What Your Friends and Family Need to Hear When it Comes to Your Coaching Business

Episode Transcript:

Welcome back to the Book Your Dream Clients podcast. Today, I'm going to talk to your loved ones about what you do, and why it's hard to understand why we do what we do, how long we do what we do, and the patience that we have for the growth of our business. I know that sometimes it's hard for our friends or family to get why we sit in front of the computer, why we put in all of the hours, especially when you're in the beginning and it's hard for them to see the results that you're putting in and they don't see the movement that you do. 

I understand the struggles. I've been there. They still come up. They come up for my students and clients and I even put together a little list of things that I see happening. I think this is an important episode just to... just for you to listen to, and sharing with your friends and family. If they can hear it from my perspective, so I hope you enjoy this. Please share it with other people. 

It is important for me to get this out there. Maybe it's a little bit of therapy on my end too, because not everyone is going to ever understand why we are so excited to go work on our business early in the morning, on weekends, evenings, whenever you do... whenever you do your work. Especially if you are juggling a nine to five like I am and my business at the same time. When people see you putting in those extra hours they might not understand why in the world you're doing this. Why do you wake up so early to work on your business? Why do you stay up late to work on your business and why in the world would you work on a weekend? 

And us coaches are like, there is no other way, and we enjoy it. Everything that we do is so enjoyable to us, it doesn't ever feel like work. People who work a nine to five and only work for the Friday don’t understand the love that we have for our business. Every little piece of our business is something that came from you know, the movement of our hands, from the... the dreams inside of our head, the notebooks, the piles of notebooks that we have, the notes, the post-its, everything that has come from our mind. It is a dream that we have had in our heads for years, probably. And now with just a movement of the mouse and some clicks on the keyboard a business is born. So everything, every little piece of it means so much to us: our website, our social media platforms. Everything that we do comes from a place of love. And that might sound weird. How can you love your website? How can you love your social media? How can you love sending out emails? 

We just do. We're not asking you to understand us. We're asking you to just be patient with us. Especially when we're putting in longer hours, because we're working on a big goal. Especially when we are talking about our business all the time because we don't feel like we have anyone else to talk to. Especially when we're asking you for your opinion on something, even though we know you might not understand. 

We just need to talk things out. We don't have a boss to run things by, we are the boss. So, if I'm talking to you about my sales page, or I am explaining, you know, why a client decided to work with me, or a victory in my business, or maybe something that's hard. Just listen. That's all. Our businesses are not a hobby. Our businesses are something that we created because we believe we can help people. It is not a little business. It is a legit business. It is something that we have put all of our blood, sweat, and tears in. It is something we invest in. We show up to calls, to ask questions. We can move forward. And it's something that we believe in so much that we have put together an entire structure to make a difference in the world.

We go through crazy emotions. Entrepreneurship coaching is a roller coaster. We go through the disappointment of opening up your inbox and not seeing any sales. We go through the adrenaline rush of getting on a discovery call with a potential client to just feel that down because it didn't work out. We go through being brave enough to post something very personal to us on social media, thinking that we can put... that we can create a connection with others and it doesn't, we don't get the feedback that we thought. Social media is not entertainment for us. It is a business strategy. We have to be consistent. We have to show up. We have to do new things. We have to try the new things. We have to feel around to see what works best for us. And the time that we put in it is an investment in our business. It is a marketing strategy that people might not understand. 

So when you see somebody sitting on Instagram and responding to their messages and they’re making connections, this is because they are passionate about helping people. It is not because they are scrolling and just entertaining themselves. They are building their business. We are building our business by posting on stories, creating Instagram posts, IGTV reels.

Coaches also have to do scary things. That you don't have to do. They have to close their door to their office and they have to turn on the camera and go live and on their Facebook group. They have to go in front of their computer, turn on their camera, go live in their Facebook group and teach a group of people. They have to show up on a group coaching call for the first time and feel the anxiety about who am I to do this? Who am I to teach a group of people? If you've never done that, it's hard to understand. Coaches also have to do scary things like webinars, and podcast interviews, and summit interviews, and they're constantly juggling their calendar and switching dates around just to make things happen. 

So even if you're not seeing results coming from your perspective, think about what that person in your life -  that coach in your life is doing -  to push their business forward every single day and show them how much you appreciate them. Don't ever make somebody feel guilty for the amount of time that they put towards something they love. Nothing hurts more  than criticism that comes from a place of misunderstanding. 

Ask them questions about their business. Don't be afraid to ask. I think one of the most frustrating things for entrepreneurs is when their family and friends don't acknowledge the business that they've created. Even if it's a week old, five years old, it doesn't matter. Ask them about their business.