There is a certain area of coaching that teaches that your worth is determined by net worth. They tell you that if you don’t have a $10,000 offer, you ain’t nothing. If you’re not bringing in $20,000 a month, you’re a failure.
This mindset derailed my business off of a successful growth path into the doldrums.
In July, I got started coaching professionally. I’ve been a coach all my life really. I was the guy in high school that people would come to with their problems and, after half an hour, they’d go away with clarity and a plan of action.
I’ve helped out friends and family here and there, but I never really put these skills to work formally. In 2019, I had someone reach out to me after watching one of my videos to ask if she could hire me as a coach, so I came up with a rate and took her on. A second followed a few months later.
In July of 2020, my previous business was being brutalized by the quarantine, so it seemed time for a change. It was time to enter the vocation that I’ve really been meant for all my life.
Instinct told me that $500 per month for a weekly hour of coaching was pretty reasonable and that’s what I started with. Within two months my monthly revenues were $2500 per month. Wowza!
Then I started listening to BIG TICKET COACHES. I figured my limit was about 20 clients at the high end. This would limit me to $10,000 per month at which point I’d be using all my available time and mental energy for just $10,000 a month.
So, I started trying to adjust the program. Shifting to other plans that were more scalable. I had to prepare for growth! Set those intentions! Make that cash flow!
Two months later, my revenues had dropped in half.
You see, I’d stopped being authentic to myself. I’d stopped focusing on what I started out to do in the first place. I got started because I loved the feeling of helping people. I loved hearing at the end of the call, “thank you, this has been so helpful.”
A modest income and helping people would make me a happy man. My cost of living is under $5,000 per month, but I was completely revising my plan because I’d be capped at double that.
It wasn’t authentic. It wasn’t me. It didn’t work.
No more listening to coaches who tell me that I should be a millionaire. I don’t need to be a millionaire. It’s not me. Maybe one day. Not today. Today, I want to hear “thank you, this has been so helpful” and be comfortable.
Ten $500 clients for whom I can make a difference is just fine for me, and I’ve even created a $250 level (half hour calls) for people who can’t afford $500 but whom I can help.
I’ll take making a difference over making a million any day.
Michael Whitehouse is an event organizer, motivational speaker, and coach. He does not have a big ticket program, but he does help people find their authentic selves which can offer some big ticket results.