The Coaching Practice Trap

By: Shaun OReilly
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:39:47
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

If you have your own coaching practice you may have inadvertently fallen into the job trap. More accurately it's the multi-job trap...

The job trap is where the majority (or all) of your income come from your own activities. If you're not physically present in your coaching practice you're not generating any revenues at all. So when you're on holiday, not a lot else happens in your coaching practice when you're not there.

No activities by you = no money - i.e. not good :-(

The mulit-job trap is where you attempt to do everything in your coaching practice by yourself. Obviously you'll need to do a lot of the coaching of your clients but you may also find yourself doing tasks that don't suit your skills or the activities may be draining for you. For example, you find yourself involved in:

- doing your accounts

- trying to put up your own website

- creating your own leaflet or flyer

- etc

Notice that all of the activities above can be outsourced to other people who are usually more highly skilled than you and they can most likely produce better results as well. In addition they will most usually charge a lower hourly rate than you are currently charging as a coach. So why not utilise them and give yourself more time to focus on what you do best and enjoy?

Unfortunately too many coaches are simply creating a job for themselves rather than building a coaching practice that frees up their time and doesn't rely upon them always being present in their business.

Moving out of the Coaching Trap

Here are some points to ponder to help you to consider how you are currently approaching your coaching practice:

1. What are you best at? - What activities in your coaching practice do you find a breeze? What areas do you really enjoy? Are you utilising the very best of your talents?

Are you placing the majority of your time and focus on these enjoyable activities?

2. What can you outsource? - Think about the activities you are currently doing in your coaching practice that are a drain on your energy. Which activities do you find the most frustrating? Can these activities be outsourced to others so you can have more time doing what you do best?

Note that if you can find someone else to do activities for your coaching practice at a lower fee than you charge you gain more time too. In some instances the people you use may charge out at a higher hourly rate than but having the activity done by other people can still be well worth it - especially if you find it draining ;-)

3. Where are your systems? - What systems are you developing in your coaching practice so that it will run more reliably and some parts of it can run without you?

I hope that this article has been useful for you and has helped you to consider your approach to your coaching practice.

So, are you in the coaching practice trap?

Shaun O'Reilly is the founder of Authentic Practice and works exclusively with coaches to help them to build successful coaching practices.

He is also the author of The 5 Biggest Mistakes Coaches Make in Marketing and How You Can Avoid Them. To get your free copy just go to:

http://www.authenticpractice.com/

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Coaching category

  • An Autumn Ritual for Letting Go of Your Blocks - By: Joanna Lindenbaum
    Autumn is the perfect time to clean out and let go of what no longer serves you in your life.
  • Are You Making this Common Time and Energy Wasting Mistake? - By: Joanna Lindenbaum
    By now, you probably know that creating a solid Action Plan and Blueprint are key to envisioning and following through on any BIG project, from building your business to publishing your book to reaching your health or fitness goals.
  • The 31 Absolute Best Resources for Self Improvement - By: David Riklan
    Where should we go for help? Over the course of my life, I've found that there is no "Best Place to Go." There are literally dozens of places to go and people to talk to when it comes to helping us improve our lives. Here is a complete list of 31 resources to help you improve your life. For each section, I include the pros and cons of using that particular resource.
  • From My Heart to Yours.... - By: Joanna Lindenbaum
    You are a daughter of the earth, and you hold all the answers inside you. YOU are the one you've been waiting for.
  • Do Your Thoughts Distract You from Living and Loving Your Life? - By: Joanna Lindenbaum
    Every moment of our lives is an opportunity - an invitation, a gift, a moment of joy or growth or exploration. Yet, we are often so busy being stuck in our worries or anxieties that we completely miss out on what the present moment is offering us.
  • The Possibility of Personal Belief - By: Gary Goldstein
    Do the economic headlines of today make you feel discouraged and fearful? Do you worry about economic gloom and doom and tend to feel anxious or paralyzed by external events, or do you see possibility and opportunity for daily action based on strong personal beliefs and a bold yet pragmatic plan that focuses on rich opportunities, your talents and the value of what you have to offer?
  • Inner Bonding and Breathwork - By: Shelley Riutta
    Shelley describes how she uses both Inner Bonding and Breathwork to help her clients heal their wounded self and connect with their Inner Child/Authentic Self. The Breathwork helps her clients to access their blocked feelings, so they can then work with healing their painful feelings with the Inner Bonding process.
  • Life After Divorce: The Power of Acceptance - By: Shelley Stile
    In Divorce Recovery, as well as any other major loss in life, acceptance is the most important and most difficult step we must take towards releasing the past and beginning a new chapter of life. By acceptance I mean the acceptance of your reality, as it exists for you right now: what is and not what we think should or could be. Acceptance means being conscious and accepting of your reality with no illusions or personal interpretations or filters. It also involves giving up blame, resentment and regret. The ability to let go of those negative emotions is true acceptance, which ultimately gives you the freedom to move forward.
  • Give Up Your Righteousness - By: Matthew Ferry
    There are six billion people on this planet. Every single person has a completely different perspective. You know that every single person has had billions of experiences. Experience shapes our opinions, judgments, ideals, preferences, and ultimately our view of life.
  • Life Coach - Align and Redirect - By: Matthew Ferry
    By releasing your need to be in control of the uncontrollable, you move into a state of flow. You start to experience grace, luck, and miracles.