161: The Identify Shift in Transition to Full Time Coaching

This episode is for new coaches who are shifting into full time coaching from a full time job. That transition is a big leap mentally and emotionally. Find the full transcript for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/161. Building a business and then sustaining it is an amazing personal journey. More and more people are deciding to be their own boss because they want to have more lifestyle freedom and to be at the cause of their own circumstances.But if you are taking the leap from employment into entrepreneurship it’s no small thing. There are big shifts that require mindset mastery as you transition.·      You go from being directed by a boss to supervising yourself in every way.·      You go from a defined infrastructure and role to creating your own systems and functions from scratch.·      You go from working collaboratively to working alone, at least at first.·      You had a regular paycheck, which will become an irregular income you have to generate on your own.·      Someone else administered your payroll, taxes and benefits and now you’ll manage that yourself.·      And, you leave behind an established organizational culture and your own reputation and now you’re going to have to create a new one. It’s an identity crisis. The truth is that your identity is more innate than you think. Plus, all of your core values, talents and skills come with you into your business. I would even argue that you get to be more of yourself and bring more of yourself to your business. Look you’re a multifaceted being. Starting your coaching business is a chance at a makeover where you get to be a better you. And that is enormously satisfying, and I think totally worth the adventure.Leverage Your Background Into Your Coaching Niche Last year, one of my VIP clients was shifting from a career of nearly two decades, all in one industry, into her own coaching business. Her previous position had status, significant responsibilities and a salary to match.And, understandably, she was terrified about shifting to full time self employment as a coach.Fortunately for her she decided to leverage her work experience by choosing a related audience and niche. And this is something I highly recommend to coaches when they can.She had instant credibility with her audience because she had been where they are now. And, it was easy to put together relevant messaging and offers because she knew the context her audience lives in. So, leveraging your background into your target audience and coaching niche will somewhat reduce the stress of the transition because there’s common ground into the thing you’re going to be doing.But when you’re a free agent you’ll need to think a bit differently.Now, I come from a family of entrepreneurs.Go here to read 7 ways to make your transition to full time coaching easier.