This is the time of year that many non profit and professional associations look to their membership to fill board roles for the coming year.

Why, as a business owner, was it important for me to serve on a board?

Giving back 

When what an organization stands for is something you can get behind, serving on the board of that organization allows you to have a direct impact in the work that org is doing in the community/world.  You have an opportunity to shape what is happening and what is being offered.  I have been a board member of WBON, Raleigh – serving as their Programs Chair; Chix in Business – serving as their Program Coordinator, Programs Chair, Vice President, President; ICF Raleigh – serving as their Vice President, President and now Past President.  In each of these organizations, especially the last two, I was/am integral in helping the organization grow and manage change.

Showing your work ethic and personality

When you step up to a role on a board, it may have nothing to do with your business, yet it speaks to your character.  It allows your fellow board members, and the members at large, get to know you more deeply.  That knowledge helps build connection and trust, which leads to stronger connections and ultimately may lead to more business.   My intention with board membership in every one of these organization was to make stronger connections in my community and to use my strengths were they are needed.  A nice byproduct was increased business too 🙂

Being visible

As an introvert, having a job do do/role to play where I can be helpful allows me to step out of my comfort zone more freely.  By doing that, I am able to shine where as a member I tend to be more quiet and in the background.   Being visible is also somewhat out of my comfort zone – though getting more comfortable the more I do it.

In the early days, as I mentioned in a previous post, I was out in the community a lot. After a while I found myself a bit overwhelmed by all that I was doing and had to make some decisions. …

• I was attending every event, meeting and learning program I could find.  It left me racing from place to place – then back home again  for client meetings.  Not an ideal use of energy.
• Some clients wanted to meet me in person and I chose coffee shops.  That too, left me racing from meeting to meeting, just making it home in time for a client call.

It was time to make some decisions.

I began to evaluate all of the groups whose meetings I was attending, and decided to choose one to  commit to.  One that I felt a great connection to and sense of real community with.  One that I wanted to dive more fully into and get involved.

I also realized that I loved meeting clients in person, yet had to do it in a way that better conserved my time/energy, so I chose to invite clients to my home office instead of meeting at a public place.

What were some outcome of my choices?

Getting more fully committed to one group enriched my experience with them, and made all the time I spent more enjoyable and rewarding

Opening up my home office to my clients added a more personal experience for us both, allowing clients to more fully open up than they could in a coffee shop.

These are just a few examples of how balance has shifted over time as I consistently evaluate how I am spending my energy and what needs to change to keep me as “balanced” as I can be.

As an introvert by nature, it is often easy for me to blend into the background and be a listener and learner when I attend events.  This time I wanted that to be different.  I truly wanted to make a name for myself in this community and to do that I knew that I had to be more “out there”, not just a participant.  It was time for me to get uncomfortable again and volunteer to take an active role in one of these organizations I had been attending.

My first commitment was to Raleigh WBON as Programs Chair; my next was with Chix in Business as Programs Coordinator, then Program Chair, then Vice President then President; My latest has been with the ICF Raleigh Chapter first as Vice President, then President and now Past President.

What did these experiences do for me?

Well, my initial intention with getting involved was to get better connected to the small business community and other coaches here.   I was curious about what my colleagues were doing, how they were doing it, and how I could help them (as a colleague, not as a coach).

Believe it or not, my goal was not to get business – rather it was to get known!  

Therefore, I chose to dive in and help, almost immediately after joining, in whatever way I could.  The roles I chose were within my strengths and also slightly (and not so slightly) out of my comfort zone.

Being on committees and boards allowed me to truly connect with the other committee/board members – so much so that I developed some long lasting friendships and alliances.

Interestingly, though I rarely “promoted coaching” (except for the usual 30 second introduction at monthly member meetings), over my years of service, I have attracted many new clients through these groups!

How might you get more involved in your community groups?

What will you need to believe about that to make it happen?

To learn more about what kind of involvement is right for you, check out The Coaches Lab

Throughout my coaching career, I have been fortunate to have been introduced to some great organizations that I became affiliated with to offer my coaching services through.

Creative Golf/ThinkWork Play

When I arrived in Raleigh, my focus was to get out of my house and meet people in this new community I lived in.  One way I did that was volunteering, another was attending events.  In two of those experiences, when mentioning that I was a coach, a woman I met through my volunteer work said “I worked with a coach, her name is Susan…”  and then, a few weeks later, a woman I met at an event said “I have a friend who is a coach, her name is Susan…”  Turned out to be the same Susan, so of course I had to meet her.

When Susan and I met, she said she had someone else she wanted me to meet, Doug, someone who she had been creating a special coaching program with, using golf.  I must admit (as I did to Susan and Doug at the time) that I was not a golfer.  They were happy that I was not as their program focused on using golf in an experiential coaching program to foster team building – and there would be participants who were not golfers either.

So…I stretched out of my comfort zone, learned how to work a golf cart :), and became an affiliate coach with ThinkWorkPlay!

The Coach Connection

One of the many places I spent time my first couple of years in business was as a guest at local BNI (Business Networking International) meetings.  At one of those meetings I met a coach, Christy, who I had noticed earlier on the ICF directory as someone I had been wanting to meet.  So, when I saw her at that meeting, I immediately asked if she wanted to get coffee to learn more about each other.  We did, and a friendship/colleague relationship blossomed!

She then introduced me to The Coach Connection, an organization that matches clients with coaches.  In the last several years I have been an affiliate coach with them, I have been referred to clients all over the country (and a few international) that I would not have found (nor they me) on my own.

Organizations

While contracting with organizations is not a large focus of my business, I have had a few great opportunities and want to share how they came about.

A client found me online who was seeking coaching to have a better relationship with his boss and colleagues. We started working together and he achieved great success, so much so that his boss noticed a change in him and asked about it. Well, she happened to be an HR Director and she wound up hiring me to coach her! Then, she asked if I wanted to coach some of the managers in her company, this time having the company pay for it. I’ve been doing that ever since and love the clients I’m working with there!

So you see, opportunities to align with different organizations and people can come from many sources.  So, get out there, begin to meet people, and take inspired action (often out of your comfort zone) and you too, may discover amazing possibilities in your own alliances!

Partnerships

While on the board of the ICF Raleigh Chapter I had the opportunity to meet, and get to know, Noa Ronen, a fellow coach.  Earlier this year she approached me with an idea to create a program to help coaches be successful.  The timing was perfect as I was already thinking similar ideas so I jumped at the chance to partner with her!  That collaboration lead us to create The Coaches Lab – helping coaches to build their confidence as they build their business.

If you want the opportunity to create alliances with other coaches as you each build your business…check out The Coaches Lab

MANY FACTORS GO INTO BEING A SUCCESSFUL COACH WITH A THRIVING BUSINESS, HERE ARE SOME HABITS THAT CAN HELP YOU WHEN YOU START YOUR COACHING BUSINESS

SUCCESSFUL COACHES KEEP THEMSELVES BUSY WITH WHAT CREATES MONEY AND IMPACT

When starting their business, successful coaches keep busy with the right activities. Busy feels good, because we don’t need to stop and think about our fears, or why the clients don’t call.  Being the “right kind” of busy is most important. Ask yourself – Does what I’m working on feel totally in line with my core business purpose/my message? How is what I am keeping busy with creating impact or money?

SUCCESSFUL COACHES DON’T FEEL GUILTY USING OTHER SKILLS IN ADDITION TO COACHING

We hear that all the time: “I have a new client, but they want me to also do some business consulting, I am not sure what to do”. Stop! And ask yourself what are you good at? Bring all your tools into the relationship with your clients. This is why your clients hired you! You have special skills and knowledge that they don’t have and need. When you teach a client how to write a resume or write their business plan there are always opportunities to coach – when the fear and lack of confidence holding your clients from moving forward – this is where your coaching skills will show up and give the impact your clients was looking for. Remember clients hire you to solve their problem!

SUCCESSFUL COACHES SLOW DOWN AND LOOK INSIDE

New coaches meet with their coaching friends to hear what they do, they check on every blog post and every video of other successful coaches and think it will help them figure out how to make their business work. Experienced and successful coaches know that the coach training didn’t end when they left the coaching school. They know that this is a life long journey and to be sure they are walking their path and creating the business they want they have learned who they are as a coach, their purpose and the value they give their clients. Slow down and look inside.

SUCCESSFUL COACHES ARE GENTLE WITH THEMSELVES

As being seen in the “inside out” movie, it is not a secret that we all have inner voices in our head. Some are very loud and limiting/suppressing and some are enabling and encouraging. While life happens and things can get messy, successful coaches avoid self-judgment and mean self-talk. Coaches who are good at staying on track make a conscious choice to continually talk to themselves about what is working and what is not working, and make decisions to change direction if needed.

SUCCESSFUL COACHES HAVE DEVELOPED A STRONG SUPPORT NETWORK

They know they can’t do it all alone. They have a strong support network they can depend upon to help them get through difficult times. They are givers, who typically extend themselves to help out in their communities. Many of them join mastermind groups or have mentors/coaches to keep supporting them on their path.

Stefanie Zizzo, PCC and Noa Ronen, MBA, ACC coaches and group facilitators are the founders of the Coaches Lab Program. This is a 5-day face-to-face group program where coaches meet once a month to build their confidence to build their business.  They call it the Coaches Lab because the program is a safe space for the participants to experiment with what’s working so each will find their unique direction and system for success.  

Learn how you could participate in The Coaches Lab

SPECIAL OFFER – on August 19th , 12pm EST Stefanie & Noa will have a special Free Introductory Webinar about the program. It will include tips and exercises to uncover hidden challenges that may be sabotaging the growth of your business and keeping you working too many hours with no real results and no sense of structure.  Webinar participants are also eligible for an discount on the full program registration fee.

To sign up for the webinar email Stefanie & Noa at thecoacheslab@gmail.com, with Webinar in the subject line.  Please include your full name and contact information.

For a self-confessed non-tech person, I do have a great love-relationship with some select technology that has helped my business grow.

Let’s start with WordPress.  If not for it, you would not be reading this blog post.  What do I love about it?  It’s intuitive, easy to use, changeable and customizable.  You see, I am the type of person that loves to play with technology to helps me share information that is pleasing to the eye.  With WordPress, I was able to create my website, my way, on my own – and update it as frequently as I like.  How has it helped my business grow?  The web is where many of my clients find me.  They tell me that they spent time on my site, that it was easy to navigate and follow, that they watched my videos and feel they got to know me a bit.  That has all been possible with WordPress!

When I started my business, I began writing a newsletter to be able to stay connected to my network, prospects and clients.  To create and disseminate this, I needed a tool to make it professional and easy.   iContact is the tool I chose and have been using for several years.  What do I love about it?  It’s inexpensive, easy to customize, allows me to create drafts way ahead on my time, and schedule releases to go out when I want them to.  How has it helped my business grow?  My “stay connected” newsletter allows me to remain visible to my community while sharing value.  These gentle reminders that I’m here prompts prospects that have been “following” me for a while to take the leap to reach out, former clients to begin working with me again on a new endeavor, and connections to invite me to present a seminar to their group or organization.  iContact is my tool of choice to make this newsletter a quick and easy system to use.

In my 10 years of coaching, I have worked with many clients and have volumes of notes from coaching sessions.  I am still very much a paper girl and taking handwritten notes works best for me when in a client session.  Transcribing those notes to the computer always seemed like a daunting task that I never did undertake, though I knew there could be value in having them online in a secure place.  Enter Evernote!  What do I love about it?  Evernote is the most versatile tool to capture all kinds of notes from handwritten (I can take a photo of it) to web based resources (can copy/paste).  It is searchable on any keyword I choose – so I can easily find whatever I’m looking for quickly, without having to remember what I named it, and it’s password protected!  How has it helped my business?  While an administrative tool, it does not have direct impact on my business growth, but it does on my time!  That time saved is then used to focus on more business growth activities.

So you see, whether you consider yourself a tech person or not, there is value in using technology to help your business grow.  The key is finding the best tools to fit your personal business needs!

I remember the first seminar I delivered as a business owner.  I was terrified!  Now, I had been delivering seminars and workshops for 11 years, probably more than 100 of them, yet this time felt like my first.

It was my first as a business owner, my first in this community that was still very new to me, my first of this type of topic.  So, very understandable that I was so nervous – so much so that my husband remembers me saying to him, minutes before I was leaving, that I wish I had never scheduled it.  And then, so glad I did 🙂

It was fantastic – the best I had ever experienced!!

It was at a local library (Eva Perry for those of you in the Triangle) and there were about 30 people there – all eager to learn and grow!  I was prepared with my topic (Stepping Outside and Experiencing Life I believe was the title) yet also opened it up to be more of a “conversation” with the participants, allowing them to ask questions throughout, share their experiences pertaining to the topic.  There was such great energy in the room, and everyone was truly present.

I walked away from that experience relieved that I could do it, excited about the receptivity of the participants, and hopeful that this marketing stream was a viable one for me.

What else did I experience as a result of this first seminar?

• New clients – at least two if I remember correctly from that first one, and many new clients from all the other seminars I have delivered since then
• A mastermind partnership – we met for close to a year helping each other grow along with another woman she introduced me to
• Two great friendships – felt a “connection” there which developed into friendships
• Credibility – was able to “shop” my seminars to all the other libraries in the area
• Visibility – delivered seminars through the library system for close to 7 years after that – and they offered wonderful marketing for my programs.

When I started my business I was deep in learning mode, especially learning how to market my business.  In those early days I tried many different strategies and committed my energy and time to “making them work”.

So, much to my dismay, after about 3 months of this commitment to my marketing, I was still not getting the results I wanted (or expected I “should” be getting).  I remember being at one networking meeting and having a conversation about this with another business owner I knew and found myself saying out loud “am I doing anything right?”

What I learned, through that conversation and in the months that followed was that “right” is relative.  Right meant, for me

• Choosing the marketing activities that aligned with my values – they felt good ethically
• Consistently choosing some activities that got me out of my comfort zone – which for me meant being more visible in the community and online
• Choosing methods that were putting me in front of prospective clients – meaning I was in the “right” space

What I also learned was PATIENCE!  Most marketing methods take time to work, to sink in, and get some “legs” under them.  I learned that

• Consistency was key, sticking with the methods that fit the above criteria long enough to begin to see results (that often takes several months or more)
• Trusting that what I was doing WOULD work
• Periodically evaluating (not every day/moment) the results to know if something needed tweaking or needed to be let go of.

What happened?  Well, I was doing many things that were “right” and pretty soon I began to see the fruits of my labor!

Getting Connected in my Community

Though my coaching business technically was started in March 2005, I launched into it full time in August 2005 when we moved to Apex, NC from Long Island.

Here I was in a new city where I knew not a single person (except for my husband of course). Luckily I had a great coach who encouraged (well maybe challenged) me to get out in the community and start meeting people. Well, to the still relatively shy me, that was out of my comfort zone. I realized I had a choice. While my body/mind wanted me to stay nice and invisible (comfortable) in my house, in my heart and soul I new it was time to make the leap and get out into this new world (literally and figuratively)

Fortunately, in my community there is a never ending array of business groups and community groups to get involved in. So what did I do? I tried everything!

Luckily, in the Raleigh area there was (and is) an abundance of opportunities to get connected in the community.  Here are some I experienced

Volunteered at Retails Thrift Store in Raleigh one day per week for several months – here I was in my element (as a thrift store junkie) and felt useful (as I was slowly building my business) and was able to meet some great people – one of whom years later became a client, colleague and friend.

Volunteered at Marbles Museum – for just one day – there I met some great people, one who later invited me to present a few workshops at the Raleigh Jaycees – this same person also connected me to a coach she knew (more on that in a future post)

Women Business Owners Network (WBON) Wake County chapter – liked that it was a small group, again met some great people, some of whom I would meet again at other groups.  I also volunteered to run Programs for this group for that first year (more on that in a later post).  PS – they also have a Cary chapter.

Chix in Business – after leaving WBON, I found Chix – a group of dynamic and creative women business owners.  I also joined that board (more on that later) Though my focus was purely to be connected to the community, the outcome included many clients and friendships.

Cary Newcomers Club – met some great women in the community through the many programs they had each month that truly focused on getting connected.  Met a woman who has become one of my closest friends here.

These were just a few of the ways I started to get connected to my community during my first year or two in business.   As you can see, I gave and received, developed some wonderful friendships and built my visibility at the same time.

When I was enrolled in my coaching program, I asked the question “how long does it take to build a viable coaching business?”  I meant a business that is actually earning “enough” money to be sustainable.  I was told about 18-36 months.  So, being the self competitive person that I am, my challenge was to do it in 18 months.

I also wanted to give myself a little wiggle room and be more “realistic” so my initial commitment was 2 years.  What that commitment meant to me was

• I would stay the course for the full two years, no matter how it was going or how I felt (more on that roller coaster ride in a later post)
• During those two years I would treat this as a full time business (even though I certainly did not have a full time client schedule yet (more on that in a later post too)
• At the end of the two years I would evaluate – did I like it?  Am I making a living doing it?

As you can see, that two year commitment paid off – as it is now 10 years and I’m loving it!    That two year commitment took the pressure off of me to constantly be thinking “should I be doing this”, it also took away the idea of “should I just go get a job”.  Two questions I most likely would have been asking myself since there were so many growing pains during that time.

To prepare for that two year commitment, my husband and I also took a look at our finances and determined how much money I  “needed” to earn during that time to allow us to continue paying our bills.   That also took off some pressure because we chose the lowest number possible which felt very manageable.  Of course, we also cut our spending as much as possible during that time too, in order to make it even more manageable.   This took away the fear/worry of “I have to get clients” and allowed me to “work my plan” trusting that in time, clients would come.  And they did!

What commitments are you ready to make?

What commitments have you made?

Want support as you make (and hold) your commitments?  Check out The Coaches Lab