RO​SS Coaching

It’s one of the easiest things to do when going through a hard time- to just quit.

But before you quit, there are a few things you should consider.

I remember launching my coaching business over 10 years ago and just going on a limb to take a chance at it.

I wasn’t professionally trained, nor was I legally required to be. 

It was an industry that had not yet been saturated. It was relatively new and was getting a lot of attention. It seemed like people from all walks of life were intrigued and wanted a slice of the coaching pie.  People became business coaches, personal coaches, life coaches, career coaches, health coaches, leadership coaches. 

The type of coaching title you chose to practice was a wide variety.

I always felt I was a great listener.  I also knew, from being told, that I gave really good advice to friends and family.

I seemed to have a knack of inspiring people to want better and do better. I would always get positive feedback on how great things worked out  for them from my advice.  So with that in mind, I decided the correct title for me at the time would be, Motivational Coach. That was the niche I chose for myself. 

I was excited and jumped right in!

I spent crazy hours and weeks putting together a coaching program that I felt would be the magic solution to the problems of everyone I would coach. I remember being so excited to try  it out on someone, so in order to land some clients, I needed to get out and meet people. In my mind, they needed to hear me speak. Then they would be motivated to want to make huge changes in their lives. 

I booked a private room at our local public library. I created some flyers and posted them  everywhere I could  think of. I  posted  them at the local laundromats, grocery store billboards, and the sides of the community mail boxes. I even stopped by a few small businesses  to ask if they would display my flyers. Some agreed, some said no.

But for the most part, I felt I covered my basis.

I had all of my files prepared, memorized and ready. I arrived early and dressed the part of a true professional. I  supplied free bottled water and a dish of candy,  then I waited for what I hoped would be at least a dozen potential clients. 

After almost 20 minutes, the first person walked in. At this point, I was excited to just see one person! She was enough for me to start my presentation. About 10 minutes later, another woman walked in. She had just seen my sign on the room door and asked if she could join. I happily welcomed her in, and with two people, presented my 45 minute speech. At the end of it, they asked some great questions. I answered. They thanked me and left. 

It was then I realized I had no way of even following up with them.

I collected no email addresses, no contact numbers and had no business cards to hand out. They simply came, listened and left. 

I felt completely defeated.

I remember going home and my husband asking me how things went. I tried to put on a brave face when I told him only two people  had shown up. 

He sensed my upset and simply said, “Okay, I’m sure it will go better next time.”

“Next time?” Was he crazy? I was done.

I was convinced this was a complete waste of my time. I started doubting myself, “Was I  even good enough?” I felt that other life coaches were so much better than me. What was I doing wrong? It was a real hit to my self-esteem.

After about a week of feeling sorry for myself, I went online and started looking up other coaches. I studied their coaching styles, and got a good feel for how they did things.

One of the biggest things I noticed was, I seemed to be missing some important parts to my program. How could I create a plan that would fix everyone’s problems, when everyone had different problems? And why was I trying to tell them what they needed to do to fix things?  Coaching was about allowing clients to self dsicover and helping them to find ways of doing that.

I realized that I had no structure to my program and no framework to reference. 

I was just talking out loud without anything to really back things up.

That’s when I decided  I needed help, and signing up to be professionally trained and certified, though not required, would be the best route for me.

It was the best decision I could make. Even though it meant having to slow down  with trying to build my practice to be able to study and apply what I was learning, it helped me immensely!

I started feeling much more confident and my clients could see it. I didn’t have a lot of clients but the ones I did have, appreciated my help and would then refer someone else to me.

There were a number of times after that humbling experience where I presented to only a handful of people. But I delivered my message as though I was speaking to a whole room. I grew with each experience and stopped taking it personally when I didn’t get the turn-out I was hoping for.

I realise now looking back, how grateful I am for each opportunity I had. I think it built character and resilience. It forced me to deal with being uncomfortable but to not quit.

Today I couldn’t be happier to still be doing what I absolutely love.

Giving up is easy. Sometimes, you become frustrated and tired of trying. 

Whether it’s relationships, work, personal growth obstacles, or something else, it’s easy to throw our hands up and walk away. But before you do, consider this:

Ask yourself - What is your desired outcome

How have you been trying

Seek help or a second opinion and different perspective

Be realistic with your expectations

Allow yourself to feel the disappointments and learn from them

Don’t take things personal

Meditate/ journal often

Celebrate the wins, large and small

Talk it out, communicate

Keep a positive mindset

Not everything we try is going to work and be smooth sailing. In fact, chances are,  things will go very wrong before going right. 

But how we choose to deal with it, is ultimately what matters most.

~Karleen

xo.

Click this text to start editing. This blog block is a great way to share informative entries with your visitors. You can click the green +/- button to add new entries.

Welcome to the first edition of  our Finding HER blog!

A word from our Founder:

Life is all about living, learning and growing.

Being a Life Coach has been such a gratifying role. I can't explain the level of pleasure it brings me to help clients work through the road blocks and challenges in their lives. Deciding to specialize in women's mental wellness was something I was drawn to. Working with women who do their best daily to be their best is not always easy. Feeling overwhelmed, suffering from anxiety or functional depression is not uncommon, but also most times, goes unaddressed.