- As with any business owner, there is no regular payday and everyone else gets paid before you! (accountants, virtual assistants, your coach etc). As a coach, you’re often dealing with other people’s fear and lack /scarcity around money even when they might have a near 6 figure income (as does their partner) — yet they’re bricking it more than you, as a coach it is imperative your relationship and trust with money is rock solid!
- Being a coach is a service based role, in fact it’s the service of others in its highest form —therefore other people ALWAYS come first and you come second. My preparation as a defence lawyer was good for this– as I was not even second but at the bottom of the scrapheap but over time without the appropriate replenishing for your high service of others – you can end up running on empty pretty quickly.
- Half of your life might be spent marketing and selling which just isn’t your zone of genius — yet you have to do it and be visible even when you’re having a shit (‘I want to hide’) kind of day! Most coaches (the supportive rather than star seeker ones) are natural introverts and empaths therefore we have many days where we simply don’t want to be seen and are taking the time to restore our energy, process our emotions (our own and yours) and get back in the flow.
- Being online means other people spam you and constantly try to sell you their services, systems and structures for you to be more ‘successful’. Exhausting.com and that’s without the constant comparing and wondering if you should be doing “better” like other coaches seem to be – you know the ones who are never working (or spending time in service), just chilling on yachts, shopping at Harvey Nics and having photo shoots done every other week like some kind of famous influencer or public figure?! Yet they have less than 500 followers or maybe over 10,000 fake followers (who were brought just to make themselves look and feel more popular…back to school we go girls)
- You have to constantly feed your network with new people, new energy and new leads – when you meet new people — you wonder if they might be a new client, collaboration potential or simply just a new fabulous friend?! Oh and don’t get me started on the number of people who ask to ‘collaborate’ with you when the reality is they need to become a client but just don’t want to pay for your services.
- You have no work colleagues to bounce ideas off, have a laugh with or even to moan about. And as for a fit guy in the office to distract you for half an hour, forget it. You might even have to go to the coffee shop just to find someone to talk too and serve you for a change.
- I’ve spent over 20 years studying human behaviour, investing tens of thousands in my education and coaching support. I’ve worked hard building an audience, creating valuable content and finding my authentic voice – yet people just copy, copy and copy it again! Coaching has become an MLM style occupation. Rinse and Repeat. But not for those who have a calling (whether they like it or not) to serve others at this level. Yep everyone has become a bloody life (or business or health) coach, even if their own life/business or health is in tatters — they’ve never been in business and people ‘sigh’ thinking — you’re just another one who has no clue what she’s doing?!
You get the picture?! But fear not, there are also huge benefits and rewards which I will write about next time but in between shopping at Harvey Nics, Yacht parties and the numerous photo shoots I have booked in. In reality that is nowhere near my life and neither would I want it be—don’t believe me?! Wait for the next installment of 7 reasons why being a Life Coach is about far better than you see on Instagram.