One client had a successful career as an accountant while also occasionally leading training programs for various groups. But she was unhappy and felt stuck and wanted things to change, but wasn’t sure how. As part of the coaching process we helped her peel back the layers of limiting beliefs so that she could see what she really wanted to be doing with her life. What she discovered was that she wanted to leave behind her accounting practice and be more of a speaker and educator. She loved the idea of traveling, educating people, and exploring more of the creative side of her personality. She also loved the idea of increasing her income, and in particular receiving passive income by turning all her years of accounting and small business consulting into products.
When we first started working together we had to distill down her topic and target market. She was trying to offer too many small business management topics for too many types of people in too many industries– making it hard to sell her services. When you are niched, you tend to expand your business rapidly. I asked her which of her many training programs had the combination of getting the most positive feedback, and being the one she most loved to present. That ended up being about how to Systematize Your Business so you are not your business, but could have others running it while you still were the main owner. This would free people up to work less or sell their business at a profit if necessary.
Then we looked at the wide range of industries she worked for. We looked at which one had the overlap of being most in need of this solution, having the financial means to pay for it, and the group that she most loved working with. This turned out to be the health and wellness industry. Then we worked at turning her training and consulting into a one hour engaging, entertaining keynote with one specific message that would attract people to buy her products and services. That required research, guidance, and practice over time. Together we loosened up her dry style of educating– she thought that if you are an accountant talking about numbers that you had to be boring — which turned out not to be true. We made her more into more the entertainer she really wanted to be. Then with my team we helped re-create her web site, marketing copy and created for her a step by step process for getting speaking engagements. Together we worked on a one minute, four-minute and 18 minute presentations. As part of the Inner Circle coaching she got a chance to do her 18 minute presentation in front of an audience and we videotaped it.
She got the feedback that was so important not only from her audience, but from herself. It was a big hit. This gave her the confidence to move forward. Plus she now had video footage for her website and YouTube. Three months after that she started getting at least one speech a month and only spoke at Health and Wellness industry events—so the word of mouth grew. Three years after that she was living her dream life. She is working almost exclusively as a speaker and trainer getting to travel to big industry events in the West Indies and Europe. Her income has quadrupled– going from low six figures to a seven figure income, and she is earning over half her income from passive sources. Since she turned the speech she created into a book, audio and video program. This has given her a much more leisurely lifestyle that has allowed her more time with her family, for exercise, travel and to make a much bigger difference for far more people.