One of the most determined, successful life and business coaching clients I’ve had was , Connie Kadansky.  She has an uncanny ability to listen, focus anddo the work -- which gets her results quickly.
 
I recently asked her what she thought has helped her the most to be successful in business. This is Connie’s answer.
 

I get calls all the time from people thinking about becoming either a life or business coach. It’s rewarding, life-changing work. What could be better than helping people be their best selves? Like any profession, it must suit a person’s personality. Here is some straight talk about what to consider before becoming a coach.   
 

The Worst Thing About Being a Coach is…

“The risk of isolation.  Working 90 percent on the telephone in my home office can be lonely.  I love the freedom to take a walk during the day and dress comfortably but I miss the water-cooler conversation.”
 
Katharine Halpin
CEO & Executive Coach
Phoenix, AZ 85012
HalpinCompany.com

As a business coach and consultant I often come across struggling entrepreneurs who believe that being self-employed means doing it ALL BY YOURSELF.

Signs You are an Entrepreneur who is Reluctant to Build a Team...

When you…

• Believe it’s easier to do it yourself.

• Multi-task.

• Are focused on having everything perfect.

• Mistake activity for achievement.

• Catch yourself wanting to control every aspect.

• Confuse self-esteem with being self-reliant.

• Think things are urgent and can't wait for someone else to do it.

• Often feel overwhelmed.

• Believe to accomplish more, you just need to buckle down and work harder.

There are so many coaching programs out there now. Some are franchises like ActionCoach.com, or certification programs like DreamCoach.com, or a variation like LiveOutloud.com, which hires verifiable millionaire coaches after they complete all of Loral Langemeirer’s seminars.

I thought it would be good information to do a comparison between a coaching program and an individual coach.

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I asked some of the successful coaches I know that have been in the business for years what they thought:

KATHERINE HALPIN, Executive Coach & Leadership Strategist,
www.HalpinCompany.com

There are some people who would not profit from hiring a business coach. It would waste time and money. A business coach would only serve to rob them of   hours away from doing the work they love and helping others.

Here are Some Signs you DON'T Need to Hire a Business Coach...

• You wake up every morning and can't wait to get started on your work day and at night have to literally pry yourself away.
• You have more passion for your work than you did on your first day.
• You have more than enough clients or job opportunities.

You have invested in yourself and hired a business coach. As a result, you’ve saved countless hours of learning the hard way and your career has progressed by leaps and bounds. Now your momentum has slowed. Your enthusiasm has waned. And your sense of purpose has drifted.

You’ve switched hair stylists. You’ve switched investment advisors. You’ve switched child care providers. When your intuition, your heart and the face in the mirror told you the timing was right you’ve switched professionals. Could it be time to switch business coaches?

Here are some signs it’s time to change business coaches…

When you find yourself…

As many of you know, I’ve recently started offering “pay what you can” afford business coaching and life coaching sessions and workshops.

I’m not the only one. I’m part of a “pay what you can” movement. Restaurants, theaters, yoga classes, personal trainers, speakers, spas, cab drivers and health care clinics, just to name a few, have initiated this. I just heard an interview on the concept of “pay what you can.”

In the 11 years that I have been a business coach, I have noticed some disadvantages that women business owners face far more often than men. It must be the way we were raised and a belief system we bought into. I think these are among the primary reasons we aren’t as successful as a whole in business as men.

Here’s Some of the Disadvantages Being a Woman Entrepreneur-

We have a tendency to…

• Think multi-tasking is normal and pride ourselves at being good at it.
• Have an “I’ll do-it-myself attitude".

Before you charge ahead and start your business, consider the stumbling blocks first. Your business success depends on how well you adjust and resolve these disadvantages.

Here are Some of the Many Disadvantages of Being an Entrepreneur:

• You can’t blame the boss.
• Things constantly change, especially with this economy.
• You’ll have to learn to like marketing and sales, whether you supervise or do it yourself.
• To be successful, you must make and follow a budget.
• You have to make lots of decisions quickly all of the time.

Is your financial situation getting worse by the day? Are you having a hard time finding a job because you aren’t willing to change careers or move to a different city? Is your business suffering because you don’t want to change the way you market or what products you’re selling?

I came to a crossroads several months ago.

Clients were starting to drop off faster than I added them, something I was not use too. The old standbys of networking and asking for referrals were not as effective as before. Other life coaches and business coaches began to buzz about getting clients off the internet.

Welcome to the world of Vickie! As I have been watching the news, with the markets crashing and home foreclosures increasing and social security disappearing, I have also been watching levels of panic and confusion rising among the people around me. I’ve had a strong desire to reach out to as many people as I can and, using my knowledge and expertise, do my part to take the fear away through these changing times.