The first step to determine your coaching fees

Are you a new coach? Are you struggling with deciding on how much you should charge for your coaching services? Teresia LaRocque, MCC, Director of Erickson Business Center shares the first thing you need to ask yourself when deciding your coaching fees to make the income you want to make as a coach in business and highly serve your clients.

 

 

Passion into Profit Coaching Challenge: Decide and claim your intended monthly revenue. 

 

Teresia LaRocque MCC, is Director of Entrepreneurship and Business Building Mentor for the Erickson Business Center –  www.ericksonbusinesscenter.com at Erickson College International www.erickson.edu. Teresia is a pioneer in the booming profession of personal coaching, the first recipient of the International Coach Federation’s Master Coach Credential in Canada and cofounder for the Vancouver International Coach Federation chapter. Teresia is committed to supporting coaches to take their talent and passion for coaching and make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Teresia is the founder and facilitator of the Passion into Profit Program, a customized business building program offered through the Erickson Business Center.

How I got 1,000 Facebook Fans (in Three Months)

Never before has there been such an open space for anyone to have a podium to express themselves. In the past, only thought leaders, authors, or celebrities could get up on a stage and share their thoughts and opinions, but now with Facebook anyone can do it. So as a coach, how can you use this platform to spread positivity and simultaneously build your brand?

From committing to your status updates to creating ads and ‘promoting’ your posts, growing your Facebook page requires a strategy. Here I’ll share my secrets to developing my Facebook fan following.

Declare It On and Offline
In my latest personal development book, “Don’t Think of a Blue Ball,” I explain how the process started for me by making a declaration.

“When you want to do something and you decide that you will, you will. Since I learnt how powerful the power of declaration was, I started to achieve everything that I dared to declare. When I joined the social networking site, Facebook and created a Facebook Page, I declared that I would have 1,000 ‘Likes’ in three months. And I did it 15 minutes before the date that I had declared it for.

When you declare and announce it to people in your community—you give it power and it attracts the support of that community.”

Since then my page has received more than 5,000 likes in less than two years. As a life coach, we know how to coach ourselves out of fear and into courage. Taking action, making declarations and moving forward in spite of the fear, which after all is only “false, evidence appearing real.” When we make a declaration like this, we are managing our own accountability, we have set a goal and we are designing actions, which are integral attributes of an ICF coach being authentic and competent.

Walking the talk, is how we inspire people rather than “telling” them what to do.

Communicate Directly on Facebook Daily
I used to find this hard to do because in the past I had associated Facebook as “wasting time” but Facebook is not a game. It is a place you go to meet and interact with real life people and the only way to gain “likes” or fans is to be interested and engage with other Facebook users.

I take about an hour in the morning and then another 30 minutes at the end of the day to look through other people’s profiles and I like or comment on them, then I find something that I am inspired by and write a line or two on my Facebook page. Be sure to truly engage, remember that these are real people with thoughts and feelings and they have a message to shout out as well, they want to be heard not just bombarded with your inspirational words or your sales pitch. I learnt this lesson from Katrina Kavvalos—(Social Media Coach).

Be an Active Listener
Browse through profiles and see who your friends and potential clients “like.” Go on and “like” a few pages that interest you at first and then over the next few days, see if you really do “like” their posts. I found that I needed to reduce the number of pages I “liked” as it became too much for me, so I went through them again after a while and “stopped liking” the ones that I didn’t really enjoy, keeping my list of “liked pages” to very few that I truly did “like.” These should usually be made up of people you admire, you aspire to be like, you have learnt from and even your peers. Read what they post daily and “like” or even “share” when you appreciate or agree with them. People who like your page want to see and read content and it does not necessarily have to be all your own original stuff. They need to see that you are human like them on the same playing field and you too like and admire others.

Invest a Little
Although you can build your “likes” organically, it does help to set aside a monthly budget for Facebook Advertising. It is one of the most comprehensive and specific target market aimed tools I have ever come across. You can design ads or you can just simply click on the “Promote” icon below your post and set the budget for that particular post, starting from $5. I usually go for $20-$30 each time and receive at least 40–50 new views and page “likes.” This is far better than advertising the page, as it is promoting two things for the price of one. You have the potential to receive a “like” and you already have the viewer “engaged” and interested. This has worked wonders for me and I use it every time I want to promote a workshop, my book or a new video. There are many tools out there to measure how effective or influential you are being on Facebook including Edgerank and Klout.

Word of caution, there are a lot of sites that offer to get you more likes for $5 or $10 or more, these are not real and they do fall out eventually. You are better off having fewer engaged likes than many silent ones.

To conclude, don’t separate people you meet face-to-face with people you meet on Facebook. Some of my best connections and clients have come from Facebook. They are resourceful individuals just like you and are enjoying this incredible new platform where each and every one of us has a voice to declare, to share and to have an opinion. The “like” key is powerful, the comment key, even more so but the one you really want to get your users to click is the “share” key, for that shows that you have influence. Think about why someone would want to “share” your post on their profiles before you post anything.

Malti Bhojwani, PCC, is the founder of Multi Coaching International (1999). She is also an NLP practitioner and is trained in Ontological Coaching. Her latest book, “Don’t Think of a Blue Ball,” has gained international endorsements and is available online. As a coach she aims to serve, not fix or help, through her personalized sessions, virtual coach program, YouTube videos and her writing. For more information visit maltibhojwani.com.You can also connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn, or follow her @MaltiBhojwani. This article was first featured in the February 2013 issue of Coaching World.

The Good Life

Note:  This is a blog that I wrote specifically thinking about parents, but on further reflection I realized that the same is true of the space that coaches need to hold for our clients.  In reading, you can think of either the parent/child relationship or the coach/client one.

I am currently preparing a presentation for parents on ways to help their children pursue the future that taps into their greatest gifts, makes them feel most alive, and connects them to their greatest passions.  However, as I am preparing this work I am becoming more and more concerned about my audience and their reaction to my message. Running through my mind are thoughts of “don’t let them think you are discouraging these kids from becoming doctors and lawyers” and “parents aren’t going to support something that leads their children down a path of being a poor starving artist type.” While in no way am I promoting the route of starvation for anybody, I realize that connecting young adults with the things that make their spirits soar can lead them anywhere. There is an uncertainty in this that can be very scary. Most parents desire for their children to go to a good college, so they can be prepared to have a good career, and make good money;  all based on the dream of their children having good lives.

In the thralls of this internal debate between full honest disclosure and the desire to actually get an audience of people to listen to me, I began to reflect on my own children and what I want for them.  Of course I want them to have a good life, but what does good mean? I believe a common explanation of a good life is equated with a life filled with opportunity and happiness. Without our intention, however, this definition has been contorted by society to mean “a secure and pleasurable experience,” but do these things really lead to opportunity and happiness? For some, it absolutely does. If going to that college and getting that job that offers security and great pay also provides personal fulfillment and opportunities for growth, then the answer is definitely yes. For others, however, the answer is a big resounding NO. What do parents do in this case? Do we sweep in to persuade our children that they need to go after a guaranteed paycheck so that they do not have to deal with poverty, adversity, and disappointment as adults? For many, this is our first reaction. Before we jump on that reaction though, I think we need to ask ourselves the following questions:

• By trying to help pave the safe path for our children, are we cheating them out of the most rich and resonant experiences of their lives?
• What is more joyful than claiming our passion and working through adversity to become a master at what we love most? 
• Is having financial security while doing a job that we have no connection to really superior to the fulfillment of producing work that we are passionate about and, then,  putting it out in the world to share with others? 
• What inner joy, what strength of spirit, what connection to humanity is created by an easy and safe path? 
• What is the worst thing that could happen if my child pursues his dream? 
• If my child does not realize his goal, is there still value in the experience that cannot be gotten otherwise?
• Finally, the most important, profound, and possibly scariest question that we need to ask ourselves is this:  What is possible if my child shows the courage and dedication to pursue her dream? 

It is only by the courage that parents show in saying to their children “I want you to pursue your dream and do whatever it takes to realize it, even though there are no guarantees” that we are giving our children what they need from us more than anything in the world:  Faith, Hope, and Love…not to mention an amazing role model.

 

If all parents had the courage to do this, I wonder what the future would look like for our children as they create together communities of passionate, dedicated, compassionate, and authentic individuals.  Is there a good life out there that we haven’t even dared to dream possible yet?

 

Regina Hellinger is an inspirational writer, speaker, and life coach who specializes in working with aspiring coaches, gifted individuals, and educators.You can reach Regina at www.ReginaHellinger.com or on Twitter @ReginaHellinger.

Only Do What You Love - It Is Your Key to Successful Entrepreneurship

Imagine a cup that represents your internal energy. When your cup is full, even overflowing at times, you feel confident and focused; you're in the zone.  You have so much to give to your clients, your business and your circle of influence.

Now imagine your cup springing a leak. As the energy slowly drains out, you struggle to keep it full. It gets harder and harder to pour energy into your business and the people around you. You feel much less vibrant, and you enjoy your activities less. Things become a struggle when there is less energy to go around.

This cup represents not only your energy but your ability to achieve success. It's not just imaginary; it is a very real part of your life as an entrepreneur. So, if you want to be successful, you have to ask yourself:

• How do I need to design my business so that my cup stays full?
• How can I market my business in a way that keeps me energetic and passionate?

These are very important questions, because in the coaching industry, we’re not selling a product; we are marketing ourselves. It's personal, very personal. We’re asking people to invest in us. This can be an intimidating thing to do. It's a high-stakes proposition, and it can bring out our inner gremlins – self-doubt and insecurities. As we go about building our business and coaching others, we want to be engaged in activities that feel natural and effortless, so our inner light can shine and people can experience our brilliance, not our fears.

 

Passion into Profit Coaching Challenge: Embrace the standard that 80 percent of your time as a coach in business you will be doing what you love and find a way to let go of or delegate the rest! Your success depends on it.

 

Teresia LaRocque MCC, is Director of Entrepreneurship and Business Building Mentor for the Erickson Business Center –  www.ericksonbusinesscenter.com at Erickson College International www.erickson.edu. Teresia is a pioneer in the booming profession of personal coaching, the first recipient of the International Coach Federation’s Master Coach Credential in Canada and cofounder for the Vancouver International Coach Federation chapter. Teresia is committed to supporting coaches to take their talent and passion for coaching and make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Teresia is the founder and facilitator of the Passion into Profit Program, a customized business building program offered through the Erickson Business Center.

Navigating our social media driven world

When social media channels first emerged on the scene in the early 2000s, they were perceived by many as a fad. Something that would stick around only long enough until the next big thing appeared. But today, with more than one billion users across numerous platforms (TechCrunch, 2012), they are very clearly here to stay.

As a coach in today’s technologically advanced world, how can you best utilize these burgeoning social media channels to your advantage? Which platforms should you use? How do you build up your likes/followers/fans? What messages should you share? Read on for the tips and tricks of navigating social media.

Facebook
If you aren’t on Facebook, you should be. This social media tycoon has more than one billion monthly active users—81 percent of which live outside North America (Facebook, 2012). With so many active users, many of your past, current, and potential clients are bound to be there already.

Gain loyal followers: You do this by providing quality content on a regular basis. What can you offer that provides value? It is important to post content beyond your business—entice people by posting about coaching, your community and more. Daily, consistent updates keep fans engaged and interested in what you have to offer. There is no magic number when it comes to how many posts you should put out there in a given day or week. Test different strategies to see what works for you.

Engage people in conversation by asking questions and always responding to comments and questions on your page.

23% of Facebook users check their account 5+ times daily! Some 80% of social media users prefer to connect with brands through Facebook AND a whopping 77% of B2C companies and 43% of B2B companies acquired customers from Facebook. (Huffington Post, 2012)

Twitter
Twitter is rapidly growing as a social media mainstay. The trick is to sell yourself in 140 characters or less (less is more!). You want multiple tweets in a day, but too many—or too salesy—tweets will cause followers to stop following. Space out your tweets (you can even schedule tweets through a program like Hootsuite) to keep content moving steadily.

Getting started in the Twittersphere: Seek out colleagues and friends to follow on Twitter. The people you follow will prove to be a constant source of inspiration—it is through them that you will be able to retweet (share) content and you’ll glean ideas for future messaging.

Post and share content that matters: By consistently providing valuable content in your areas of expertise, people will turn to you as source. Balance out your messaging with retweets of others’ content. Pose questions, post quotations, share articles/blog posts that speak to you. The Twitter feed moves quickly. The nature of Twitter allows you to repurpose your messages and share more than once—this is especially important if your followers are spread across multiple time zones.

Be an active part of the conversation. Retweet and comment on posts! If people engage with you, interact! An unfortunate 56 percent of customer tweets to companies are being ignored (Huffington Post, 2012). You don’t want that to be you!

Since the dawn of Twitter, there have been a total of 163 billion tweets. In 2012, one million accounts were added to Twitter every day. (Huffington Post, 2012)

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is frequently touted as a powerful social networking tool for professionals and is a great way to connect with past/current/future clients.

More than 2.6 million companies have LinkedIn Company pages. (LinkedIn Press Center, 2012)

Tips for making the most of yours: have a complete profile page—you want to build trust from the very beginning. Provide enough information so people feel comfortable reaching out to you. Tell your story…why should people care about you/your business? Don’t leave fields blank (this includes all possible contact information you can list)! Add a real photo of yourself—people like to see the person behind the profile.

Join and be active: Once your account is set up, you will want to begin networking. There is a plethora of coaching groups active on LinkedIn where you can join in on numerous discussions.

Likewise, if leads are what you seek, they can be found on LinkedIn, you just have to ask! Anytime you make a new connection, don’t be afraid to let them know you are searching for a lead.

Blog
If done well, your blog can be a powerful tool to promote your business/services; boost additional web traffic to your website; and connect with potential clients.

Concerned with content? The growth of coaching in recent years has been phenomenal—as such, people are constantly searching for more information about it. In addition to writing about your own business and coaching, talk in broader terms about the profession. Answer those frequently asked questions you have heard over the years. Shed insight into what coaching is and what it isn’t. Talk about the coaching process and how people can determine if it will work for them.

60% of businesses have a business or company blog—of these, 35% actively blog at least once a month. (Blogging.org, 2012)

Other social media platforms you might consider using:

YouTube
There are over 800 million unique visitors to YouTube each month (YouTube, 2012). If you create videos, a branded YouTube channel is a perfect way to house your collection. Your own channel allows viewers to subscribe to your content (and be immediately notified of any new videos you post). Through YouTube, it is simple to embed your videos directly into blog posts for use across other social media platforms.

Pinterest
This relatively new platform is all about increasing your business’ visibility. Potential ideas for use include: sharing favorite quotes, books, success stories, etc. Be creative! It was found that 69 percent of online consumers who visit Pinterest have found an item they’ve bought or wanted to buy, compared with 40 percent of Facebook users (Huffington Post, 2012). Also, 43 percent of people prefer Pinterest to associate with retailers or brands; 24 percent chose Facebook (Huffington Post, 2012). Pinterest use continues to grow amongst businesses with the now available Pinterest Business pages.

If you have any tips or strategies when it comes to social media usage, we would love to hear them! Tweet them to us using this hash tag: #icfsmtip

Works Cited
1. Facebook. (2012, October). Retrieved December 4, 2012, from http://www.facebook.com/: http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts
2. Huffington Post. (2012, November 29). Retrieved December 4, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-honigman/100-fascinating-social-me_b_2185281.html
3. LinkedIn Press Center. (2012, September 30). Retrieved December 5, 2012, from LinkedIn: http://press.linkedin.com/About
4. TechCrunch. (2012, May 14). Retrieved December 4, 2012, from http://techcrunch.com/: http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/14/itu-there-are-now-over-1-billion-users-of-social-media-worldwide-most-on-mobile/

Kristin Kelly is the woman behind ICF’s social media initiates. She’s the one who keeps you informed through Facebook, shares interesting articles about coaching on Twitter, and moderates discussions on LinkedIn. She is also the editor of the official ICF blog and manager of ICF’s email newsletters. Kristin has been on staff as ICF’s Marketing Specialist for the last five years. If you have a submission for the blog, email her at kristin.kelly@coachfederation.org. This article was first featured in the February 2013 issue of Coaching World.