money

Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent servant but a terrible master

22 April 2024 in quote tagged coach / coaches / coaching / money / P. T. Barnon / questions / quote

Today’s quote is:

“Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent servant but a terrible master.” (P.T. Barnon)

As part of my daily routine, I often share thought-provoking quotes on social media. These quotes not only inspire, but also prompt deeper reflection. On days when time permits, I take the opportunity to expand on these quotes here, through blog posts, diving into the questions they raise.

This week, amid a busy schedule, I wanted to continue the tradition of engaging with our daily quotes. Instead of forgoing a post altogether, I thought I’d share some questions inspired by today’s quote—questions aimed at sparking introspection and discussion among fellow coaches and readers.

How does this quote resonate with your money beliefs?

Considering the quote’s emphasis on the potential dangers of allowing external factors to dictate one’s life, how can we empower clients to take ownership of their choices and embrace a more proactive approach to personal and professional development?

Bonus questions for the blog:

What coaching question, exercise or technique does this quote prompt for you?

Does this quote resonate with you?

What fresh insights or perspectives have you had around the topic of money?

Feel free to share your thoughts and insights in the comments below or on your own social media platforms. Let’s continue the conversation and explore the wisdom within these words together.

About Jen Waller

Jen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

As an experienced coach and trainer, Jen is happy to utilise all skills at her disposal to assist clients from getting out of their own way and making a difference in the world with their coaching. Find out more about the support Jen offers here.

When to start charging for your coaching?

17 May 2018 in Coaching tagged business / charging / coaching / coaching practice / money

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When to start charging for your coaching?

by Jen Waller

“How do I know when to start charging for my coaching?” is a question I’ve seen many new coaches ask. I certainly remember asking myself questions about when to start charging and several people had an opinion and very different approaches.

You may be wanting this post to give a definitive answer that on week x or after y clients and if so I’m sorry this isn’t one of those posts. While I’m not going to tell you what you should do I am going to share some different approaches and you can decide which appeals to you.

You may even notice that you have been trying one approach and it hasn’t been working for you.

I use the word exchange a lot in this article. That is deliberate because you are exchanging your service for an agreed payment of some kind.

All sorts of beliefs, values and fears can get in the way of a coach charging. I will also offer the perspective that what you ask for in exchange for your service can be changed.

So in no particular order here are some approaches you can use when approaching deciding when to start charging for your coaching:

Coaching provides value. It is your duty as a coach to communicate that value by ALWAYS asking for an exchange of money.

I have no doubt that this school of thought is said with all the best intentions in the world. They already see the value that you can bring to your clients. However, I’ve also seen it be a belief that has stopped coaches from practicing because they didn’t feel ready to charge. The end result being is that they don’t do any coaching so are not bringing any value to anyone.

If you are happy this approach you may choose to start charging right from the word go. Your clients will soon let you know if they are not happy with what you are asking for in exchange. 🙂

Coach as many people as you can, regardless of if there is an exchange of money or not. Anybody who will agree – from the person who delivers your post to old school friends. Take the opportunity to get lots of experience.

This approach works particularly well if you are willing to notice the difference your service makes for your clients. While, it may take some longer than others, you will start to see the value that you bring – something that makes agreeing an exchange of money for your service a lot easier. The thinking behind this approach is that at some stage, providing you’ve been noticing the value your coaching provides, it becomes obvious that it’s time to start charging.

Invite your client to pay you what they feel the value that your work has provided.

Some people feel that this avoids making a “difficult” request for money and provides them with an incentive to do superior work. You may also choose to use that method of exchange if you feel that your client is cash poor.

This will depend upon your style but some clients may feel awkward with this request whilst some will love that approach. Often the coach is surprised by the amount a client chooses.

Invite your client to exchange your coaching for some other form of payment other than money.

In effect this is like a bartering system. For example, perhaps you will agree to work with a website designer to create a site for you in exchange for coaching.

If you choose to use this system then you will make it easier if both of you agree in advance what will be provided by both of you.

Exchanging your coaching for an agreed donation to a charity of your choice.

Many who start with this approach use it as a stepping-stone to being comfortable accepting a payment themselves. They find that they can practice asking for a payment in the comfort that a charity who’s work they believe in will benefit.

Exchange your coaching for honest feedback

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard coaches share how they were surprised about how a client has found the experience of working with the coach and the value gained. With the permission of the client you can also use these as testimonials.

This can also give you an idea of how a non-coach would describe working with you. This can be important if you decide to work with individuals/groups who are not coaches/ familiar with the jargon and terminology coaches use.

Make an agreement that your client will “pay it forward” by donating their time and/skills etc to someone else.

Again this is often a gentle approach that some like to take to get comfortable asking for an exchange for the service they provide, before moving onto asking that exchange involve money.

Wait until a set time/event has happened

This normally takes the form of not charging until qualified or attended a particular course.

Sometimes this particular approach has a moving goal post, for example, I’ll charge once I have done the first training weekend becomes, I’ll charge once I am qualified which then becomes I’ll charge when I’ve worked with x number of clients or when I’ve done another course etc.

If this is the approach you are using I strongly encourage you to be aware of if you have moved the goal post.

Wait until your coaching provides x value to clients

Now this is an approach which I hear from a lot of coaches who’ve got stuck. Generally the aspect that trips people up with this approach is one of two things. Either they do not actually define what the “x value” actually means and it becomes this constantly moving goal post in their own minds that they’re never going to achieve. Alternatively they aren’t checking with their clients what value they are getting from the coaching.

I’ve seen all these approaches work for different coaches and I’ve seen some of the approaches trip other coaches up until they changed to a different approach. I believe that this does not have to be a one size fits all approach – I believe a more pragmatic answer is it’s the approach that works for you, and your clients, that’s the right one for you. There’s certainty nothing stopping you from incorporating more than one of these approaches and modifying it so it fits more with your style.

How much to charge is a question to be answered on another occasion but I invite you to begin to see the value that you provide your clients because when you see that when to charge and how much to charge becomes much easier to answer.

Have I missed an approach? Want to share which way you used, or the option that appeals most to you? Fill in the reply box below and click submit comment.

About Jen Waller

Jen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

As an experienced coach and trainer Jen is happy to utilise all skills at her disposal to assist clients from getting out of their own way and making a difference in the world with their coaching. One of the aspects of her role Jen loves the most is seeing individuals find their voice, grow their confidence and take the next steps so that they make a massive positive impact and difference with their coaching. Jen has owned and run Coaching Confidence, the coaching blog since 2010.

In her spare time Jen is a volunteer for the UK based charity The Cinnamon Trust who support elderly and terminally ill pet owners provide care for their pets. As a volunteer, Jen regularly walks dogs for owners who physically often find that more challenging then they once did. As a pet owner herself, Jen finds it really rewarding to be able to assist an owner stay with an animal that has become part of the family. (Plus it’s a great aditional motivator when working from home to get out and get some fresh air and exercise)

Jen also loves theatre and has been known to watch certain popular science fiction films and TV shows!

Is Holding Three Months’ Worth of Overheads enough to Mitigate the Small Business from Risk?

29 January 2016 in Guest Post tagged business / cash flow / finance / financial coaching / forecast / Hayley Chiba / measure / money / overheads / risk management / sales projection

Finance is one aspect of running a coaching business. In today’s guest post finance expert Hayley Chiba shares some of her expertise of working with small business and entrepreneurs.

Is Holding Three Months’ Worth of Overheads enough to Mitigate the Small Business from Risk?

By Hayley Chiba

"Is Holding Three Months’ Worth of Overheads enough to Mitigate the Small Business from Risk?" by Hayley Chiba

Business coaches and consultants often advise a small business, to always aim to hold 3 months’ worth of their overhead costs. This is to mitigate the risk of some down turn in the business.

In fact, this could apply to any unforeseen event occurring, where this meant the business were unable to generate sufficient sales to cover their fixed costs.

As a business coach, overall this is a good metric to have, but I was recently asked this question by a business owner. He still didn’t feel assured and satisfied that he had risk covered. If a business coach is to provide a valuable metric to his business owner client maybe a fuller dialogue is needed. As we know, better discussions with our clients can often lead to longevity and trust from your clients, as it gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your deeper value to your clients.

The problem is, that using an arbitrary figure like this, does not really relate directly to the specific level of risk that the business is facing.

Using this measure is fine if it relates to a business with low growth. Also, if it has a foreseeable pipeline of sales and a good insight into future potential environmental factors which may affect the business.

Just concentrating on holding a reserve only buys time, actually 3 months in this case. You need to consider, if there were an unforeseen event, how would that impact on the business financially? An unforeseen event may be the loss of a major customer, change in law or perhaps the loss of a key employee. Having considered this, how long would the business need, to put in place an alternative plan? Furthermore, how long would it take for “business as usual” to resume? This then leads us to think that we may need a much longer period of time, perhaps more like 6 months. As well as thinking about the amount of time the business needs to recover, we also want to consider if the business owner is actually looking to change something about the business.

Specifically, if they are thinking about undertaking a significant investment to grow the business. In this case the potential risk will rise as the return from the investment into growth activity is still to be proven. Spending out on more investment for growth will, in the short term, lower the profit margins and available cash. This can feel daunting especially when the business owner realises their current healthy profit margin is going to be eroded and in fact with it, any cash reserves they have built up.

So, I always recommend that in this case, further projections should be made. This will give the business owner the peace of mind that eventually, he is going to see the results he is anticipating. More importantly though, having some sort of forecast of what he expects to happen and measuring against this, every month, will flag quickly to him, where the plans are not playing out the way he was expecting. This will give him sufficient time to look at this, think of the actions he needs to take and make the necessary adjustments to his action plans to try to bring his results back on track.

The key report required to help give visibility on whether the new investment is viable is the Cash Flow Forecast.

I always suggest starting with the current situation and financial shape. Hence at this point it is crucial you understand your current position in terms of some key components.

What is the current Sales Projection based on hard data? We can all dream, but sales forecasts should be based on some credible extrapolation of the past or last year’s actual data achieved.
What are the current profit margins and specifically what is the gross profit margin? Gross profit margin being sales less direct costs.
What are the overheads and what is the average run rate for the overheads? Overheads will naturally fluctuate due to the timing of supplier invoices. Marketing, administration, repairs and travel are good examples of this type of spend. They reflect areas where the timing of spend is discretionary and not fixed as a monthly fee. Breaking out spend where there is some flexibility on when to spend, gives a view of what overheads are absolutely fixed and have to be covered month on month.

So, armed with these 3 areas of information, you should be fine now to create a time based cash flow forecast. Not you of course, the bookkeeper or the business owner himself!

This forecast should be drawn up as a monthly forecast, (or even weekly depending on the nature of the investment spend). Plot it forward until the point when you expect the business to be seeing the benefit from the investment. This is often longer than you realise. The cash flow forecast should show the benefits materialising, which take the business to the next level. Ensure that the forecast covers this full time span. Many business owners stop short of this point. They only project across the time of when the spend is actually taking place. You need to see what happens to the business shape post the spend. You want to see if and when the business shape returns or even improves versus its original shape. This will often result in a forecast for at least 1 to 2 years out.

Having created the forecast, the most crucial action is to measure against this monthly. Failure to do this, may mean that the forecast is not delivered. You will need a flag to alert where and when the business moves off-track. Ensure that there is a consistent and methodical tracking of the key components of this cash flow forecast.

Planning and then measuring, will help to confirm if the growth investment decision was the right decision. Where it is proving not to be, this early warning flag should give sufficient time to plan how to mitigate these costs by stopping the things that are not working and reinvesting in other areas.

Protecting the business pot of cash is as important as building that pot of cash, whether it relates to 3, 6 or 12 months’ worth of overheads. If you can advise him fully by including these additional necessary steps where appropriate, you will ensure that the business owners hard earned cash is not eroded.

That’s something I’m sure he will certainly thank you for!

About Hayley Chiba

Hayley Chiba

Hayley Chiba is a qualified Financial Controller working with small businesses. She runs her own business, Better Numbers Limited, which provides one to one Financial consulting to £1m + growing businesses in the Bristol, UK area.

She also provides Financial coaching to Entrepreneurs, Home Business Owners and Start-ups via her Ecourses. She dedicated to helping small businesses grow through increasing their personal and business financial awareness.

Connect with Hayley via:

Website: www.betternumbers.co.uk

Faceboook: www.facebook.com/Betternumbers/

Twitter: @betternumbers1

Linkedin; uk.linkedin.com/in/hayleychiba

Do You Have to Have Money to Make a Difference?

6 November 2015 in Guest Post tagged Bonnie Hurd Smith / girl scouts / make money / making a difference / massachusetts history / money / stories from women's history / women role models

Many people enter the coaching profession wanting to make a difference and often have lots and lots of thinking and beliefs about the topic of “money”.

In today’s guest post Bonnie Hurd Smith shares some historical examples she finds inspiring and compelling to answer the question:

Do You Have to Have Money to Make a Difference?

By Bonnie Hurd Smith

"Do You Have to Have Money to Make a Difference?" By Bonnie Hurd Smith

I was recently asked this question after a talk I gave for a group of Girl Scouts who were visiting Eastern Massachusetts, including Salem. Several years ago I created the Salem Women’s Heritage Trail, so I was asked to highlight some of the women on the trail for our smart and enthusiastic young visitors. I told them about Salem authors, publishers, teachers, philanthropists, reformers (abolitionists, suffragists), artists, founders of social service organizations… it’s a long and impressive list.

And then, Q & A.

“Do I have to have money to make a difference?” one girl asked.

I realized I had not made the point that, NO, YOU DON’T!

In fact, I replied, it’s the women who did NOT have a lot of money whose stories I find particularly compelling and inspiring. How did they achieve what they did against obstacles we can’t even imagine today? What were their strategies and tactics? What was their background? What motivated them? How did they come to believe in themselves?

Answers to these questions are what I have attempted to provide in my talks and Unitarian Universalist sermons over the years, because history is a living energy. We can draw on women’s wisdom from the ages to enlighten us today, especially when we find role models who faced some the same challenges we do-including not having a lot of money.

In Massachusetts women’s history alone I think about Phillis Wheatley, who was kidnapped from Africa as a little girl, brought to Boston where she was “sold” to the Wheatley family, and eventually became the first published African American poet.

Louisa May Alcott comes to mind as well, whose father was notoriously unable to make money. Through her pen and her imagination, Louisa became the most successful and famous woman writer of her day-and she supported her family! And she always insisted that women be paid what men are paid.

I remember Margaret Fuller, who spent about a year and a half living with friends and relatives as she could not afford her own home. She became the first woman literary editor of a national newspaper; an unparalleled reporter in the United States in Europe; the first female foreign correspondent (in Italy); and the author of Woman in the Nineteenth Century, a landmark book in the history of women’s rights.

And so, you do NOT have to have a lot of money to make a difference. What you DO have to have is a rock-solid belief in your abilities, wherever that comes from; a strong support system (which means ditching the people who do not support you); and the ability to spot or create opportunities and go after them-and to keep going!

Having said all of this, you do need money. You need money to survive and thrive, and you DESERVE to have money. As one of my coaches always says, “You can’t be of service to anyone if you’re broke and homeless.”

She’s right, and since being of service is our highest calling in life we really need to think about this truism-and to be of service to ourselves first!

Money is also a lubricant. It helps you get things done, including publishing your own book or investing in your own business!

We were all raised with the lingering Puritan notion that money is bad-that money is the “root of all evil.” This is a lie, and it’s one way that people, especially women, are kept down. Instead of focusing on the LACK of what you have, focus on what you DO have. You DO have your talents and your reason for being here. With the right support system-people, faith, whatever you need-the money will come because you deserve to be rewarded for using your gifts! And you will use it to help others.

I always learn something from my audiences, and I will keep this Girl Scout’s question in mind for future talks.

I did not have the chance to find out her name, but whoever you are, thank you for the question and keep them coming!

About Bonnie Hurd Smith

Bonnie Hurd Smith has been writing and speaking about women’s history for over 20 years. She is particularly known for being able to “connect the dots,” with passion, between history and how it can inform, inspire, and assist us today. Her most recent book is “We Believe in You: 12 Stories of Courage, Action, and Faith for Women and Girls.”

Bonnie is also a lay leader in the Unitarian Universalist church. She has led numerous inspirational services on Judith Sargent Murray (18th-century Universalist), Margaret Fuller (19th-century Unitarian), and Elizabeth Peabody (19th-century Unitarian).

Connect with Bonnie Hurd Smith on Social Media

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Bonnie_Hurd_Smith/1216672648

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bonniehurdsmith

Twitter: http://twitter.com/bonniehurdsmith

Article Source: Do You Have to Have Money to Make a Difference?

Article Expert Page: Bonnie Hurd Smith

Discover The 6 Figure Coach Myth

7 August 2015 in Guest Post tagged 6 figures / business / clients / coaching / happiness / money / Rachel Henke

In today’s guest post Freedom Business Coach Rachel Henke shares some of her expertise as she discusses something she’s observed:

Discover The 6 Figure Coach Myth

By Rachel Henke

"Discover The 6 Figure Coach Myth" by Rachel Henke

Everywhere I click lately people seem to be promising to teach how to hit 6 figures in your coaching business. You’ve probably noticed it yourself and had one of two reactions:

“Only 6 figures? I hit that years ago. What’s the big deal? I’m ready to hit 7” OR

“6 figures? Are you kidding me? If someone would just show me how to hit 6 figures I’d be over the moon and happy forever.”

And here’s the other thing I’ve noticed.

The coaches who’ve already hit 6 figures still have problems or what look like problems to them but let’s be honest here; they’re not going hungry.

And the coaches who feel desperate to hit the 6 figures also have problems or what look like problems to them too …

And perhaps they are struggling with the financials more than the first group but they’re usually not going hungry either.
So as I develop my coaching business and my understanding of what I want and what I can help my clients achieve, I experienced an insight which rocked my world.

Whether you’re at 6 figures and beyond, or yearning and striving to reach the infamous 6 figures, has little connection with how happy you feel each day.

Yes, it’s true that since I jumped off what I call my 10 year cash roller coaster, I’m able to have more of the experiences I want that I pay for with money, but I notice I still face some of the same old problems.

They just look different and show up in a different way. It was actually quite surprising because in my first business model I can see quite clearly that I lived in the future.

‘When I reach xxx I will be so happy.’

‘When I help someone reach xxx we will both be so fulfilled.’

‘When I reach that level my problems will be over.’

‘When we can have our dream holiday it will be amazing.’

Now it’s important I’m clear about something here. I’m not saying that money can’t boost your happiness because in my experience it really can.

When I say yes to my kids rather than no to something ‘expensive’ that I want to say yes to, that makes me very happy… at least in that moment.

When I just booked our dream holiday it made all of my family, including me, very happy.

So I’m not going to become one of those guys who tells you that money isn’t important because in a physical world I think that’s just silly.

BUT it is interesting to notice how our happiness comes from the inside in the same way that the horrible feeling of worry does too. And whether you are dreaming of 6 figures or are way beyond it, I’m betting that you still feel like you have some problems sometimes.

For example, I’ve realised that if you’re in the habit of worrying about money which so many people are, it’s just as likely that you will still worry about money even when you have a bigger flow coming in. How crazy is that?

You’ll just worry about different things such as taxes, what to invest in and how to manage your money.

I didn’t get this before but now I can see clearly that worrying is just a habit and whether you worry about whether you’re good enough to hit six figures or how you handle your business now you have it, the worrying can feel curiously the same.

If you want to go deeper on this, your challenge today is to ask yourself a couple of questions:

1) Why is it important to you to create or maintain a 6 figure business?

If it’s just because everyone talks about it and it feels like a sexy number then I’d encourage you to have a think about what you really want to create and why.

2) How much of your 6 figures do you actually get to keep with your current business model?

Let’s face it, 6 figures is a nice number presuming it’s 6 figures in a solid currency, but if most of it goes back out the door again, then what’s the point? I had a business like that for years and it was exhausting.

3) How many hours do you have to spend travelling, preparing, delivering, marketing and generating new clients just to keep your business going?

If you’re so burned out from running your 6 figure business then your business is pretty much running you.

At the end of the day, as conscious entrepreneurs and coaches I believe we’re driven by the impact we can create but please don’t forget to make that impact on your own life too.

I hope this was helpful for you. Please share on your favourite social media and let me know what you think.

About Rachel Henke

Rachel Henke is the bestselling author of “The Niche Expert” – Harness the power of the internet to attract perfect clients, publicity & opportunities, and she is the Freedom Business Coach to thousands around the world via her Marketing & Mindset ezine and podcast.

Rachel is the founder of www.Rachelhenke.com which offers virtual coaching & simple online marketing systems for entrepreneurial experts to boost their expert factor with a magnetic brand whilst creating a life of freedom, purpose and profits.

‘Breaking free’ of the corporate world upon relocating to a sleepy village in the UK after living in Jerusalem for many years, she started her first home based business working a couple of hours a day from the breakfast bar round her two young daughters back in 2003 and has never looked back.

Several years later, tired of being out of the house & away from her children so much, she turned to the internet & social media to attract a global following and became what she now calls a ‘freedom coach.’

An in demand online marketing, personal branding expert and published author, Rachel has been featured on BBC Radio, Association for Coaching, International Coach Federation and other international media.

Claim Your Free Training & Discover The Secret Formula To Attract An Abundant Flow Of Perfect Premium, Clients Who Value Your Expertise & Want What You’re Selling: http://rachelhenke.com/coachingconfidence

Does This Fear Inhibit Your Business?

5 June 2015 in Guest Post tagged Adele Michal / business growth / clients / confidence / fear / fulfillment / good enough / letting go / mindset / money

In this weeks guest post Adele Michal shares some of her experience and knowledge gained from working with women entrepreneurs.

Does This Fear Inhibit Your Business?

By Adele Michal

"Does This Fear Inhibit Your Business?" by Adele Michal

Do you ever wonder why so many mission-driven entrepreneurs find getting really clear on what they offer and how to talk about it to prospective clients so difficult?

FEAR plagues many women entrepreneurs who want to make a difference. Fear has many faces. I’ll talk about several of them here in the next few weeks.

Naming fears and clearing them out of your system is the BEST WAY for you to get clear on what services you offer in your business so that you develop ease enrolling your ideal clients.

Let’s talk about one fear that may be affecting you and your business without your knowing it so that you can address and change it.

The FEAR of doing it WRONG!

If you are like most women in business, you fear:

messing up,
not being perfect, and
not knowing how to respond to a new situation or challenge.

Many men do not have this fear and in fact, are quite confident that they can do things they’ve never done before or been trained to do.

In contrast, many very capable women resist trying something new and instead seek another certification or more training so they are sure to be able to handle what might come up.

As you can imagine, fear of doing “it” wrong keeps many service-based entrepreneurs from getting clear on exactly what they offer, how it benefits their clients, and how valuable it is.

Many of us were raised to be “good girls” and want to please the people who are important to us. Caring about others is what we do as women, but in business we can carry it too far.

Let’s look at a way to address the Fear of Doing It Wrong:

Ask yourself where in your business and offerings you are trying to please someone besides yourself.

Do you discount your prices?
Do you stay unclear about your services and offers so that no one knows exactly what you do?
Do you do too many trades or complimentary sessions?

(** See my note below)

Behind all of these actions is a fear of not pleasing someone who matters to you. Ask yourself:

Who is that person?

What would s/he say if you tried something new or bold?

How would s/he respond if you did something wrong?

As you come up with your answers to these questions, imagine a different response than fear.

Could you laugh at yourself for thinking that anyone would really want less than the best for you?

Can you release some of the fear by breathing it out and give yourself some freedom to move forward another step?

How about giving yourself a Free Pass from Perfection for the next 30 days? Intend to do it wrong. Let yourself learn. You can perfect it later and the world will not fall apart.

It is critical to you and your business that you name, face, and disable your fear of Doing It Wrong. If you’re not clearly sharing your work and gifts with the people you are meant to help, they cannot get the benefit of working with you. And that is a shame.

Life and business are messy. There’s no such thing as perfection. Doing is better than perfect. We’ll all survive if you don’t get it right this time. Next time you’ll know how to make it better.

I invite you to disengage from your Fear of Doing It Wrong this month. Please let me know how it goes for you. You may be surprised at how much you like the freedom to learn by doing.

** When you’re first starting your practice or service business, it’s good to do a few no cost or low-cost sessions to get experience and clarity about who you like to work with. It’s also sometimes appropriate to do a trade with someone whose work you really value and want. And it’s surely good to give pro-bono work to someone who can’t afford your fees at this time.

But if you are not charging, not charging enough, or doing a lot of trades, you are sabotaging your business, not giving your clients an opportunity to invest in themselves, and telling yourself subconsciously that what you do is not valuable.

This is a dangerous trend and does not serve you or your clients. Look at what you are afraid of and summon up the courage to face it. I promise it will be rewarding.

About Adele Michal

Adele Michal helps entrepreneurs and small business owners help more people and make more money by teaching them how to sell authentically instead fearing sales.

Adele is the creator of Peak State Selling™ Process. She works with individual clients and leads training courses on Selling Without Fear™. She focuses her work on helping her clients enhance their performance in authentic selling by using simple mind/body practices that create confidence, certainty, and charisma in every situation.

To receive Adele’s Free Gift, End Your Money Worries: 3 Simple Steps to Stop Squashing Your Income & Start Making More Money! go to www.womenmakemoremoney.com/gift

Article Source:Does This Fear Inhibit Your Business?

Article expert page: Adele Michal

Coaches and Money: 7 breakthroughs to help the money flow in 2015

2 January 2015 in Guest Post tagged beliefs / business / Helen Collier / help / journaling / money / niche / present

In the first guest post of the new year money coach Helen Collier focuses upon:

Coaches and Money:

7 breakthroughs to help the money flow in 2015.

By Helen Collier

My MacAfee Vulnerability Scanner has just popped up and told me it has found two new programme updates I need to install to keep my laptop running optimally.

How useful would it be if we had the equivalent of an internal money vulnerability scanner, that automatically scanned every 24 hours? Installed to spot what needs up dating and what needs binning to keep ourselves and our money life running optimally? More importantly it then goes on to make the necessary changes to get us back in tip top condition.

In the absence of our own personal ‘app’ it’s down to us to hone our own ability to look both internally and externally at ourselves and adjust as necessary.

2014 has been a year of big breakthroughs for me personally. Looking back I see how I have been scanning my installed money mind-set as I prepared to take my money coaching practice to the next level of success. Some of it is new learning, other parts simply deeper learning and some of it came with the ‘Durr!!’ moment. ‘How have I not seen these things!!?!’

7 breakthroughs to help the money flow. In no particular order.

This year I have had many conversations with women who outwardly ooze confidence and composure and yet underneath they were squirming with dread and embarrassment about money. Suddenly there was my niche right in front of me, these very women. In fact they had been there all the time but I simply hadn’t seen them. Since discovering this niche I’m focused and my client list has increased. I know who I am talking to when I write, when I am out giving talks, when I go out networking.

Action

Action: Find your Niche

Find those things that keep you stuck. What are those big beliefs and assumptions that keep you stuck? I’ve discovered some great material this year developed by Keegan and Lahy called ‘Immunity to Change’ It provides a great structure for understanding why sometimes our best intentioned progress is held back almost by having the foot on the brake at the same time as trying to accelerate. It’s one I knew well. It described my resistance perfectly. A belief that went something like. ‘I have to resist because if I don’t I’m going to lose control then something (unspecified) really bad will happen.’ The thing is this resistance in itself was very generalised and it was preventing my money flowing.

Action

Action: Find those big beliefs and assumptions that keep you stuck and test them for accuracy

It’s important to pay attention to the practical side of money in your business. I’ve always known this, I don’t always do it but this year I’ve put some really simple systems in place that have helped me easily stay in control of my cash flow. I know when it comes to doing my tax return next week I’ve got everything I need at hand to do it. Andi Lonnen has just published a great little book called ‘Be fabulous at Finance’ which is well worth buying.

Action: Pay attention to the practical side of money in your business.

Getting down to your own deep layers of assumptions is like peeling the layers of an onion; it may well come with tears but that’s when you know you’ve hit on something and if you keep peeling you eventually get to the sweet spot. I’ve long known that I am the mistress of creating a smoke screen. Setting up elaborate psychological screens to prevent me from doing that which I say I want to do. This year I have finally outed a real big one for me. I’ve not got to the sweet spot yet. ‘If I make a success of my business then I will be exposed as a fraud’ is sitting on my desk as I work. I do cringe as I type. It throws up the one Brene Brown has been talking about, vulnerability. What will people think? What will people say when they hear this? This though is what my clients experience when they take that first step to talking about themselves and their money. I owe it to my clients to continue working through my own personal money issues so that I can be cleaner and clearer in my interactions with them

Action

Action: Be prepared to feel vulnerable in order to be in a clearer, cleaner place for your clients

Writing as a way of gaining understanding, clarity and perspective. I encourage my clients to keep a journal in order to explore their relationship with money and keep track of their progress. My own writing this year has taken on a whole new perspective as I have explored my own spirituality and where money fits into this picture. It’s been sumptuous spilling my innermost thoughts onto paper. I have created a module on money journaling for clients and included topics for exploration.

Action

Action: Consider using journaling as a tool to help you understand your own money life and to help you make peace with your own money story.

I finally asked for help. I had a huge assumption running through me that said ‘I should be able to do this. I am supposed to be the expert, if I ask for help people will think I’m a fraud’ (notice that fraud thing popping up again!). It kept me quietly and privately battling with my own demons. It also kept me very safely and frustratingly going around in circles. I’ve engaged a business coach. She’s very different from me and has a very different style but she has helped to plug a gap and has helped me to keep focused on moving forward in my business. Crazy as it now seems I imagined she was going to laugh at me and criticise me when in fact she said ‘Helen, what is stopping you, this sounds great!’ Hugely motivating.

Action

Action: Don’t be afraid to ask for the help that you need to move your business forward

My biggest breakthrough of the year has undoubtedly been completing my 60^th year on the planet, getting grand parented for the first time and discovering that both these are huge blessings rather than things to be feared! Bizarrely it has given me more focus in my business. I concentrate better. I don’t spend as much time drifting into the cyber world and amazingly have more time! Which means that when I am with my granddaughter I am truly with her, not thinking I should be doing something else.

Action

Action: Concentrate on the here and now and count your blessings.

Here’s to a prosperous and peaceful 2015.

About Helen Collier

Helen Collier is a money coach working with bright, smart women who are tired of squirming with dread and fear about their money. She trained with the Money Coaching Institute in California. Helen developed Harmoney as a direct response to her growing disquiet that something was out of balance in the financial world. She set an intention to play her part by supporting people to put money in its rightful place in their lives, no more, no less. Helen writes a weekly column for the Yorkshire Evening News and blogs regularly.

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Website: www.harmoneylife.co.uk

How To Get Paid What You Ask For

24 October 2014 in Guest Post tagged business / clients / coaching / Ling Wong / money / money beliefs / paid / payment / price / worth

In today’s guest post Ling Wong shares her expertise and knowledge as she focusess on the topic of being paid for your coaching:

How To Get Paid What You Ask For

by Ling Wong

"How To Get Paid What You Ask For" by Ling Wong

We have been told to raise our fees. We have been told to create high-end coaching programs instead of taking clients on a monthly basis. We might even been shown how to structure and price these programs.

All good – the question is, after all the pricing and program designing, are you actually asking for the money and getting PAID what you ask for? If not, all those trainings, pricing and program design are just intellectual exercises… and you may still be constantly discounting, undercharging, over-delivering or even giving away services for free (ever done “I am just going to throw this in”?)

When it comes time to talk coaching fees, many coaches get sucked into their potential clients’ money stories. Coaches, who generally are quite sensitive to other people’s feelings (aka, empathic), have the tendency to short-change themselves in an attempt to make everyone happy.

If you want to get paid what you ask for, you have to be mindful not to get sucked into your potential clients’ money stories, and not to let you own preconception and judgement give charge to the conversation. (Remember, money is neutral – it’s just paper in your wallet or numbers in your bank account – until you give it meaning!)

Regardless of your area of expertise, your clients come to you to make improvements, to get to a better version of themselves through your services. You are there to hold that space, that higher vision, for them so they can step into it.

If you are buying into their stories, you are encouraging them to stay stuck in where they are. If you let them wallow in their stories, you are encouraging a victim mindset that is not conducive to them taking charge and making changes to their lives.

All the coaches I know do want to get paid what they ask for (of course!) The problem happens during the money talk moment of the sales conversation… the subconscious mind kicks in with its fears and doubts, its needs to be accepted and its misguided urge to “make everyone happy.” Without thinking, these coaches would shortchange themselves and then after it’s all said and done, bang their heads on the wall and beat themselves up wondering why the heck were they doing it again.

If you have given in to these stories in the past, I highly recommend you write down a guideline for yourself on what is acceptable, and stick with it. You may even want to explore some scenarios and script out your response.

Having an empowered voice and a healthy boundary around money are also essential in helping you get what you ask for.

When we give away our power around money, it usually reflects something deeper. Most commonly, it reflects Fears of rejection, not being approved of, losing love, not being liked, being judged, or ending up with nothing.

We have a tendency to tie all these to whether people agree to work with us by giving us money. In a way, having people to pay us money, even if it’s not what we ask for, is better than getting nothing because in a way, it is some sort of validation or approval.

First of all, we need to undo these ties, associations and incorrect causality between our sense of self-worth and whether people are paying us for our products or services. In fact, I challenge the often used, almost-cliché phrase “charge what you are worth” because it really makes us believe what we charge is a direct reflection of our worth – which, of course, is not true. (Read this post for more on this.)

After you have figured out what the underlying fear you have behind giving away your power in your money conversation, ask yourself – what if being afraid of X is no longer important to you? How would you feel, what would you say and what action would you take? How would doing these change your business and your life?

What is more important, being afraid of X, or being empowered to get what you really want in life?

Last, but not least, pay attention to your boundaries. Having healthy and firm money boundary can help you sell with integrity. In my opinion, giving in to the money story of one client is not only a disservice to you, but also unfair to your other clients who are actually paying you for what your products and services are worth.

Most often than not, leaky money boundaries can be traced back to negative beliefs about money. Look back at all the circumstances in which you held a poor boundary, and ask yourself what negative belief about money do you have to release in order to make a positive impact with that situation? And, if money were sacred to you in that situation, how would you treat and value it?

About Ling Wong

Ling offers “Business Soulwork + Marketing Activation For Coaches” that embodies her “Heart & Guts” approach. She helps coaches supercharge their actions not only through smart strategies and practical tools, but also through their personal growth and development – so they not only grow their business, but also LET THEIR BUSINESS GROW THEM. Through her “left brain meets right brain” approach, she helps her clients uncover their truth and tap into their intuition, then ground those light bulb moments with practical strategies and marketing tactics to build a profitable and sustainable business that is a full expression of themselves. She firmly believes that all of us can fully express ourselves and our full potential through our businesses.

You can find Ling and download her free “Reignite Your Fire” Soul-Bomb session at http://business-soulwork.com/ or contact her at ling [at] business-soulwork [dot] com.