NEW BLOG POST – I’m not Available all the Time
Back when I started business coaching in 2018, I was accessible 24/7 to my clients; most messages and emails were responded to immediately, and if not, at least within 30 minutes, rain, hail or shine.
My notifications are constant, my phone pinging all day long.
Because that’s what I thought you had to do to be a good coach, … but very soon, I ended up burnt out, exhausted and not being the best coach I could be.
Was I really empowering my clients by answering every question they ever had immediately, or was I actually keeping them firmly disempowered and giving them a scapegoat instead of an accountability partner and guide on this journey?
I untwined myself so deeply with their business that I felt personally responsible for every success and every failure. How could I do more, and do better … I constantly attached my worth to the success and happiness of my clients,
Now in a normal balanced way, caring about your clients is pretty bloody important. In fact it’s integral.
But texting back a client, taking calls at 6 am, ignoring my kids in favour of 200 texts a day back and forth with my clients
That was not ok, that was not healthy, that wasn’t serving them or me.
Because of this cycle of over giving, I constantly felt misaligned with my pricing. I was GIVING so much every single second of the day, and so had to have my prices reflect that kind of service. So the price for coaching with me began at 1000k a month and sometimes went up to 5000k a month depending on how many scheduled phone calls they desired and what phase of business they were in; both start-up and scaling needed huge amounts of time on my behalf.
I constantly felt the friction between the value I was offering, and how much it took out of me which in turn made me feel like my pricing was too low all the time. It was a toxic cycle of charging more, over-deliver, so charging more and over-deliver. Sell people into a thousand-dollar a month coaching package and then double down on the value.
But that’s all I knew, that’s all I saw, that was the product and service I had been told by my coach to sell … and it made me a lot of money, and it helped my clients, but it left me burned out, resentful and frustrated.
I didn’t know any better. Now I do.
Now I take weekends … without my laptop
Now the notifications are turned OFF on my phone
Now I have firm boundaries about when I reply to emails
Now I have 2 companies to run and a team who helps the back-end systems work
Now my clients are so much more empowered, they are moving forwards faster and having even quicker results than ever before
Now I love my business
Now I over-deliver and exceed expectations, but I also know how to guide instead of micro-manage.
Now I feel comfortable in my pricing, knowing that I charge for my time and hourly rate in a way that feels good.
I had to learn a lot along the way. And it wasn’t the type of journey you would normally expect “hey girl, i just doubled my prices, took fewer clients and hit 6 figures #bossbitch”
Mine was a little more, deep diving into why I’ve been so resistant to business coaching 2019-2021 … really sitting with my prices, what I offer, and how I structure it.
When I took biz coaching clients, listening to my body and my nervous system, what felt good for me? What felt shitty for me? What did they get out of it? What could have been done better?
Constantly asking for feedback, surveys, testimonials, how can i do better, did i meet your expectations, was the pricing correct in your eyes.
And all of that over the past 6 months has really led me to this place today
Where I charge less and coach more.
Yep, that’s not a typo, I cut the price of my monthly strategy call packages from $1000 to only $666 AUD,
of course there are other options for different levels of support and working with me, but strategy calls have very firm boundaries.
And because i have firm boundaries around this type of coaching now, it actually feels really fucking amazing turning up to my client’s session, setting my times, and doing our call.
No notifications 24/7, no micromanaging, no 1 hour accountability check-ins… just me trusting and knowing that my clients are badasses and that they will action all of our sessions strategy and plans.
Of course, I’m only an email away if they need some support, but those emails are answered during business hours now.
if they desire a high level of coaching, then I have voxer support and the Badass + Bulletproof container.
Say it with me “boundaries baby”
It feels so good!
I love it… like, I LOVE this work so much, I love my clients so much … It just feels so incredible.
Because of the structure and boundaries, I now have the capacity to take on more clients and help more women in business. Whereas before, I might have charged more, but I was constantly so burnt out that I didn’t feel able to work with more than 1-2 women at a time.
Now, ironically I have more impact, and more income, and my business feels GOOD!
Trust yourself …
Back yourself …
Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it ….
Make your own rules, babe. You got this …
x Shona
