I think I may have a valuable point or two to contribute because of some of my life experience, e.g.:
I had a business as a Life Coach (in California in the 90′s).
I used to be a fairly avid consumer of various flavors of coaching, motivational programs, self help etc. (I still am, I’ve just gotten MUCH more discriminating—that’s why I’m here.)
My primary reactions to your post are:
There is almost certainly a market for the service you describe. Your big problem, especially at first, is going to be sales and marketing. I’m sure this much is obvious, but you probably ought to ask yourself if you have an appetite for doing full-time sales and marketing, because that is your future for the next 5+ years if you start this business and want it to be successful. This leads me to the next point:
Be careful what you wish for. I often think about going back into some kind of coaching business, but when I do, I remember what it was like, and that gives me pause. I didn’t like having to constantly market myself as a coach. There were a number of things that felt unsavory about it, including the fact that all my friends were now prospective clients. Surprisingly, I also really dreaded my coaching calls, even though there was frequently a nice feeling I had helped someone AFTER the call. My point is that it’s hard to predict whether you are going to enjoy being a practicing coach or not, and I judge that it probably takes a very specific kind of personality type—an aggressively extroverted sales-oriented type—to really enjoy that business. This should be an important element of your consideration IMO.
Another judgment I have is that coaching is hard, and it’s hard in subtle ways. People are not very amenable to change, even if they THINK they are amenable. The behaviors that would make an actual difference to our lives are not as accessible to conscious tinkering as we expect them to be. As you contemplate starting this business, you may also want to ponder if you will be frustrated when you observe people not changing as much as you’d like them to change, in response to your coaching. Letting go of the results is a subtle and important skill IMO.
All of this is not meant to discourage you—I think you have an interesting idea for a business, and I encourage you to pursue it IF none of the above puts you off. Just pay close attention and try to determine how much fun, or not, this is actually going to be. I think you should only do it if it is actually fun. It was not fun for me.
I think I may have a valuable point or two to contribute because of some of my life experience, e.g.:
I had a business as a Life Coach (in California in the 90′s).
I used to be a fairly avid consumer of various flavors of coaching, motivational programs, self help etc. (I still am, I’ve just gotten MUCH more discriminating—that’s why I’m here.)
My primary reactions to your post are:
There is almost certainly a market for the service you describe. Your big problem, especially at first, is going to be sales and marketing. I’m sure this much is obvious, but you probably ought to ask yourself if you have an appetite for doing full-time sales and marketing, because that is your future for the next 5+ years if you start this business and want it to be successful. This leads me to the next point:
Be careful what you wish for. I often think about going back into some kind of coaching business, but when I do, I remember what it was like, and that gives me pause. I didn’t like having to constantly market myself as a coach. There were a number of things that felt unsavory about it, including the fact that all my friends were now prospective clients. Surprisingly, I also really dreaded my coaching calls, even though there was frequently a nice feeling I had helped someone AFTER the call. My point is that it’s hard to predict whether you are going to enjoy being a practicing coach or not, and I judge that it probably takes a very specific kind of personality type—an aggressively extroverted sales-oriented type—to really enjoy that business. This should be an important element of your consideration IMO.
Another judgment I have is that coaching is hard, and it’s hard in subtle ways. People are not very amenable to change, even if they THINK they are amenable. The behaviors that would make an actual difference to our lives are not as accessible to conscious tinkering as we expect them to be. As you contemplate starting this business, you may also want to ponder if you will be frustrated when you observe people not changing as much as you’d like them to change, in response to your coaching. Letting go of the results is a subtle and important skill IMO.
All of this is not meant to discourage you—I think you have an interesting idea for a business, and I encourage you to pursue it IF none of the above puts you off. Just pay close attention and try to determine how much fun, or not, this is actually going to be. I think you should only do it if it is actually fun. It was not fun for me.
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