Listen to the podcast version of this blog post below or subscribe to the show on Itune or Stitcher to never miss an episode:
1. Have a chit chat with your inner gremlin
In the first week of Mama Bliss Coaching School my ladies and I have a frank discussion with our inner critic, or gremlin, to see what words they might be trying to poison our noble intentions with.
You know, those gargoyle-y voices that sound like Marg’s sisters on The Simpsons saying “who are you to coach when you need a coach yourself?” or “you have so much on your plate right now why would you add something else to this mix?”
Thank you dank and dark voices for your concerns but we’re going to come up with some snappy comeback to each of these. Like, “everyone, including the best coaches, needs a coach. I have my lessons learned to share and thee are women out there who need my particular gifts and perspective”. Snap of fingers inserted here.
Or, “I do have time. I will carve out an hour in the morning before the kids wake and an hour after they’ve gone to bed. A focused two hours is more potent and effective than an unfocused seven-hour day”. Snap.
You just gremlin-snapped that gremlin. In the most, loving, blissful way of course.
2. Tend to your four pillars of Mama Bliss
A little reminder, these pillars include self-care, creativity, values and simplicity. We spend the whole first module on exploring the status of our bliss because it’s that important.
Here’s where you can go to check on the state of your SHOES . Then, keep a list of your creative interests and give yourself permission to dive into one of these pursuits this season in even a small way. Finally, check in with your values and reflect on them as you ask yourself how life can be made just a notch more simple so you can live into these more fully.
With our pillars closely inspected on a seasonal basis you are assured your most powerful Mama superpower is kept in its peak condition and cleared for optimum reception: your intuition steering you toward the right path.
3. Embrace your imperfections
All Mama Bliss Coaching School Students sign a permission slip in the first module that contractually releases them from any obligation to be picture perfect. Your imperfections are what make you adorable and will attract your perfect for you clients. How contradicting, hey?
And perfection-seeking is only going to paralyze you from going after your coaching dreams. Or any dream for that matter!
4. Hone your conversation skills
- Practice listening with full attention and learning how to read in between the lines of what is being said. Coaching is like midwifery that way – sometimes the best technique to use is to just sit on your hands (or bite your tongue) and listen with your whole body.
- Allow for pause between exchanges for the words to digest.
- Be impeccable with your speech by choosing words carefully and intentionally.
- Be mindful about how much air time you’re taking up (or not).
- Allow for a natural flow to a conversation by making sure that your points build upon what your conversing partner just shared.
Choose just one of these points to practice each week. Your future practice, and those around you, will thank you for it!
5. Create a blissful work space or nook
This might be a luxury for mamas out there living in tight quarters but even a claimed corner of the living room or dining table can send out the message to the Universe you’re thinking of meaning business.
There are loads of inspiration out there on Pinterest on how to make even the most meager of spaces effective oasis of focus and bliss happenings.
6. Note the coping strategies that work in your life that might work for others
What works for you? I have this internal conversation with myself all the time (while being careful to make sure I’m not hogging up all the airtime): I got this dialed down now. Write down your dial downs.
7. Read books by coaches you admire
Or by anyone you admire for that matter. Some of the ones that were on my list a few years ago when I started on this path were anything by Martha Beck, Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching founder Jill Badonsky, Kim John Payne of Simplicity Parenting and Leonie Dawson.
8. Take ten minutes to write out what an ideal day as a coach might look like
Get into great detail: What sorts of hours would you work? Where are the kids when you’re focusing on such things? How many clients are on your roster? What weeks in the year do you take off and not work? Where do you go as a family on holidays? How much money are you making? Who are the sorts of mamas you’re working with? How are you going to reward yourself for milestones achieved?
9. Write down the greatest struggles you have overcome
Go over your life’s timeline if that helps you recall. Being a hardcore hedonist, my brain’s a little selective for recalls in this department. But begin with early childhood, move on to early adulthood before the epoch right before you had kids. Finally, think back to right after you became a mom.
You’re amazingly strong and have some wisdom and stories to share I bet!
10. Meditate on your target market and what their struggles might be
“Woah, woah, Kathy”, you’re thinking. “Isn’t this a bit premature to be thinking about market, targets and marketing goobely gook already?”
I think you’ve had one too many triple shot lattes this morning. You’re going all Martha Stewart pre-prison years on me.
Now’s as good as time as ever to explore the interesting and diverse landscape of your dream clients’ heads and to accept the fact the half of your time running a coaching biz will be made up of getting the word out about this beautiful medicine you have to offer.
That’s marketing. Get used to it!
11. Read books focused on offering solutions to these problems
In the midst of my creativity coaching training I began reading books on the side addressing mother’s guilt, time management and running women’s retreat (for deep, intensive self-care practices) because I knew that these are the areas my ideal mamas were struggling in as I have done so myself a few steps back (but have since picked up some mad skillz).
In the meantime, I was also devouring anything I could get my hands on about marketing and online biz while simplifying my life where I can and rolling around in decadent self-care everyday. Now I’m an expert on such things. Ha!
12. Wonder out loud to your partner what your becoming a coach might look like
Now is as good a time as any to at least plant the seed your considering this path and get the conversation love ball rolling. Remember to practice up a bit on point number four first.
13. Start a running list of friends and acquaintances you may one day approach to be practice clients
You’re not necessarily going to be hitting them up to be paying clients one day but soon you’ll have an impressive list of stellar mamas to call up once in a while to wonder out loud to about this coaching dream on top of your partner (but not literally on top, of course ~ that would be weird), have the emotional support and maybe offer free sessions to stretch out your coaching wings.
14. Carve out a time of day during the week to work on your coaching practice
Start implementing this time now, even unofficially, as time to daydream about becoming a coach. If you decide this is not the path your going to set out on, keep this time to tend to another area of self-development or career research.
15. Design a strategy and seek the support to protect this time
Some ideas might include waking up early, staying up late, hiring extra childcare, talk to your partner to watch the kids right before dinner or on Saturday mornings, babysitting co-op, a wholesome video on Friday mornings while mama gets her dreaming cap on.
16. Start a blog if you don’t already have one
It’s pretty much essential now that for any sort of coaching practice (or business for that matter) to have a website that has regular (at least once every two weeks) updates. Now’s as good as time as any to start getting comfy with putting your opinions and unique perspective on your ideal clients’ struggles and celebrations out there to the world at large.
This doesn’t even have to be a public or necessarily fancy blog. I started off super low key with a free blogspot blog. Once I knew I loved this creative outlet I switched over to a paid, but still not that expensive, platform.
Finally, when I made the move to make money online I invested in a web designer and a WordPress site four years ago and this is what you see here today.
17. Take an ecourse if you have never taken one or if it’s been a while
You should get familiar with how these puppies roll. Once you have taken a few you have an idea of what turns you on, turns you off and get’s you accustomed to the online purchasing process which, once again, is very likely if you become a coach this will be the way you’re going to get paid.
Not to mention that coaching naturally extends itself to needing different income streams and options for your dream clients to work with you so there’s probably an ecourse creation experience in your future. Don’t be scared. It’s fun and there’s loads of support out there to help you crank out an effective but simple one.
Taking ecourses will also bring to your attention what resonates with you in terms of delivery of material and duration of the ecourse itself. After experiencing many, many ecourse I noticed I personally love an audio component to listen to while I’m cooking or walking the dog, worksheets to help organize my thoughts and a short and sweet duration.
18. When your friend thanks you for listening – turn up that feeling
Other than the blog writing, newsletter sending, book keeping, administrative tasks like scheduling meetings and social media updates ~ this is what coaching feels like. It feels like you connected with another soul, shined a light on their own strength and knowing and made a difference to their day and perhaps even their life.
And I thank you for listening. Now go turn up that feeling that thanks gave you with a deep breath in and then go sign yourself up for a huge sneak peek into coaching if you haven’t done so already!
