Intro: Welcome to The Masterful Coach podcast, with Molly Claire, where coaches learn skill mastery, business mastery, and life mastery at a whole new level. If you’re ready to create a meaningful coaching business that makes a difference, you’re in the right place. And now your host, master coach instructor, Molly Claire. Molly Claire: Hello, coaches, I am so excited about this episode today, because we’re really talking about how to achieve success in your coaching business. And the weather is gorgeous here in Dallas, it is definitely heated up, it was actually 90 degrees yesterday, so I’m definitely enjoying the nice weather. And this episode was actually inspired by last week, my time at fifth grade camp with my daughter. So, ironically, when we were at camp last week, it was freezing temperatures in the morning, and here we are at 90 degrees. But honestly, it was really nice because I would much rather have a cold start to the day and really have a nice, gorgeous afternoon. So, it was an amazing week, I was able to be there with my daughter, and I had a co-chaperone. And we were watching 10 fifth grade girls. And I’ve never counted to 10 so many times in such a short period in my life, trying to keep track of them. But it was an amazing experience hiking, outdoors, connecting with these girls, doing archery, survival skills, all kinds of fun things. So, such an amazing week. And one of the things that was really fun about it as well is that my co chaperone is actually entering the world of becoming a coach. And as we were talking about this and what it’s like from her perspective, joining the industry now, we talked about this idea that there is a very low bar set in the industry for who can become a coach, who can enter the coaching world. Anyone, no matter their level of experience, or expertise, or anything at all, can say they are a coach. Now, while this might be unsettling, the flip side of this is that the bar for success in the coaching industry, I believe, is set very high. Those who are succeeding as a coach, those who are doing well, have really done the work. And they’ve set the bar high as far as how much value they give, how they run their practice their level of professionalism. And I think this is really exciting. Because what this says to me is that each of you have an opportunity to stand out, to rise up, and you have equal opportunity to do this. And today, I want to speak with you about a few key things that can help you to truly set the bar high for you and your coaching business to achieve that level of success that you want. Are you ready? Let’s do it! So, first, let’s talk a little bit about value. Make sure that as you are serving your clients, that you are providing value, meaning you are solving a problem that your client has that is relevant to their life. Now there’s a difference between solving a problem and solving a problem that is such a problem for your clients that they are willing to invest time, energy and money into solving it. And I think a lot of times coaches can get pretty stuck here because it’s easy to identify a problem. But unless we are solving a problem that is relevant to our client, and that is worth them spending time, energy and money on, it’s not going to go very far. So, as you’re thinking about the value you provide in your business, how is solving this problem really relevant to your client? The next thing I want to touch on with regard to value is making sure that you are making a difference in the space that you are in with your clients in a way that you are staying relevant as things change. So, all of your clients will have certain concerns, certain challenges, right? And over time, your client’s needs and concerns will change. And the coaching world is moving so quickly, and there are so many offerings out there that it is vital for you as a coach to stay relevant. Stay relevant in what you’re offering, stay relevant in your messaging and your marketing. Stay so relevant, that your clients cannot help but pay attention to what you are offering. One more thing I want to offer up with regard to the value that you offer your clients, is make sure that you are authentic, that you are uniquely you. There are a lot of coaches out there. And the more you can show up as you and be someone and say something and have a voice, the more you will naturally stand out to the people who are drawn to you. So, as you think about how you provide value in your space, make sure you’re solving a problem that matters. Make sure you’re making a difference and staying relevant, and make sure that you are being authentic and uniquely you. Okay, let’s talk for a minute about ethics. When it comes to setting the bar high for yourself in your coaching business, I believe that a foundation of ethics is vital. I believe this is something that will allow you to succeed in your business long term, to create a positive reputation, and to create a phenomenal client experience. So, I’ve done some episodes in the past on ethics, and I highly recommend that you go listen to those. There is not a lot of talk about ethics in the coaching world. And I think it’s very important. But in this episode, specifically, I’m just going to hit on three things. Number one, make sure that you are respecting the privacy of your clients. Now, certainly sometimes you may share generalizations about experiences you’ve had with clients, make sure that you always use tact, that you’re never talking about something that is going to betray the privacy of a client. Make sure that you are clear on all of the ways that you will respect your clients’ privacy. Many of you that have come from other industries, like the medical industry, therapy, the legal field, you’re already pretty aware of that. But for other people, if you’ve been in a field where this isn’t as big of a deal, this may not even occur to you. So, take it on yourself to figure out how will you respect the privacy of your clients that they can always feel safe with you. The next thing I want to touch on is make sure that you create a code of ethics in your business for you, for your clients, how you engage with them, your policies, and your procedures. The amazing thing is what I actually love about there being no code of ethics in this field is that it challenges each of us to look inward and to make a decision about how we want to show up with integrity, not because we’re forced to, but because we care about our clients, and we care about setting the bar high. So, for each of you, think about how you will create that code of ethics for you, and how you will carry it out. And the last thing I want to offer up is very simple, but operate with integrity. We all know what it feels like when we are operating with integrity and in alignment and when we are not, when we are allowing the fear in our business of not succeeding or the excitement of succeeding, to take away from running a practice with integrity. Be truthful in what you’re offering. Make sure that you are treating your clients with respect and honesty and openness. All right, we’re going to hit on the last topic today, which is your level of professionalism as you set the bar high in your coaching business. First of all, make sure that you run your business like a business, not a hobby. As you continue to build your practice, you’re learning all of these different skills, right? Learning how to run a business, learning how to be a coach, learning sales, learning marketing. Now there is no need for this to overwhelm you. When I offer up to you this idea of running your business like a business, remember that you can start where you are. Learn more about how to increase the professionalism. Learn what makes a business successful. Learn what builds the credibility of a business. Treat your business like a business, and I promise that as you increase your knowledge and skills and ability, it will pay off in the long run. Next thing, be qualified and stay qualified. Make sure that if you are offering up to solve a problem, or operate with clients in a certain field or topic, that you are qualified. Now, this might go without saying, but this actually can be a really big issue in the industry. Don’t speak to having higher qualifications than you do. Make sure that you are qualified and make sure that you stay qualified. This means that whatever you’re helping your clients with, stay up on the latest, stay up on what they need to learn and what they need to do. I promise you that if you uphold a high standard of professionalism in your knowledge and qualifications, and stay relevant and stay qualified, it will pay off big time in the long run. The last thing I want to offer up to you that really covers all of these that I’ve talked about: value, ethics and professionalism. Take it upon yourself to set a standard in the coaching industry. There are plenty of coaches out there that give the coaching industry a not-so-great name. And there are plenty of coaches out there that give it a very good name, a powerful name, a name of truly creating change in the world. Take it upon yourself to set a standard in the coaching industry. Provide value, be ethical, be professional. And this is what will allow you to go from entering the coaching world and rising to the top as you create success. That’s what I’ve got for you, Coach. I’ll talk to you next week. Outro: Thanks for listening to The Masterful Coach podcast. You can check out www.thecoachingcollective.com for info about the ultimate program for coaches building a business. To find out more about Molly, you can visit www.mollyclaire.com.