Deb's Newsletter
A Change... |
January 12th, 2012 |
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EMPOWER YOURSELF “A CHANGE…” “You are always a valuable, worthwhile human being – not because somebody says so, not because you’re successful, not because you make a lot of money – but because you decide to believe it and for no other reason.” Wayne Dyer It’s been quite a while since my last newsletter, but I felt that now is a good time to touch base. I am going through a change, both professionally and personally. It’s all good, but I feel very unsettled. Just over a year ago the majority of my time was spent working in my profession as a life coach. I very much had a purpose and I felt good knowing that I was helping a lot of people lead stronger, happier lives. Then, last January things started to change. My husband and I decided to turn his hobby into a business – thus, Raven’s Custom Keepsakes was born. Clyde is the very talented and patient artist in the partnership and I stick to what I know – the business end. We were very excited – a match made in heaven! I would go out and do the marketing and get the orders, and then Clyde would create the displays. This would still allow me the time I wanted to invest in my coaching business. The first 5 months of last year were very exciting. We were busy building a workshop space for Clyde to do his craft and at the same time, learning about all of the supplies, materials, and equipment that we had to purchase in order to create the displays. In addition, my coaching business was thriving. I was the busiest that I had ever been! We even managed to fit in a wonderful 3 week family vacation to Barbados. We were rockin and rollin! As is typical, my coaching business really slowed down in the summer, but I was ready for some down time. I set up some marketing opportunities and some advertising for Raven’s Custom Keepsakes, but those were not until the fall. Clyde was busy working full time for the City and then was coming home to create more sports displays to get ready for the Christmas craft shows and sales. If all went according to plan, we would make our million in the new business over the Christmas buying frenzy, I would continue coaching and Clyde would retire from the City in the spring of 2012. Life was good! Well, we learned very quickly that the best laid out plans rarely unfold as expected. Because of circumstances beyond his control, Clyde decided to retire in Sept. 2011 – 8 months before the original plan. Okay…we will just have more time to focus our energy into Raven’s Custom Keepsakes to make up for the loss of income. We will go into more craft sales and do more advertising. We will put up posters in every arena in the City so that every hockey and ringette parent will see what we do. No problem! After a retirement vacation, our batteries were recharged, we were focused and determined to be financially successful in both of our businesses. Fast forward to today. Once again, I am in a different situation that I thought I would be - I am not as busy as I would like to be. You’d think that I would be okay with some down time, but I’m not. First, Raven’s Custom Keepsakes did pretty well for its first year in business. We didn’t make our million but we did okay. On the plus side, we learned a ton, such as: craft sales were not the way to promote our products and that it is probably not a good idea to tie up thousands of dollars in inventory. This year, we will know better. Second, my husband has now been retired (which means at home) for 5 months. This is a big change for me as this was my domain. I had my schedule and my routine – both for work and for play. I ate what I wanted when I wanted and I came and went without any explanations to anyone. This has all changed. Not necessarily for the worse, (I adore my husband) but changed. And third, my coaching business has dramatically changed. This has been the hardest thing for me to deal with. I still love coaching and I very much believe in the process. However, the profession has changed dramatically since I started my business in 2006. When I first started, my biggest challenge in getting business was explaining to people what a life coach was and how working with one could impact your life, as there was only a handful of life coaches in Winnipeg at that time. Now, my biggest challenge is not to be embarrassed what I do professionally as now it seems like everyone and their dog is a coach of some kind. I find that people roll their eyes now when I tell them what I do. This is not a good feeling. I used to attend professional networking groups and be proud to explain what I did. Now, I just don’t go because there are usually several other coaches (of one kind or another) in the room and this makes me feel insignificant. Now, I know that I shouldn’t feel this way and that I should just rise above all the nonsense, but I’m finding it increasingly difficult to do. I have done a lot of training and put a lot of work into building my coaching practice over the past 6 years and it bothers me that so many others are watering down the profession. Now, don’t get me wrong – there are a lot of great coaches out there who are properly trained and qualified. My hat is off to these people and I welcome the competition. However, I have people contact me (almost on a weekly basis) who want to become a coach and want to know how I built my business. Most of these people have no training, no experience, and no communication skills. Their main motivation is not to work for someone else, set their own hours, and make lots of money. Great! All terrific reasons for having your own business. What most of them do not understand is that you need proper training and that you need to invest time and money into doing this. Most cannot be bothered and simply want to know if I would be interested in giving them the clients that I am too busy for. I have never been too busy to help anyone who needed help. Money has never been my motivation for coaching. The sense of satisfaction that I get knowing that I help people change their lives is more rewarding than money. Sure, I have bills to pay, and I feel that I have earned my fees. I also know that every client that I work with gets their money worth and more. I have worked hard to get to this point in my business. So, where does all this leave me? Honestly, I’m not sure. I love coaching, but I don’t want to go out and market myself. I love facilitating coaching workshops, but this too has been saturated. Post Christmas is not a big selling time for sports memorabilia displays. I want to enjoy doing less. I want to be comfortable just being me instead of getting most of my personal satisfaction from being “Coach Deb”. I want to feel good about “semi-retirement” instead of feeling lazy. By writing this newsletter, I have started to take action. That’s the first step. Next, I will work with my life coach to re-focus and to get clarity around what path I will take next in my life. I know that change is inevitable. I know that change is good. I also know that acceptance is the key to change. Deb Raven – Certified Coach - Life Is What You Make It – 204-257-4240 90 Minute Lazer Coaching Session – Only $139.00 (limited time offer until Feb. 10/12) In this session you will: Get clear on the issues you would like to change Set up an action plan Uncover any blocks or barriers that may get in your way |
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Past Newsletters:
January 12th, 2012 - A Change...
May 3rd, 2011 - Something New for Spring
January 28th, 2011 - Out With the Old, In With the New
October 4th, 2010 - Coaching / Vision Board Workshop
August 31st, 2010 - Never Say Never
More Past Newsletters