130: A Surprising Way to Boost Your Coaching Income

This episode is short and eye opening. Find the Show Notes at prosperouscoach.com/130.The other day I was helping one of my VIP clients set her fees for her Signature Program and our conversation inspired this episode. Anything having to do with money in your coaching business such as income and fees brings up old emotions:1.     Fear of succeeding and failing.2.     Insecurity about worth.3.     Family or cultural beliefs about money.4.     Fear of rejection.5.     And, mistaken assumptions about why people buy.I always encourage my clients to “do the math” rather than choose fees emotionally or based on erroneous ideas about what the market will bear.By becoming somewhat dispassionate and stepping into the practical coaches can begin to understand how they can help themselves earn well.Setting low fees is the most common way that coaches shoot themselves in the foot. Another way is by not setting goals. And coaches aren’t the only ones who fail to set business goals.Why don’t people set financial and other metric goals for their business?Well, it’s the same 5 reasons I listed above — fears, insecurities, learned beliefs and mistaken assumptions.But here’s what I know for sure … if you do NOT set goals you’ll fail to grow your coaching business income. If you do set goals you will earn more. It’s as simple as that.Let’s say in the first full year of your coaching business you don’t set any goals. Instead you just hope for the best and serendipitously earn $25,000 (for simplicity I’m talking dollars here).Now let’s say you, in an alternative universe, risk setting a stretch goal to earn $100,000 in that first year and you earned $75,000. Would you beat yourself up about that? No, you’d be thrilled! And you’d be inspired to consider what worked and what didn’t work in your strategy.The point of goals is not to beat yourself up if you don’t make the goal. The point to goals is to stretch yourself and to think through how you’ll make the goal. Strategy is what brings about financial success. You’ll not only set financial goals but other metric goals too, such as how many Discovery Calls you want to have with prospects (because that’s the enrollment opportunity) and how many podcast episodes about what topics would inspire your audience to have the Discovery Call with you.Goal-less business is not really a business at all. It’s a hobby.Don’t let fears or limiting beliefs keep you from setting goals for your coaching business. Set the goal then plan how you’ll make the goal. Then celebrate your results, even if you didn’t make the stretch goal, and assess what worked and what didn’t. That’s how you step into the CEO role of your own business and thrive!