00;23;24;12 | Nola
I don't know that it gives me the confidence in the how of like, OK, where do I get started here? And someone to just sort of say, OK, here's what you do with the email. Here's what you know, and here's the how.
00;23;24;21 - 00;23;33;21 | Nola
Now, now come on, let's go. Let's go, let's go. It was the accountability of I'm not going to show up to class next week without that done. I just got it.
00;23;33;21 - 00;23;35;15 | Debbie
Uh-huh, I think there's something to that.
00;23;35;15 - 00;23;45;29 | Debbie
You guys that private coaching, it's great too. But group coaching is my goodness. You guys, this is life at home with the business and my dogs are barking and the phone is ringing. So I'm sorry for those of you listening.
00;23;45;29 - 00;23;55;26 | Debbie
But yeah, it's when you know you're coming to a group and you know, I'm going to ask you today in our group. So no, tell me what's been happening, what you do in the last week, and particularly you guys.
00;23;55;26 - 00;24;08;05 | Debbie
I know that most people need this. My daughter's grown and I only have one. So I'm not like Nola with four kids, but life gets in the way. I mean, I take care of family members and I'm involved in my church too.
00;24;08;05 - 00;24;20;24 | Debbie
And there's always something that can be more important than doing the next step in your business, especially when it doesn't seem very fruitful what you're doing in your business or fun. Yeah, like writing the email that you think nobody reads anyway.
00;24;21;04 - 00;24;33;00 | Debbie
It's like you can easily say, Well, I should go do something else good, or I should do this for my kids. Or, you know, I find myself on Amazon is what I find myself doing. So I just want to say that you never know.
00;24;33;00 - 00;24;45;20 | Debbie
It could be. You could have an email list of ten people, and it only takes one person to open the email and say, Oh my gosh, I've got to talk to Nola about her coaching. I think we think we have to have a big following.
00;24;45;20 - 00;24;50;21 | Debbie
We have to have a big list, we have to have a big - you just have to start with what you have and you've done a great job of that.
00;24;50;21 - 00;24;57;15 | Nola
Yeah, it's been great. And every week I've been fortunate because someone else, a friend of a friend, can you add this person?
00;24;57;26 - 00;25;11;24 | Nola
So the list has organically kind of grown. I have to say the email also was a great way for me to start because it disarms people that I wasn't trying to sell them. I wasn't trying to get them to jump on board.
00;25;11;24 - 00;25;27;08 | Nola
I was trying to offer something truly from my heart that I wanted to share. And if all of my emails never, you know, decided to do coaching but I helped one person, then that's that. Kind of my goal.
00;25;27;10 - 00;25;44;16 | Nola
Get myself out there, get people to understand what I'm doing. If they want to refer me or they want to jump into coaching, that's great. But I really wanted I wanted my message out because I think it's important. I think it's important to help, not just because I'm going to get a financial benefit, but to help.
00;25;44;29 - 00;25;51;25 | Nola
That's why I got into coaching. I think if I had received this email ten years ago, I think it would have made a huge difference in my life.
00;25;51;25 - 00;25;58;26 | Debbie
That's so good. And listen, I'm telling you, I have this belief that when you put out good in the world, it's going to come back to you.
00;25;58;27 - 00;26;10;07 | Debbie
Time's who knows how many. So there are plenty of people you don't have to arm-twist to get people to buy from you. You can take care of people and serve people. And we've said it. You've heard everybody say it.
00;26;10;20 - 00;26;23;27 | Debbie
You can give away all the secrets and people still need help. Yeah, we still want to talk to you. They still need somebody to help them through whatever it is they're going through. Well, you're a prime example. You know the things that you've told me.
00;26;23;27 - 00;26;37;20 | Nola
Some of them have been new and novel, but not everything. Yeah. When you say, make an email, I could have thought of making an email, but the way you delivered it for me, the way you just armed it for me, the way you kind of helped me instruct me how to do it.
00;26;38;07 - 00;26;53;07 | Nola
All of those things got me moving, you know, in emails, not new a novel, but the how of how to do the new. The email was so. That's exactly right. Did I have to have help? Maybe not.
00;26;53;07 - 00;26;56;29 | Nola
But would I be where I am? Absolutely not. There's no doubt about it.
00;26;56;29 - 00;27;08;09 | Debbie
Well, thank you for that. I appreciate that. So is there anything else that you want to share about your business, about your clients? I know we're going to link up how people can get in touch with you in the show notes.
00;27;08;09 - 00;27;15;24 | Debbie
But is there anything else that you could leave that would be an inspiration for another coach building a business or anything else you want to add today?
00;27;15;24 - 00;27;27;23 | Nola
Yeah, I guess my biggest word of wisdom is fear not. Truly fear not, because the fear that you have of building is what's actually holding you back from building.
00;27;27;23 - 00;27;45;05 | Nola
And what's the worst thing that can happen is it doesn't work, OK? Not everything in life is going to work, and it's OK. And we step into, especially with my clients and I share this often is we step into motherhood with absolutely no clue that it's going to work.
00;27;45;14 - 00;27;56;17 | Nola
It's going to be successful, that we're going to be a good mom, that we know how most of us don't know how. When we get pregnant, we have zero clue about being pregnant. We have zero clue of how to feed a child and nurse a child, whatever with a sense.
00;27;56;17 - 00;28;08;29 | Nola
We have no clue every step of their lives how to do this unless we have others that our first one, there's always a first out and we have no idea, and the business is the same way.
00;28;09;13 - 00;28;26;24 | Nola
It doesn't matter if you know how, just step in and get going because this child being your business will grow too, and you'll figure it out along the way and you're going to make mistakes. And just like a child, they're going to screw them up it for a little while, and then you're going to right the ship
00;28;26;24 - 00;28;41;28 | Nola
and figure it out. Your business is the same thing. It's no different than raising a child. And if you're a mom, you've done this, you know, you know how many times you screw up before you get it right and you know how many mistakes your kids are going to make before they learn the, you know, the way.
00;28;41;28 - 00;28;52;00 | Debbie
Until when they finally get to college? And like you've made it all the way through, I just need to teach them how to talk, to write, or whatever to get them on their way to college. Comparing that to business, that's a great analogy.
00;28;52;00 - 00;29;04;17 | Debbie
I've been using the analogy recently since I'm on a health and fitness journey that it's the same way like that, too. And if you guys listen to the podcast, you heard me talk about that. You know, you get on the scale the first week and you expect some big result.
00;29;04;28 - 00;29;17;20 | Debbie
Just like it is when you do one email or one post or you put your website up, you expect some big result the same way that you're talking about with the mother. You think it's things are going to turn out perfect and they just don't.
00;29;17;21 - 00;29;20;07 | Debbie
There are a lot of ups and downs in that.
00;29;20;07 - 00;29;30;04 | Nola
It's like potty training and how many times you're over and over and over and over again doing the same thing, thinking they should have it by now. But they don't and they have accidents.
00;29;30;04 - 00;29;36;27 | Nola
Things go south, you know, in lots of different situations, but eventually, they figure it out. And so will you in a business?
00;29;36;27 - 00;29;51;08 | Debbie
Yeah. One thing I want to mention and, hopefully, it's OK to talk about this. But Nola is a contractor at the Life Coach School, which is so, so exciting because many, many, many, many, practically everybody
00;29;51;08 - 00;30;11;10 | Debbie
I talked to would like to be a contractor at the Life Coach School. And I just want to say without hopefully sharing too much that it takes a lot. The interview process and the coaching process, and even that talk about growth, not just what I've heard from you, but from all of the other women that I've had calls with.
00;30;11;10 - 00;30;26;01 | Debbie
When you talk about in your business, the challenges and the growth that you've had had, just the growth of going to work for another coach and what you've had to do to get there is just a serious accomplishment, too.
00;30;26;06 - 00;30;43;26 | Debbie
So congratulations on that. That was not easy to do. So kudos to you on that. Last question. Tell me what has been the biggest, like you could say one highlight? I always ask my daughter at the end of the day when I would pick her up from school, and I still do this regularly when I see her
00;30;44;04 - 00;30;53;11 | Debbie
when we do something together, I'll say, tell me what was your high and what was your low of the day? That was always the way we got in the carpool lane and said, So tell me what was your high?
00;30;53;20 - 00;31;01;09 | Debbie
Can you come up with one thing since you became a coach? And maybe what was your low; both directions, if you don't mind sharing that, and then we'll wrap it up.
00;31;01;09 - 00;31;03;24 | Nola
So I'm going to give you the low first because I like to finish on the high.
00;31;04;01 - 00;31;18;09 | Nola
Yeah. OK, so the low is probably: I had two consults. I had lots and lots of things going on. Actually, it wasn't a consult, it was just that I had to reply. I essentially took too long to get back to people.
00;31;18;17 - 00;31;29;21 | Nola
You know, I had lots of things going on at home. I had to get kids where they wanted to be, and then I sat down at my desk at like 1:00 and replied, and both of the people said, I wish I'd gotten this earlier.
00;31;29;21 - 00;31;50;14 | Nola
I hired someone else, and that was such a soul-crushing like, Oh, because both the people said, I absolutely would have hired you over who I hired just by the response that you gave me. So that was such a like a bell ring for me, as my family is always going to be my priority, without a doubt.
00;31;50;14 - 00;32;02;19 | Nola
And I don't want to change that. I like that reason, but I could have found time to respond to these people. I knew that I needed to be in my head. It was actually even on my calendar and I didn't honor my calendar.
00;32;03;02 - 00;32;20;04 | Nola
I instead, you know, got my shower and took my time doing what I needed to do instead of doing that first. So that was a major like that I should have. And, you know, I considered myself all day long, which really isn't helpful because shoulds just could with shame.
00;32;20;04 - 00;32;24;05 | Debbie
But you learn something. I mean, you learn something like.
00;32;24;05 - 00;32;38;28 | Nola
Yeah, I learned a lot from that, how to honor my calendar and how to prioritize better. And my family still was my priority, but I definitely could have gotten that checked off my list instead of having this thing on my head all morning and then coming back to
00;32;38;28 - 00;32;51;22 | Debbie
it. So then it was like, I want to interrupt here and just say, for all of you guys, I think that it's important to notice those people were ready to hire a coach on the spot. I think everybody experiences that, including me.
00;32;52;00 - 00;33;06;25 | Debbie
I will have people that tell me that they got on my calendar and they were looking for coaches and I had the first spot available. And so they got me and they hired me. And so I'm not saying that you should work 24-7 or any of that.
00;33;07;06 - 00;33;20;09 | Debbie
But what Nola is saying is important. Those people were ready to hire a coach, and she was a couple of hours late and didn't have to be on the spot. I don't know what the timing was, but just worth you guys that are listening to make note of that, that when somebody is ready, they're ready.
00;33;20;10 - 00;33;36;01 | Nola
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it's, you know, it was definitely my error. Without a doubt, that was probably my low and my high, for certain, was a client who came to me with lots of different things going on.
00;33;36;04 - 00;33;57;06 | Nola
My highs are definitely going to be my clients and the results that they've gotten. There's been several, but one, in particular, was a challenging mother-daughter relationship, and it had been like that for as long as either could remember. And they are now in such a wonderful place and she just got pregnant and there's so much harmony and
00;33;57;06 - 00;34;16;24 | Nola
love going on there, and that was that is and they're still in contact with me today. So that's really heartwarming. They reached out to say, like, Hey, just, I'm pregnant, like, it's just been a very nice journey to witness with them to really take what was very badly broken and help them
00;34;16;26 - 00;34;18;05 | Nola
find their way through that,
00;34;18;05 - 00;34;26;09 | Debbie
OK, I have these bumps there that I don't know if I want to cry or get chills. I really that's so sweet because this is the thing Nola, I'm sure, is already holding on to that.
00;34;26;14 - 00;34;42;16 | Debbie
For all of you guys listening, you just hold on to one moment like that when you don't want to do the next hard thing in your business, when you don't want to be that person who follows up again with somebody who reaches back out to somebody and says, Hey, I'm thinking about you, or Hey, I can help
00;34;42;16 - 00;34;56;00 | Debbie
you, you don't want to be, you know, and your mind convincing or sleazy or pushy all that. All of that is how you end up changing people's lives like this. She didn't just change the life between that mother and the daughter.
00;34;56;00 - 00;35;04;27 | Debbie
Now there's a grandchild coming in, and it's like generations of people that could be changed because of the work that Nola did. So, so good, thank you for sharing.
00;35;04;27 - 00;35;07;15 | Nola
It's truly the work they did. It's the work they did.
00;35;07;15 - 00;35;09;12 | Debbie
Yes, but, you are the guide. You are the guide.
00;35;09;12 - 00;35;18;13 | Nola
Yes, I really try hard to make sure that I'm not taking credit for my clients' success because truly it is their hard work because they could have opted not to do the work.
00;35;18;13 - 00;35;31;03 | Nola
They worked really, really, really hard and they had amazing results. It is my blessing to be able. To be a witness to it and to be the guide, I'd like that. Yeah.
00;35;31;03 - 00;35;34;19 | Debbie
Oh my gosh. OK, thank you so, so much.
00;35;34;19 - 00;35;46;01 | Debbie
So I know that if you are a mother who's trying to find out what's next for you, then I think you guys should connect with Noah, and I'll leave a link to her website. You guys can get on our email.
00;35;46;01 - 00;35;54;29 | Debbie
She does very thoughtful emails with lots of really good stuff. And, is there anything else you want people to know about where to connect with you or what's next for you
00;35;54;29 - 00;36;05;07 | Nola
If you're a mom, specifically a woman or mom specifically struggling with your kids or where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow?
00;36;05;09 - 00;36;20;03 | Nola
It doesn't have to be as hard as we all make it. It really does it. So, you know, reach out. Even if you're not looking for coaching, just reach out and get on my email list and something might resonate with you that can help even just a little bit from day-to-day.
00;36;20;04 - 00;36;32;25 | Nola
Life can wear you know, wear us down pretty quickly. But if we learn to manage our mind around it, it's, you know, we have this one precious, beautiful life. What do you want it to look like? And are you choosing it or is it just happening to you?
00;36;32;27 - 00;36;45;19 | Debbie
I think that's really pointed thing that if we can learn to choose our life instead of thinking that we're a victim of it, we're just floating through it. Life seems so much different and so much richer.
00;36;45;19 - 00;36;48;03 | Debbie
Okay, on that note, I think I'm going to wrap it up.
00;36;48;04 - 00;37;02;00 | Debbie
Nola, thank you, first of all, for the privilege of helping you with your business, it's such an honor and for doing the work to be able to get your business built and for all that you're doing for the women and families that you're helping.
00;37;02;00 - 00;37;04;15 | Debbie
So you guys have an amazing day.
00;37;04;15 - 00;37;04;21 | Nola
Thank you, Debbie.
00;37;04;21 - 00;37;18;23 | Debbie
If you are interested, anybody, in talking about how to grow your business, and you just want to have a conversation about how I might be able to help you. It doesn't really matter what stage you're at in your business, whether you're a beginner, whether you're further along and you're just
00;37;18;23 - 00;37;29;09 | Debbie
stuck and overwhelmed? Let's just have a talk about that and see how I might be able to help you with your business. All right now. Thank you so much. Everybody else have an amazing week. Until next time, I'll see you later.
00;37;29;13 - 00;37;29;22 | Nola
Bye-bye.
00;37;29;22 - 00;37;44;13 | Debbie
Bye-bye. All right, my friends, are you ready to get more clients? Let's go do it. Have an amazing week, and, if you want that business assessment, I want to help you with your business. DebbieShadid.com/LetsChat
00;37;44;23 - 00;37;50;20 | Debbie
for a free business assessment. Until next time, bye-bye.