Building Your Coaching Business With a Sound Foundation From the Ground Up.
By Martha Pasternack
Chances are, that like me, you have learned that a solid business foundation is built upon efficient systems, up-to-date technology, and professional support from lawyers, accountants, coaches, and virtual assistants.
But wait! There’s more!
Some of the most talked about business building tools are continuous email list development, shopping carts, blogs, videos and easily navigated web pages. We are encouraged to be prepared for fabulous success. But wait! There’s more!
Don’t forget your business plan, marketing plan, social media plan, and information delivery plan. The pressure is on to be the expert in your field and to be unique in the market place even if you are new to business. I get tired just thinking about it.
I do not go with the notion that there are secrets or shortcuts to success of any kind however you define it. I simply don’t believe that. I believe we miss out on the natural beauty inherent in experience when we are in a hurry to become successful. Having said that, I do read the headlines before I buy the paper. Like this one:
NEWS FLASH! YOU ARE YOUR BUSINESS.
A builder of foundations will tell you that one of the very first and most critical step is leveling the ground before the foundation can be created. That’s where YOU come in. Your business is built upon the ground called YOU.
Mike Marchev, author, speaker and trainer has given us the 12-word business plan: Get up. Get out. And make more people glad they know you.
The operative word here, as I see it, is YOU. Who is the YOU people are going to be glad to know? I am not talking elevator speech. I am talking about your deeply felt familiarity with the essence that makes you… YOU. Your essence is what makes you an expert. Your essence is what makes you unique.
Too many of us forget that essential part. We forget about who and what we love and care about. We put aside our own wellbeing in service to others. We ignore our personal values in an effort to make-it-work in the market place. We bow to a disconnected notion of success defined outside of our personal happiness. Jon Kabat-Zinn said it best when he wrote Wherever You Go, There You Are.
There you have it.
Here are a lot of questions for you to consider as you build your business foundation based on YOU. Not all will resonate with you. Pick and choose. Pay attention to which questions you skip over. That will tell you something too.
Here you go:
What do you love?
What do you fear?
What do you care about?
What are you grateful for?
What do you really like about yourself?
What is your intention for your life rather than your business?
What are you committed to besides making money?
There will be plenty of time for how you will make money later on in the building process.
Can you appreciate beauty? Music? Solitude? Silence? Or do those things make you nervous?
What are you passionate about?
What passion do you long to share with others?
Passionate people are attractive and passion can be contagious, sort of like yawning.
What makes you laugh?
What makes you cry?
With whom do you share stories about when you laugh and cry?
How attentive are you to your relationships with the people you care about?
Do you yearn for more time with them?
Is that time integral in your daily business planning?
Do you leave time for spontaneity or would that cause your heart to skip a beat?
How much time do you devote to creativity each day?
What arouses you mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically?
What do you make time for everyday that turns you on mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically?
What nourishes you mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically?
What does compassionate self-care mean to you?
What gets you moving?
What activates you?
Being active and being in motion are not necessarily the same things.
How often do you get outside and commune with the natural world? What supports you to get outside? What hinders you?
If you are hindered how can you do something differently?
What makes you feel stuck? Even people at the top of their game feel stuck sometimes. It’s ok.
How do you respond to stress? How do you release your stress?
The way you perceive stress will inform the way you can best release it. It is different for each of us. But stress will undermine a foundation just like a river running through sand.
What personal dreams, goals and desires are supported by your business? Often it is set up the other way around. We make business our priority and make personal decisions around our business. When we do that we are feeding our hunger for a joyful exhilarating life full of alert relaxation with the crumbs of leftover time. That is not sustainable for most of us.
Ok, one more question:
If your business suddenly collapsed around your ears, what would be left standing? Again, this is where YOU come in.
Consider leveling the foundation of your business with what you love and care about. Include your values at every turn. Build upon your foundation with self-love, self-acceptance and compassionate self-care. Then continue to build to your heart’s content with best business practices and always from the ground up. The sky is the limit. I wish YOU solid success.
Martha Pasternack MCC (IAC) www.CircleofLifeCoach.com
My passion for witnessing the beauty and mystery of life, healthy healing and the promotion of Peace on Earth are integral to my daily life. I have been life coaching since 2004 as a Fearless Living Coach after working 30 years as a health care professional.
