Coaching Is Not a Meritocracy with Serena Hicks

Ep 143: Coaching Is Not a Meritocracy with Serena HicksPart of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤Heads up: this conversation touches on grief and family loss right up front.You might have a life coach. Your life coach also has a life coach. Serena is who the coaches call.Serena Hicks got pushed out of a corporate job at 40. Two weeks later her older brother died of cancer, thirteen months from diagnosis. She was broke, grieving, and living paycheck to paycheck after what she calls a phenomenal career. Then she found coaching. She's made over $3 million in the six years since, and $400,000 of that came before she was ever certified.What We Talk AboutHow she found her first coach by Googling "how do you know how to charge people," and what she said to get in the door with $1,500 she barely hadWhy the low barrier of entry into coaching is a feature, not a bug, and what she thinks would happen if it required a licenseWhy 85% of coaches are doing consultations wrong, and what a container actually isThe unexpected turn: she filed bankruptcy in 2008 and thought it disqualified her from being a business coach. Then she realized it's exactly why she's good at it.If you love a conversation with somebody who will tell you the whole truth about money, this episode is for you.All about Serena HicksYou're gonna love Serena. She's a business coach who mostly coaches other coaches, and she's direct in a way that's rare on this subject. She'll tell you her private coaching is $20K and her programs start at $3,000. She'll tell you she borrowed from family who didn't understand what she was doing. She'll tell you people default on payment plans and that's just part of it. Her whole philosophy: business as a game to play and a spiritual experience, not a scoreboard where revenue decides whether you're successful. She helps people recognize how good they already are and then monetize it.Things We Mentionedserenahicks.com — spelled like the tennis playerConsultation Closer Camp, her program on sales calls and discovery callsThe Life Coach School and the modelAbraham Hicks, no relation, but an early influenceHer book in progress, about her father's brain injury and the legal fight that followedChapters:00:22 - Celebrating Black Business Month: An Entrepreneur's Journey00:57 - Turning Points: From Grief to Growth21:01 - The Journey into Coaching23:31 - Exploring Money Mindset and Its Implications33:00 - The Journey of Business Coaching: From Bankruptcy to EmpowermentThis series is supported by Off the Grid, a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤Connect with Serena HicksWebsite: serenahicks.comIG: @xoxoserenahicksStay Connected📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it freeMore ways to connectEmail: [email protected] on IG: @stephaniegrahamListen to more episodes: noseyaf.comSupport & FeedbacknoseyAF is listener-supported; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear thisEpisode CreditsProduced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick