Expensive Coaching Mistakes (We've Made)
Expensive Mistakes: Learning from Costly Coaching Errors
Summary
Angie and John dive into their most expensive coaching mistakes, offering candid insights into the financial pitfalls they've encountered in their business journeys. They share personal anecdotes about unrealistic budgeting, ineffective advertising investments, and the dangers of not separating business and personal accounts. Highlighting the importance of setting a realistic budget and investing wisely, they also discuss mindset challenges and the value of taking action despite uncertainties. The episode serves as a guide for coaches to avoid similar costly errors and emphasises that mistakes, while painful, are essential learning opportunities.
Sound Bites
"I spent in 10 months $25,000."
"It can be very expensive to find leads."
"I didn't know how to organize events."
"I will never do that again."
"You need to look at the fine print."
"90 days doesn't seem like a long time."
"You want to know what the policy is on that."
"Don't become a professional student."
Takeaways
Mistakes are part of the learning process.
Setting a realistic budget is crucial.
Lead generation can be costly and ineffective.
Not getting coaching sooner can cost opportunities.
Mixing personal and business finances is a painful mistake.
Delegating tasks can save time and increase efficiency.
Researching before spending is essential.
Trusting others to follow through can be risky.
Time spent on ineffective strategies is a lost opportunity.
Learning from past mistakes is key to growth. Set up your business structure early to avoid complications later.
Payment processing companies can hold funds unexpectedly; read the fine print.
Mindset challenges can hinder progress; taking action is crucial.
Mistakes are part of the learning process; don't fear them.
Investing in your business can lead to unexpected growth opportunities.
Don't let the fear of failure prevent you from launching your business.
Research and discern before committing to services or products.
Certifications should add value, not just serve as a status symbol.
Building a budget based on your needs is essential for success.
Embrace the journey and learn from every experience.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction: Sharing Expensive Coaching Mistakes
01:17 Early Costly Mistakes in Business
03:20 The PR and Advertising Blunders
06:54 Lead Generation Disasters
17:31 The Importance of Business Accounts
29:11 Mindset and Emotional Challenges
37:45 Conclusion: Learning from Mistakes
Want to contact the show? You can leave us a voicemail. It's free to do and we might feature you on our next episode. All you need to do is go to https://speakpipe.com/thecoachingclinicpodcast and leave us your message.
Would you like to get coaching from John or Angie? Here's how you can contact us:
John's LinkedIn Profile or go to PresentInfluence.com
2023 Present Influence Productions The Coaching Clinic 38
Transcript
Angie,
2
:Angie: John,
3
:John: do you love hearing about
other people's expensive mistakes?
4
:Angie: sometimes, yeah with
hindsight, they usually
5
:become learning opportunities.
6
:Why do you ask?
7
:John: I was wondering if you've
ever made expensive coaching
8
:mistakes in your business?
9
:Angie: Of course, haven't you?
10
:John: Yeah, of course I have.
11
:I thought it might be fun for us
to share them with our listener.
12
:A little Christmas present from
the Coaching Clinic podcast.
13
:Angie: Okay but some of these
are going to make your toes curl.
14
:John: I'm sure our coaches
are ready for that.
15
:Let's start the show.
16
:Angie: Oh my gosh, you and I were
just having this conversation and
17
:it's making me, I'm having like a
nervous tic flashback right now.
18
:Just
19
:John: Oh, I there have been tears.
20
:Angie over some of the expensive
mistakes I've made in the
21
:past and or they really hurt.
22
:Sometimes they really hurt.
23
:I probably made some of the biggest ones
for myself very early on, but that's
24
:not to say I haven't made them since.
25
:I mean, I probably even this year
made some, but not quite so costly,
26
:but mistakes are part of the process.
27
:But when you don't know what you and you
don't really have much of a knowledge or.
28
:Preparedness for your own business.
29
:It can be really costly And when you
especially if you're on a limited
30
:budget And I burned through my
limited budget Far quicker than I
31
:wanted to because of all of this
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:'
Angie: cause I, here's the thing.
33
:I really believe that some of the
most expensive mistakes, right?
34
:You could take that.
35
:Is it a dollar mistake
or is it time mistake?
36
:Have things cost you money
or they cost you time?
37
:So I look at it from both spaces.
38
:But like you I was smart enough
to set a budget for myself.
39
:That was number one big first
mistake was not realistic.
40
:It was not a realistic budget.
41
:So I did burn through it which
felt awful at the time Because of
42
:some of the choices so there were
two things happening there one.
43
:It really wasn't a realistic budget
I don't know where I even came up
44
:with the number because I know I
did not do any Investigation or any
45
:spade work to say well, what is it
going to cost me to do this and this?
46
:I never even did that.
47
:I just came up with the random
number and that's a truth.
48
:So that was like my first
really expensive mistake.
49
:But now what would like,
so you burned through,
50
:what did that look like for you?
51
:John: One of the one of the first costly
financial mistakes that I made I figured
52
:that I needed to Have some pr for my
business and I thought a good way of doing
53
:that would be to be featured in a magazine
to put an ad into a magazine And I was
54
:contacted by a company magazine just the
things I saw I had my business listed
55
:They contacted me reached out and said
you want to be advertised in the magazine.
56
:This sounds good So i'm getting
some more info from didn't
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:just say yes straight away.
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:It's oh tell me more and Ended up having
and also I think it was a listing as
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:well Like we didn't You just didn't have
the social media stuff that we have now.
60
:It was a listing in an online directory
or not I don't know if it was online that
61
:physical directory even to be listed in
there and I thought these are probably
62
:all good things that I should do But
they cost more money than I anticipated
63
:And it would have been okay if they had
delivered even one lead there was nothing
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:from any of it and it was only afterwards
where and I started to look into Other
65
:people's experience with these things
that I found that these were generally
66
:ineffective forms of advertising, which
is probably why Most people don't really
67
:use them for our especially for our kinds
of business these days So so those were
68
:expensive and painful mistakes I mean
Not break the bank mistakes But when you
69
:know, I was operating on a limited budget
I was using redundancy money and whatever
70
:what little amounts I had saved at the
time And so I knew exactly how much I had
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:and how much time I would need to have
to get my business launched before that
72
:money would run out So my anticipation
was they should at least bring me some
73
:leads in but so many things Just didn't
work and I probably did far too much of
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:that throwing spaghetti at a wall kind
of thing to hope something would stick
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:Because I just didn't know what would
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:Angie: it's interesting, right?
77
:Cause it's all a learning process.
78
:And I'm going to point something
out that I've said in many of, our
79
:conversations, which is, when you're
new and when John and I were new to
80
:this business, we didn't have AI, we
didn't have all of the opportunities.
81
:So this is not the, Oh, we, we
both walked to school in 10 feet
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:of snow, two, two miles each way.
83
:But the reality is that.
84
:We didn't have the same
opportunities in front of us.
85
:So there was really no way to even
like trust pilot wasn't a thing.
86
:So if somebody got on the phone with you
because they bought some multimillion
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:dollar list and they found you and
said, Hey Angie, we'd love to feature
88
:you in this XYZ women's magazine.
89
:Which I did, you brought it up.
90
:So, and I didn't get any leads from
it for coaching, but I did get some
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:leads from it from, for a different
space, like doing like workshops
92
:and speaking, which was great.
93
:Cause I didn't even anticipate
that, but point is we didn't
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:know what we didn't know either.
95
:And we didn't have any way
to cross reference things.
96
:So first and foremost, some of our
mistakes, many of you may not make
97
:now because You, we do have the
opportunity to like Google this, do
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:that, figure things out, so many things.
99
:However, that really I think
one of my biggest financial
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:mistakes only happened to you.
101
:And this is what you and I were
talking about two years ago.
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:So it wasn't at the very
beginning of my career.
103
:The biggest financial cluster was when I
signed up with a lead generation company.
104
:I won't mention the name.
105
:And and here's the thing.
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:I did do my homework.
107
:I looked them up because I
could now write past mistakes.
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:Don't, let's not bring it forward.
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:Let's, I had a budget.
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:A realistic budget, right?
111
:Because I was doing some research
and getting an idea of what
112
:something like this might cost me.
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:And I spent in 10 months, 25, 000.
114
:I'm going to throw that number out there.
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:Look, John just gave me the look
that he, you know, when we talked
116
:last time, it was like, what?
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:And I got one lead from
it and I was sold on it.
118
:I thought this company was
going to do everything it said.
119
:And they were in touch with me and
they were trying to work through
120
:with, and it was a really good deal.
121
:Bad decision and it was costly
on time because while they were
122
:doing this lead generation for
me I wasn't doing anything else.
123
:That was a big mistake.
124
:I was putting so much money into this
that I was pretty much through the
125
:budget and said, okay this better perform
because I don't have the opportunity to
126
:do anything else that makes sense Right.
127
:I mean I could still do other
things right don't misunderstand
128
:but in terms of money, that was it.
129
:I was taking the trip around the
world and that was the last vacation
130
:I was ever going to take and I got
one lead from it and I finally had,
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:even though I was 10 months in, I was
like, you know what, I'm breaking the,
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:I'm not paying you one more month.
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:I was angry.
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:I was frustrated because
it also cost me time.
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:Right.
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:So biggest, probably biggest mistake
that I made and now compared to
137
:2 years ago, go on to any social
media platform and everybody is
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:coming at you with some problem.
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:They're solving.
140
:Right.
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:And that they are going to be the
whiz kids on the block that are
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:going to make it all better for you.
143
:I have a big question.
144
:I'm more cynical now than I
was two years ago for sure.
145
:Right.
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:So,
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:John: Yeah, you get
burned by these things.
148
:I do think for myself, what probably
one of the biggest ways that I cost
149
:myself opportunity really was by not
getting coaching sooner but that was
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:partly because I didn't know that there
were people out there who specifically
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:helped with coach marketing and and I
wouldn't have I wouldn't really have
152
:known how to find them either because
They weren't in the yellow pages and
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:google wasn't so hot at that time.
154
:It was really hard to find these
things some things might be listed in
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:directories now Everything is listed
in directories, but then it was a lot
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:harder to find things God, I feel so old
even saying all this stuff, but but not
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:Angie: We're dating ourselves.
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:John: Really but not getting help
sooner that definitely was something
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:that was Ultimately was expensive.
160
:It may not have cost me money out
of the bank But it certainly cost me
161
:opportunity and money that I could have
had in the bank had I got help sooner.
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:Angie: That's why we're here.
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:Right.
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:Isn't that why you and I came
together and did this because
165
:we realized there's a gap.
166
:So it's not so much about
what you and I went through.
167
:Back in the day, and it's funny
because in the day changes.
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:Now, I think it's not
10 years ago anymore.
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:And in the day could
refer back to a year ago.
170
:And so, so as John and I didn't have
enough information to vet things, right?
171
:We didn't have enough
opportunity or ways to do that.
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:I think the big challenge now is too much
information because now you sit and you
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:go, I don't even know what to believe.
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:What's the truth?
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:Right.
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:When you're watching all of these
ads and you're trying to find if
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:you Google best lead search engine
for companies, for coaches then
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:you look and it says, sponsored.
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:It is a black hole.
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:It is an abyss.
181
:And you really do sit back and
go, I don't know what to do.
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:It's too much.
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:And it's not even just about leads, right?
184
:John and I were talking about leads
because that's what do we want to do?
185
:We need to find ways to make
money as coaches and be a coach.
186
:So it makes sense that
you might Google that.
187
:But again, there are so many you go
into it could take you half a day
188
:to get like 1 really good space just
because there's so many rabbit holes.
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:And I call them landmines.
190
:It's just.
191
:Boom, just blows you up and you're
exhausted and you just have to walk away.
192
:So that's definitely a
big part of it, right?
193
:We're talking about finding leads is
very, it can be very expensive, right?
194
:What else though, like outside of
the lead space and time, right?
195
:We talked about time, wasting time.
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:have an idea, but when you think of
the biggest time suckers for you,
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:like what would they look like?
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:John: I think I didn't know how
to organize events and quite early
199
:on I was trying to put together
events and Learning opportunities.
200
:I knew that I knew that could be
a good business model that worked
201
:very well In personal development
at that time and I was already
202
:involved with other people's events.
203
:I thought surely I can do my own and The
events themselves were not that hard to
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:organize And renting rooms and things
like that for in person events before
205
:we had really all the Zoom revolution
it was pretty much in person events
206
:And that wasn't so hard and certainly a
lot more affordable Even than it is now
207
:and so many venues that Really catered
very well to those sorts of things,
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:too But I didn't know how to properly
do so talk about leads different kind
209
:of leads Didn't know properly how to
do sales and get people into events.
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:How do you actually bring people in
211
:And get them on to get them onto a list
and booking did manage to do it Like I
212
:managed to fill I think at least three
events of my own as getting started.
213
:Yeah, which was fantastic But struggled
to keep that going and it was a lot of
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:time wasted on phone calls and trying
to, and also people who have lists
215
:who were, I did sort of think sure,
we can leverage other people's lists.
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:So I was contacting people who had lists
who also did promotions for other people,
217
:the amount of times people will promise
to do stuff, and then not do it And I
218
:was a bit I was just a bit too naive
at the time To realize that people will
219
:often say they're going to do something
and then not do it And that happened
220
:far more than I would care to and it's
it really it slows you down But it also
221
:can be a little I say heartbreakers, but
definitely disappointing discouraging.
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:It can be discouraging.
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:Angie: Absolutely.
224
:Because you know what?
225
:You're just so excited.
226
:You're a deer in the headlights and
you're just like, Hey, everybody,
227
:they said they're going to do this.
228
:And then you take them on
their word and oops, no.
229
:And then.
230
:It's like this really, it becomes
very stressful when you're not in
231
:control of every aspect and you can't
be like, let me just say that for the
232
:record, trying to be all the things.
233
:Is not a good look for a coach, right?
234
:You're going to slow yourself down anyway.
235
:And I think it's important to recognize.
236
:Okay.
237
:This is a little left of center,
but I know your strengths know where
238
:your weak points are for Angie.
239
:Everybody knows this.
240
:I cannot stand doing social
media marketing or tech.
241
:Just don't like it.
242
:Just not my thing.
243
:Never was.
244
:So guess what?
245
:Now I have somebody that does it for me.
246
:And I made that part of my budget.
247
:Why?
248
:Because it has accelerated
my business times 10.
249
:Because before I was like,
I can't afford to do this.
250
:I have to do it all myself.
251
:No.
252
:Because then I didn't think about
was the time it was costing me versus
253
:like the first website I ever had.
254
:I did it myself.
255
:I know that is a shocking revelation,
John, because sometimes I just
256
:get lost opening my laptop.
257
:I'm only kidding.
258
:But it took me months to do it months.
259
:And it was in WordPress.
260
:No offense to them.
261
:It was me months to do it.
262
:I will never, I will jump off a
house before I ever do that again.
263
:But it was knowing my strengths and
you do, I think as a coach need to say,
264
:What does that business plan look like?
265
:And what are the pieces of it that
I need to delegate because it's
266
:going to cost me more in time.
267
:If something is costing you
time, then you're not earning.
268
:That's the bottom line, right?
269
:So John had a situation or has had
experiences where, he thought he had
270
:the right people in the right place
to help and they don't, which kind
271
:of makes you pull back and say I'm
going to have to do it all myself
272
:because I can't rely on anybody else.
273
:What did that do like I'm just curious
like when did you do the pullback?
274
:John: I stopped trusting that people
would actually follow through and do
275
:what they said they were going to do and
probably stopped asking a bit more as
276
:well, so yeah, did I pull back probably?
277
:Yeah it made it a lot harder.
278
:It did make a lot harder.
279
:But look, It ended up causing we
I was basically trying to set up
280
:an event in Dublin at the time.
281
:And we had lots of contacts and
connections there but because we
282
:weren't, none of us were based there
and none of us had those had enough
283
:contacts and connections ourselves to
fill the event, we needed those other
284
:people to, we needed people to be
what was called not delegates for us.
285
:But we need, we needed people
to be affiliates for us.
286
:We needed people to be promoters for us.
287
:And so.
288
:Yeah, a bunch of people were promising
to do this and saying, Oh, yeah,
289
:we'll get your rebuild or no problem.
290
:We'll get people there and then start
sending them stuff saying, Oh hey,
291
:look we need to get this moving.
292
:We actually need to
have names on the list.
293
:Otherwise we can't book
the book the venue.
294
:We, we need to give them a deposit
and we're not going to get that back.
295
:So we need to make sure we've actually,
we're going to have some people
296
:Angie: weddings here folks.
297
:Like he was like, hey, that's a
298
:John: I will never do that again.
299
:Yeah, it was stressful i'd even had
to book flights and that money that
300
:money ended up being lost because we
just couldn't get people to help us
301
:fill the event and So it probably was a
little ambitious trying to do an event
302
:in dublin when we'd only done or done
a handful of events already But you
303
:know again an expensive mistake but
let me tell you this one of the One
304
:of the biggest mistakes I made early
on it probably did cost me some money.
305
:It wasn't a hugely I don't think it
was necessarily a hugely expensive
306
:financial mistake But it was an expensive
mistake in terms of the pain of it
307
:and the confusion that it caused Was
not separating out my business account
308
:from my personal account It was all
one account when I started off and
309
:Angie: account?
310
:Account for what?
311
:John: For business.
312
:Angie: Like money account?
313
:Or?
314
:Oh.
315
:John: Bank
316
:Angie: account.
317
:Okay.
318
:John: And that was messy.
319
:It was messy and it started
to cause me problems
320
:so so yeah, I will nearly
always recommend to people.
321
:Especially if they're just starting out
as a coach or whatever else Make sure
322
:you have a separate business account
that your money can go into it's so
323
:easy to do now You can have an online
account and have the money go in there
324
:But just keep everything separate Because
otherwise you will lose track of what's
325
:business money and what's personal money
and that's not a good place to be You
326
:definitely want to pay yourself out of
your business account But you also have
327
:to pay other stuff out of that as well.
328
:And if you're already not great
at tracking other time, I wasn't
329
:particularly great at tracking my
finances anyway, so I wasn't really
330
:tracking my personal expenses, all
my professional expenses, so I say it
331
:probably did cost me money, but that
was definitely a painful mistake because
332
:it took it took a while to get things
corrected and separate things out and
333
:Angie: Here in the States,
that wouldn't fly, right?
334
:IRS will be knocking on your door going.
335
:Hello.
336
:It's like you're embezzling from your
own company kind of a thing, right?
337
:Commingling if you will and treating
I think that the lesson to that
338
:is that, you need to treat if
you're going to be a coach, right?
339
:You need to treat your
business as a business.
340
:Not a hobby, right?
341
:And I'm not saying that's what
John did, but I think many people
342
:initially go what'd you say?
343
:John: Maybe it is.
344
:I don't know.
345
:Maybe I wasn't being a serious, I
honestly can't, it's a long time ago,
346
:but I don't know, I don't remember
quite where my head was at with it.
347
:But yeah, it was had something
I just hadn't prioritized
348
:and didn't think I needed.
349
:Within, I mean, within the first
six months of operating business,
350
:I'd set up a business account.
351
:It was
352
:Angie: Yeah, I
353
:John: pretty quick lesson to learn.
354
:Angie: think it's important that,
yeah, you need to, we talked about
355
:this in a very, like an earlier,
probably the beginning of this
356
:year, where we talked about setting
yourself up as a real business.
357
:Set yourself up as though you've already
like I think some people take on that
358
:mindset of When i'm actually making
any money to speak of i'll set up the
359
:account and i'll worry about it No, set
up an llc or whatever set up the entity
360
:and then set up a business account and
it's done And you don't have to worry
361
:about trying to, going to like the
CPA with a box full of receipts and
362
:then having them try and differentiate
between what was a home purchase and
363
:a business or an office purchase.
364
:Like it's just, it really gets
hairy and it is costly to do that.
365
:So treat your business like a business
right out of the gate as you would any
366
:other business and don't wait until
you make your first dime to do that.
367
:John: yeah, that probably, I think
that probably was where my head was
368
:at that time is I'll wait till I've
got enough money to worry about
369
:before I separate things out, but
that was a bad idea, very bad idea.
370
:And, it definitely is a little bit
more professional to have a business
371
:account that your money is going
to, and probably really, you don't
372
:want You don't want to be getting
paid direct into your own account.
373
:Anyway, you probably want to have
a service like Stripe or whatever,
374
:somewhere you're processing payments
that's secure for your for your
375
:potential clients to be able to pay.
376
:Angie: Nobody's really writing
checks so much anymore.
377
:I mean, if you're doing like
speaking or something I do have
378
:people that are like, Yeah, but like
379
:John: I do have the ability for some
of my private clients to be able to
380
:pay directly into my business account.
381
:So I can set up a payment
link for them, but it gets
382
:invoiced for a specific product.
383
:So it's the same kind of thing.
384
:It's a secure payment gateway for them,
but it's connected to a business account
385
:because one of the things that I don't
want in certain situations, I don't
386
:want Spend that money until we know
everything's good as well So I don't want
387
:that money I don't want to pay myself or
anything else out of that money until I
388
:know that money is definitely You know,
it might be in the bank account, we have
389
:maybe everything isn't completely settled
yet as well so you do have to keep a
390
:reserve if you can I think that's that
was a lesson I had to learn as well.
391
:Angie: so i'm not really schooled on
this and it's to that point And you
392
:might want to if you do sign on with
like Stripe or another company like
393
:that You need to look at the fine print
because I did run into this where they
394
:have the right to hold your money for
like up to 90 days or something at
395
:their will So I didn't know that I mean,
not that I didn't read the fine print.
396
:I probably just didn't even
understand what that meant or I
397
:skimmed through it or whatever.
398
:And the truth is that's
not a good look either.
399
:Like really do your homework about where
you're going to be processing payments
400
:because, or how you're going to be
processing those payments because there
401
:are companies that will say we 90 days
because, Just simply because of refund.
402
:They don't really care what
kind of a business you are.
403
:They just look at it and say
it can turn into a legal issue
404
:if you don't have enough money
to cover a substantial refund.
405
:So if you're a coach that's taking
in, let's just say 5, 10, even 15,
406
:000 or something like that or more.
407
:And don't expect to just have your
money cleared in 70 business days, at
408
:least here in the States, because once
you get to those big numbers, a lot
409
:of these processing companies do have
some regulations that you need to have
410
:enough in the account to cover almost
like what your highest payment was.
411
:Not that they will do it.
412
:They don't do it every time.
413
:Sometimes they just do it randomly,
but that was a lesson for me.
414
:Cause it did happen with a company that
I used to use big name, had no idea.
415
:So sometimes it's easier to even go
through the processing through a bank
416
:or something like that, where you know
417
:John: I did I did early on have
the experience of having to take
418
:out a line of credit because
Payments were being held up.
419
:So that's a great point to raise.
420
:It wasn't for very long, 90 days is
Okay, looking back 90 days doesn't seem
421
:like a long time But if you think 90
days from now, we're looking into March.
422
:It's a while to wait, you know so
423
:Angie: if this is your, if this is your
sole income and let's just say you're
424
:not earning like four or five, six
times a month where it's like, Oh, okay.
425
:It's no real big deal.
426
:It's in the pipeline.
427
:If you're doing something where you're
getting like a new client, one a month
428
:or one every other month in the very
beginning, and somebody is holding your
429
:money and this is all that you're doing.
430
:That can definitely be.
431
:Problematic for you.
432
:So you want to know what
the policy is on that.
433
:I would ask up front And if they
don't have the answer, they're
434
:probably not the company for you.
435
:Just saying.
436
:John: I will say this.
437
:I mean, I think there are mistakes that
probably haven't affected my business
438
:so much, but have have cost me money
that have been things like programs
439
:that I thought were going to deliver
something and ended up being crap.
440
:And I think things like that, you know
serve products and services that you
441
:end up buying coaching related stuff
I think oh that could be helpful.
442
:That would be good to have and it ends
up being utter rubbish There's always
443
:going to be stuff like that you may end
up wasting your money on no matter how
444
:much Research or reviews you might want
to check out before going ahead you never
445
:really know, but the reality is as well.
446
:Now, there are people out there running
cons Specifically targeting business
447
:people that they see that you have a
business they will target you and pretend
448
:to offer you something that seems very
appealing or attractive We talked about
449
:this in one episode, right this sort of
networking You Thing that I got invited.
450
:Was it similar for you?
451
:Yeah and it was very clearly a scam and
they were very poor at sort of covering
452
:that fact up, but The fact they probably
had already caught some people out with
453
:it and had people pay their money to end
up getting nothing We still we do need to
454
:still do our due diligence But even when
you do you might still get caught out
455
:and that ends up being expensive as well.
456
:Angie: listen, there's just no way to know
for sure because, there are people who
457
:are professional scammers and because they
are, they know better than you and me.
458
:My mind just doesn't, I mean, as much
of a cynic as I might claim to be,
459
:I'm also, I've been called a couple
of times where I was like, Oh, This
460
:is an actual scam almost, hit the
send button pay for, it's usually
461
:that plug and play kind of scenario.
462
:Oh, we have this great, speaking event
coming up Angie and we want you to be
463
:a part of it because you're so amazing.
464
:Really?
465
:Okay.
466
:So anyway, so you definitely want to do as
much research as you can, because on the
467
:surface, they're going to look like legit.
468
:This is the thing, they're
going to have their own sizzle
469
:reel that looks fantastic.
470
:They're better at it than you.
471
:So you definitely want to make
sure maybe you're all going with
472
:a bigger name for that purpose.
473
:And you're going to pay for
that because, it's not a scam.
474
:Also to I feel like the whole the idea,
you just brought this up and it triggered
475
:in my head, John think that 1 of the
things we always try to do as coaches,
476
:once we make the decision to either do
it full or part time, whichever is that
477
:we try to make ourselves feel more valid,
validated and legitimate as coaches
478
:and we've talked about this previously.
479
:So I won't get overly
long winded about it, but.
480
:Going and getting these certifications,
some certifications, if they are really
481
:going to help you, then go for it.
482
:But if you think it's just something
that's going to look great on paper
483
:to make you look more legitimate,
then it's probably not a good idea.
484
:I've got a couple with, okay,
one or two of the biggest
485
:names in personal development.
486
:And although I got information from
it, I don't even use it anymore.
487
:It's not something that
I reference in my mind.
488
:It's not a format that I use.
489
:And I realized that it was to make me
feel better about promoting myself.
490
:And that was very costly.
491
:I mean, you would have to imagine
if you're working with 1 of the
492
:biggest names in an industry.
493
:That there is, you're not
paying a dollar for it, right?
494
:It's not a 500 dollar.
495
:It's thousands of dollars
and it feels really good.
496
:And look at what I did and look at
who I did it under and all of the
497
:things and I made 0 dollars from that.
498
:Nobody even gave a crap that I had
that I have that certification.
499
:So, don't become a professional student
right to constantly build yourself like
500
:if you say I work in this space and this
is going to help me because this is a
501
:program that I want to use all for it,
but don't be afraid to launch and throw
502
:yourself into more educational because you
feel like, oh, let me just do this 1 more
503
:thing and then I'll be ready to launch.
504
:Not launching will cost you time.
505
:Okay, if you launch too early, you
might hit, you might lip skid, as I say,
506
:but at least you're out there, right?
507
:But if you don't launch at all because
you keep thinking the next thing is
508
:going to make you more legitimate,
that's just your fear coming through.
509
:So don't overdo that.
510
:John: we were talking about this
earlier before we recorded, but no
511
:more like we get challenges come up
for us as coaches mindset challenges
512
:was always, we're always going to
have to work on these kinds of things.
513
:But they are things that can take
you out of the game altogether if you
514
:let them, because very often the only
real difference between the somebody
515
:who's building up their coaching
practice and making money with it And
516
:somebody who's not who may be a good
coach, but isn't getting anywhere.
517
:It's probably that they're overthinking
it And not actually doing the
518
:actions that would get them clients
because they're too uncertain.
519
:So one thing I've done, and that's
certainly been me in the past of
520
:learning, learning just to take
action and knowing that you will
521
:get results when you take action.
522
:And yes, you may have to course correct.
523
:Inevitably, you have to change things and
adapt as you go, but you have to be out
524
:there doing it for anything to happen at
all, because if it's all just going on in
525
:your head, nothing's happening and your
bank balance isn't filling up either.
526
:Angie: You know what?
527
:And your point is very valid.
528
:You're going to course correct no
matter how ready you think you are.
529
:So that doesn't mean that, you launch a
website that just has one little picture.
530
:I'm not saying we're not saying to do
anything like super prematurely, but
531
:definitely the best way to get in front
of people is to get in front of people.
532
:The longer you wait, the longer
it's going to take without a doubt.
533
:John: yeah.
534
:Do you remember when I think I was guilty
of this as well, when loads of coaching
535
:websites had lots of clip art on it?
536
:Do you remember clip art?
537
:With the little bubble figures and with
538
:Angie: yeah.
539
:Yeah.
540
:Yeah.
541
:Yeah.
542
:Yeah.
543
:Yeah.
544
:Yeah.
545
:Yeah.
546
:John: that was everywhere.
547
:Thankfully no longer
really used by people.
548
:But now it's nicely AI art, isn't it?
549
:Bed
550
:Angie: I was just gonna
say what's the replacement?
551
:The replacement is a I, I use a
I now because my shockingly I'm
552
:using it, but it makes my life a
lot of a lot easier in many ways.
553
:John: Hey look, it's, AI is perfect for
you because you just have to tell it
554
:what to do and it does it pretty much
555
:Angie: what are you trying to say?
556
:John?
557
:What are you trying to say?
558
:I just want to know.
559
:I think there was a hidden
message in there folks.
560
:John: Was it hidden, was it?
561
:Angie: You are, that was good.
562
:Bravo.
563
:Touche.
564
:You got it.
565
:Yeah, no, but I think that these
are all like really common mistakes
566
:that we make in the beginning.
567
:And I think that
568
:John: and ongoing
569
:Angie: people just have the idea, just
ask yourself, what's the, when you
570
:decide on a budget, yes, it might very
well be based on your available funds.
571
:Right.
572
:And if you don't have a budget, I've
had people, I don't know about you,
573
:but I've coached people that are
like I really don't have a budget.
574
:And I'm like wait a minute.
575
:Are you great at marketing?
576
:Can you build a website?
577
:Are you that person?
578
:Because maybe you shouldn't be a coach.
579
:Maybe you should be doing that.
580
:I don't know.
581
:But, if you don't have a budget.
582
:I think that there's I think there's a
moment of pause necessary to say, okay,
583
:wait, am I actually ready to do this?
584
:But what do you actually need?
585
:You need to figure out you need to
make a decision on a budget based also
586
:on like reality, do some research.
587
:What do you need?
588
:Do you need somebody like John
and I have very different needs.
589
:He can do so much of the back
end stuff that I don't like to do
590
:because it takes me longer to do it.
591
:So he's going to use his
budget differently than I am.
592
:So you definitely need to come out
of the gate knowing again, what are
593
:those strengths and what do you need?
594
:What do I actually need to do this?
595
:So it's not costing me
time, money, and energy.
596
:John: and not being
afraid to invest as well.
597
:I mean So much of the things we're going
to do the stuff we talk about this is
598
:all like things we took gambles on to a
degree That sometimes didn't work out.
599
:No, I mean I invested I think over 12
000 Pounds at the time because I was
600
:living in the uk Into nlp training
with one particular company that
601
:whole range of trainings did the whole
suite of trainings Was it a mistake?
602
:I don't think so.
603
:I mean, even if I don't really use that
much of the NLP now, or maybe, have maybe
604
:even some concerns about some parts of it.
605
:It got me into presenting and speaking,
which I never would have done for a
606
:myth and lots of amazing peoples who
are many, who I'm still friends with.
607
:It set me on a path that it
was transformational for me.
608
:So.
609
:Some aspects of it I could look at it as
a mistake because it didn't deliver what I
610
:expected it to when I signed up for it but
Probably got a lot more in the long run
611
:than I ever really anticipated and this is
you know, i've been doing a lot of writing
612
:working on my book and one of the things
I found myself writing the other day
613
:was about how I felt like such a failure
because I mean I Really screwed the pooch
614
:on my first sort of day Time out the
gate as a coach and busted the business
615
:pretty quick, but I thought that was it.
616
:I thought that was it.
617
:It's over It's done.
618
:My dream is finished.
619
:I'm a failure and I realized now
I wasn't a failure I just did
620
:some stuff that didn't work out
and figured out what not to do.
621
:But I felt like that was the end
of the road for me It felt like the
622
:bottom had fallen out of my world.
623
:It wasn't at all It did take a while
to recover from that, but that was
624
:mostly because of what I did to myself
in terms of my emotional journey with
625
:that thinking, you know where it took
me emotionally I had to recover from
626
:that and come back and try I honestly
didn't think I would be able to
627
:come back into coaching after that.
628
:I thought we're done But eventually
I did and you know It's clearly
629
:a part of the journey my journey
that isn't going away But
630
:Angie: And nor should it, right?
631
:Because you're, yeah, no, because it's
632
:John: but I wasn't a failure.
633
:Yeah
634
:Angie: Because here we are
talking on a podcast and who knew?
635
:John: And life is full of what we
classify as failures and successes
636
:and we tend to take them all very
personally and The less personally
637
:we can take them, the better for us.
638
:It was that thing of that Zen response
of it's interesting rather than
639
:it being good or bad is far better
one to take now hard to manage.
640
:I don't, I certainly don't always manage
it, but certainly a better approach to
641
:take that evens out a lot of the emotion
around things and perhaps stops the
642
:ego from taking over or from pulling
us down into thinking we're a failure.
643
:Mindset mistakes can be
very costly in terms of.
644
:time and the damage that they
can do to us emotionally that we
645
:usually end up doing to ourselves.
646
:Often our biggest problems or our
biggest issues are just within us.
647
:The lack of confidence, lack of ability
to sometimes say no to people when we
648
:know we really need to say no to them.
649
:And talking particularly in professional
situations here of some people who
650
:Sometimes do get very pushy on calls
with you trying to get you to sign up
651
:for something And some people really
do have a hard time saying no to that
652
:Angie: Listen, and I think
that's a muscle that you build.
653
:I think I, I believe it or not, it was
definitely a muscle that I had to build
654
:because not because I was easy to sell
to, I just told you before we got on
655
:today I can't, I am not an easy sell.
656
:I am not easy to sell anything to
even if it's like something that
657
:I know I need, love, want, desire,
I have to come to it on my own.
658
:That's who I am.
659
:So, I think that, yeah.
660
:You need to be able to discern
and there is no fire, right?
661
:There is no urgency.
662
:If something is making you feel somewhat
uncomfortable, then take a minute, take
663
:a step back and just say, you know what?
664
:We'll follow up.
665
:We'll talk another day,
but today is not the day.
666
:I just did that.
667
:I literally just did that with
a lead gen company last week.
668
:Sounded great, looked great, but
something was telling me it was off, got
669
:the free like demo Oh, here's 48 hours.
670
:Check it out.
671
:And I had questions and the
person that they assigned to me
672
:could not answer that question.
673
:And then it was a simple question.
674
:And I was then escalated to her superior.
675
:And I thought no, this is not right.
676
:And I didn't do it.
677
:Oh, and the next day I found the
space that was going to work.
678
:So it's okay.
679
:You don't owe them anything.
680
:They don't owe you anything and
you don't owe them anything.
681
:So, I don't know.
682
:I think we covered a lot today.
683
:John: I think we have.
684
:I don't think we've humiliated
ourselves with our mistakes.
685
:But I hope that
686
:Angie: been worse
687
:John: it could have been worse.
688
:Uh, there may be other ones that will
come back to us at another point.
689
:But I hope some of them
has been entertaining.
690
:With hindsight, we can look back on
a lot of them and laugh and learn
691
:from them now, because the pain of
those events is no longer with us.
692
:The financial hurt or
otherwise is is moved on from.
693
:But if any of those mistakes that
we've made help you avoid making
694
:similar ones, then definitely this
has been a very worthwhile episode.
695
:But no, we thought that this
would be great to do for us.
696
:A holiday episode.
697
:So this is our pre holiday little
gift to you and sharing some of
698
:those Gifts and insights, which
I think we do really need to know
699
:Angie: Lips skids
700
:John: The Lipskids
701
:Angie: listen, but that's right.
702
:Like I said in the beginning That's
why John and I are here if you have any
703
:questions if you actually are feeling
in the moment like Oh, I don't know.
704
:Should I do this or should
I try that reach out to us?
705
:I mean, we're happy to pose the question
have you on the show And because if
706
:you have the question, chances are
there's an abundance of people that
707
:have the same or similar question.
708
:So reach out to us.
709
:We've been doing this a really long time.
710
:And even though we poke fun at
ourselves and each other around some
711
:of the mistakes, some of them are
just inevitable and none of us was
712
:born like a business owner or a coach.
713
:So we're happy to, we're happy to, we're
happy to provide some guidance when
714
:John: We really are And you can find
both of us on linkedin we are there and
715
:if you struggle to find our profiles the
links to them are in the show notes for
716
:this episode so all you need to do is
go to the episode in your show provider
717
:and you'll find them there or if you're
watching us on youtube in the show
718
:notes for youtube Which is super easy.
719
:We all know how to use those but you
can leave us a voicemail message We
720
:would certainly love to hear your voices
and we know we've had people reaching
721
:out to us, which has been great.
722
:But we'd love to hear from you as well.
723
:So it is free to do, you can do
this through your computer if
724
:you hopefully have a microphone.
725
:And go to speakpipe.com/the
coaching Clinic podcast.
726
:You can leave us a message there
and we will feature you on the show.
727
:And yeah, if you want to come and talk
to us on the show, we'll probably figure
728
:out a way to make that happen as well.
729
:Nonetheless.
730
:Lots of great stuff to share today.
731
:And I hope that none of our
mistakes put you off going forward.
732
:Mistakes are part of
the journey to success.
733
:They are not the opposite to success.
734
:There's always going to be
failures along the way, but
735
:they are a part of the journey.
736
:Hopefully we can help you avoid some
of the costly ones but just know some
737
:of them are going to be out there and
inevitable and you will survive them
738
:and you will be greater because of it.
739
:We learn so much.
740
:We learn so much from the
mistakes that we make.
741
:So keep taking action and we will
look forward to seeing you on the next
742
:episode of the coaching clinic podcast.
743
:Angie: Bye for now.
