Last month when I was attending a networking event I heard a woman say “OH, I DON’T WANT TO BE A COACH – everyone is a coach these days, it’s a bunch of fluff – just a fad.”

This woman, close to retirement from her 30+ year career in social services and discharge planning at a local hospital, snubbed an idea that could offer her a BIG OPPORTUNITY – to help a lot of people and to reap great financial rewards. She has extensive knowledge and experience in helping people navigate the health care system (especially after they’ve been hospitalized, and particularly for the aged) and she wants to open a “Tea Shop” to bring in ‘cushy cash’ after retirement.

She was attending the networking meeting to help her figure out what she could do for a second career. She was “desperate” to make money to supplement her income after retirement and was thinking a Tea Shop would be a great way to create an income without having to work for someone else.

According to her husband’s calculations (they had minimal start up costs) they would not break even in the first year, and in the second year they might make $35,000 if they worked really really hard. To me this sounded like very little return for big risk / overhead / inventory, etc.

I asked her if she ever considered being a consultant or a coach to the aging population (independently working for herself) since she had such an extensive knowledge of the industry and resources for people who need that information. She responded with the line “oh – well everyone is a coach these days – I don’t want to jump on this bandwagon because it’s just a fad.” (I was thinking how much I could have used a coach when my parents were going through their eldercare and end of life care experiences.)

Some of her other comments were:
“Besides…..who would listen to me?”
“People won’t pay for that information since they get it in the hospital for free.”
“How on earth could I set up a coaching / consulting business myself?”
“Would I have to take insurance? How would I ever do that?”
“Don’t I have to be someone special to do that?”
“Where would I begin?”
“You mean…..someone could just decide to do this? I never would think of such a thing.”

I thought OMG – what an opportunity for her AND for people who need that help……. if she could only see it.

It would be so awesome if she could embrace the belief that starting her own consulting / coaching service for people who need health advocates and assistance with health care decisions would be filling a huge need for so many, and would also fill her bank account!

This woman’s barriers and blocks were enormous and I could quickly see that she didn’t have the mindset / perspective for solo entrepreneurship in the information / consulting / coaching business (not to say it couldn’t be cultivated).

She basically had a “retail store” mindset.

I then thought of how many other people that I know (many of them are YOU!) – through nursing, coaching, healing, essential oils, social media contacts, my neighborhood, where I get my car worked on, my dog people, my hair salon, where I get my nails done…many have amazing skills, knowledge, expertise and experience, and they can – and do – help others with their knowledge. Many underestimate their ability, have no clue that they can take their ‘gifts’ and offer them in a new way to the world. A way that is win/win. Packaging their special knowledge in a way that can become accessible to the masses who want and need them, and who will pay for them – without thinking twice…because many times they are desperate for solutions.

And another thing (while I’m still up here on my soapbox)……

People who have problems and challenges do not reach out to high authority for answers anymore. People are reaching out to each other – because we are realizing how resourceful WE are – and that the answers are either within ourselves or within our reach of our fellow man. The internet has served us well in this way.

THAT is one of the main reasons why COACHING is so popular, NOT A FAD, and NOT GOING AWAY! Because we all instinctively know that answers are within us or within our reach of each other………….and NOT from a highfalutin authority who just wants to pile up profits.

So, seriously – have you ever considered coaching, consulting, or starting a business doing what you love?

Here are some questions for you to ponder……….you might actually be a great candidate for your own business or practice!

— What do you love to do?

— What do you love to do that you know a lot about?

— What do you love to do that you are really good at?

— What do you consider your area of expertise to be?

— What gifts do you have that you could offer to the world?

— Have you had a life challenge where you couldn’t find solutions to your problem among professionals or anywhere? So you sought the world over, tried a variety of things, had successes and failures with all your possibilities, and then finally came up with something that worked for you?

— You solved a problem in a challenging situation and now you know things that could help others with that same problem!

— You have a background in something that is so off the wall disconnected to what you love to do, but you are open to discovering where the two intersect – and how you can help people in that ‘intersection’.

— There is a certain something that your family is known for – even dating back to your ancestry – and it is inherent knowledge and know-how that you could possibly take for granted – but now you are ready to look at it through eyes of appreciation – see how you can tap into that and bring it out to the world.

Here are things that I have recently wanted to learn more about and would have hired a coach/consultant for if I could find one:

— how to transition my dog to a raw diet

— someone who specializes in travel through Austria and has expert know-how in getting tickets to classical concerts

— natural / chemical-free mosquito control for my back yard

— Japanese tea ceremonies

— Ichibana (Japanese Flower Arranging)

— (more than I know already ) about medicinal mushrooms

What are some of the things that you need help with that you would hire a coach/consultant for?

And, now, think again, what are some of the areas of expertise that you have that you could share with the world in a coaching/consulting way?

Yes, I took you through a little process. Did I shift your perspective? Hope so. Maybe I’ll print this out and deliver to the new Tea Shop that is opening in town (ha ha!) 🙂 If nothing else, maybe I can hire the owner to help me further my knowledge on tea ceremonies!

(BTW – if you want to explore this further I DO have a coaching / consulting business on helping people to do just this!…..discover what YOUR gifts are and how YOU can help more people – (even if we have to begin with the ‘mindset shift thing’) and how YOU can MAKE MONEY doing it! And yes, if you want to get involved in a professional coach training, I have great resources for you! I just completed a fabulous training myself last year in Nurse Coaching! If you are seriously interested in hiring a coach so you can learn more about how YOU can coach/consult with your own gifts – then I invite you to have a short, no cost Get Acquainted session with me to see if we would be a fit to work together – here is how to do that very easily – click this link: https://www.marileetolen.com/get-acquainted/ )

Tags: area of expertise, hiring a coach, starting a business

Could you be a Coach or a Consultant?

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