3 Things I Learned Working with a Business Coach
“Yeah. So. EVERYONE is doing something like you. Put your head down and get back to doing you and YOUR work.”
That was the swift kick in the ass my business coach gave me after I sent her a super late-night email being a cry-baby because another entrepreneur (with a WAAAAY bigger following) launched an offering that was precisely what I was building at that exact moment. The horror! THE HORROR!
WAH WAH WAH.
I paid a small boatload of cashola to get some serious SOS help with retooling my business, like, from top to bottom. Did I pay a small boatload of money to be told to suck it up? Well…apparently, yes, yes I did.
It turns out that little “bitch, please” nugget was one of the greatest gifts I got in the 12 weeks of working with my business coach.
Not only was she my personal cheerleader and strategy maven that made me feel like a goddamn genius, homeskillet taught me these three lessons which were legit game changers for me:
DO THE WORK
Lesson #1 from the Tough Love Department. Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and if they’re doing the same thing as you and maybe even —gasp!— doing it better. Stay in your own lane. EVERY marketplace and industry is crowded (“saturated” if you fancy) nowadays and I guarantee there is someone else out there doing what you’re doing or wanting to do. Which makes it easy to think “there’s no room for me! why bother?” And you’re right: there is absolutely no room for you…or, rather, there is absolutely no room for you to do things exactly like Whatever Her Name Is over there is doing it. Forget her. DO YOU (seriously. did Beyonce decide to not record Lemonade because, ya know, there were already so many other female singers out there?…EXACTLY). You’ll put your own unique spin on things and the right people will eat that shit up.
HAVE A PLAN
“We have to hire a nanny NOW” was the panicked freakout I had just weeks before hiring my business coach. Where was the money for part-time in-home childcare going to come from? I had no fucking clue but I was certain this was the only way to pivot my business successfully. I didn’t have enough hours in the day and an extra set of hands with my kiddo would be my golden ticket. But! Then I slowed my roll for a sec and said to myself, “Self, even if you had an extra 20 hours a week just what exactly would you DO with it?” and I replied to myself, “shit. Self. I DUNNO.” Which made me realize without a plan my time is effectively useless. So I decided to take the money I would have spent on childcare and invest it instead in a 1-on-1 program with my business coach. And ya know what? Turns out, I actually COULD accomplish what I needed to during naps and after bedtime once I knew EXACTLY what my next action steps were. The moral to the story: Stop spinning your wheels. Get yourself a PLAN and your time will suddenly be infinitely more productive.
P.S. speaking of a plan! If you need help getting yours together I made this short, sweet and simple worksheet especially for you :)
INVEST IN YOURSELF (YES, YOU)
Okay, so, this rolls off what I just told you but seriously. Invest in yourself. Invest in your business and the life you want to create for yourself and your family. Why is this so damn hard for women (and mothers, especially) to do? That’s a serious question, folks…Listen. I know enough to know there’s probably stacks of scholarly articles written by people way, way smarter than me on why women have such a hard time spending money on themselves so I’ll leave those answers to the pros. All I can do here is encourage you to take yourself and your goals seriously enough to throw some dollar bills at them. You don’t need to spend Kardashian money here. Just think carefully about what you want to accomplish and spend a hot minute considering where you might push some of your resources to maximize results. Be intentional. Save if you need to. Then take a deep breath and channel your inner-90s-Loreal-Girl “because you’re worth it” spirit. No lie: investing money on my business coach saved me SHIT TONS of money, time and energy I would have wasted trying to figure out everything on my own.