What I'm Taking Away from Business Coaching: Peek Behind the Scenes! š (Part 1 of 2)
Check out 10 shifts I'm making in business this year thanks to investing in coaching. Because I love snooping, too.
When I hired my first coach in 2020, my world rapidly began to shift ā never for the easy, but always for the better.
Since then, Iāve had life or business coaching for at least a few months of each year, and itās been a catalyst to some of my biggest celebrations in life. Early this year, I started working with Jenni Gritters. Jenni and I both love peeking into other businesses and sharing behind the scenes of our own, so I thought Iād share some of my biggest takeaways of business coaching in 2025 so far!
10 Shifts Iām Making in My Business This Spring:
1 | Bespoke everything ā Streamlined, automated client processes
The past few years, Iāve managed to turn nearly every project into a fully custom project: bespoke price, deliverables, processesā¦ And the amount of extra brainspace that takes has been slowly but surely exhausting me. š« There are a few pieces, however, that every project/client moves through: intake, onboarding, invoicing, scheduling, and closeout, for example.
So, Iām trying new software to help automate the processes that all clients need to move through, and approaching it with a āThis is how it happensā attitude. Which TBH feels more kind to the client, too, since I know what processes work! (Not to mention Iāve also tweaked my offers to have more of a set structure to them, too, like the Idea Incubator on this page.)
2 | Vague terms ā Intentionally naming and claiming what I do
āSo what do you do for work?ā ā The dreaded question, even though Iām an extrovert who loves talking to strangers! Since Iāve got my busy hands in a LOT of different creative pots, Iāve stumbled on the āwhat do you do?ā question for years. š¬ Jenniās been fantastic at helping me more specifically name different parts of my work.
Lately, Iām finding that ācreative directorā is the simplest umbrella term for my work when I need a quick answer. Depending on the context, I can break that down into smaller pieces (āpodcast consultant,ā āevent facilitator,ā āstory strategist,ā etc.). Even my offers are becoming more specific, like using āincubatorā for a certain offer instead of a broad āconsulting.ā And honestly, Iām realizing that the words I use for myself and my offers are always going to shift with the seasons, but itās better to claim them when theyāre the current best words!
3 | Skating by on word of mouth ā Asking for the damn testimonials and introductions
Yes, Iām guilty of just waiting for potential clients to magically pop into my inbox. š«£But nearly 3.5 years into full-time self-employment, I think itās natural that Iām at an inflection point where Iām ready to get pickier about who I work with and how ā and that specificity requires me to do some lifting myself to find new clients. š
Iāve been collecting super sweet feedback from past projects (OMG cue the feel-good tingles) to have on hand when I pitch similar work to other people/organizations. And Iām getting comfortable with asking people in my network to connect me with folks who Iād like to work with next. Ballās in my court now!
4 | Structuring programs based on what I see others doing ā Formatting offers that work best for ME
Obviously thereās a balance; I need to craft offers that work for the people buying them AND that work for me. But the big aha lately is that often, that Venn diagram is a circle. š
One example: More and more of my clients are finding the value of ongoing voice memo communication over more frequent meetings. That works great for me, since my lifestyle is quite on-the-go and my location, time zone, and schedule shift regularly. It works great for them because they get quicker responses, can leave a note whenever inspiration strikes, and donāt need to play the scheduling game. A win-win!
A fun one Iāve been rolling out: Angie Arcade Tokens! šŖ Over the past year, Iāve been aiming to streamline my offers (see back in #1). But, all clients need some level of customization, and many also have shifting priorities month to month. With Angieās Arcade Tokens, clients receive a set amount of credits to āspendā throughout the month from a menu of deliverables. They can choose what they need most that month and roll over credits if needed. This gives me the structure/timeline I need while honoring clientsā shifting needs, AND I love the novelty of āoooh whatās coming up next?ā
5 | Being indirect in marketing ā Inviting people (you?!) to the party
I donāt wanna beat around the bush anymore. Through sharing thoughts ad hoc on LinkedIn, making the occasional fun announcement on Instagram, and sharing weekly here on Substack, I do talk about my work and ways to work togetherā¦ but I havenāt been directly, explicitly inviting people to work with me! š¤·āāļø Itās been more of aā¦ āUmm, reach out whenever if you wanna chatā vibe vs. āHey girl, this podcast launch accelerator would be a perfect fit for that idea you had about ski lift conversations; can I send you more info?ā
Jenni pointed out that Iām hosting all these āparties,ā but not sending out invitations to them! I hate icky cold pitches and would never want to trick or force people into working with me, but Iām also realizing that I need to invite people to the party in the most good vibes way possible. š
Iāll surely flex this muscle through the summerā¦ and for now, I āinviteā you to check out a Borrow My Brain session. :) This is where people with a Big Idea meet with me for a one-off, 90 minute consultation to get strategy and execution on the Big Idea. Iāve spoken with people about starting a side business, planning a book, getting feedback on a talk/speech, etc. At first, it felt weird being like, āHey, pay me for my time and weāll just talk!ā ā but then I got great feedback and big thank yous and ācan I have another call?ā So I know theyāre helpful and Iām honored to help you. ā¤ļø
OKAY! Iāve spent a couple hours typing out all 10 shifts today, and I try to spend only 1 hour a week writing for Substack, so Iām doing myself a favor and making this a two-parter. :) Plus, I have ššš2 weddings and a bachelorette party in an 8-day span, so Iām off to go live in the moment, or whatever.
For now, Iād love to know if this ābehind the scenesā post is helpful?! Shoot me a message, poke around my world some more, OR submit an anonymous question for Blood, Sweat + Fear. (Iām going to batch a few Aās a month!) See ya next week.
