Time freedom is in the top 3 of reasons why I hear women want to be a coach.
So it makes sense that if you’re adding coaching to your existing business (or leaving a past career to now start coaching) then protecting your time & energy is paramount.
Time is the ultimate freedom and gives you a quality of life that is unmatched with anything else.
While your time is not a renewable resource, on the positive side, simple boundaries and habits you put into place now will help pave the way for you to launch your coaching business more comfortably, and set you up for success to scale your business as you grow with more clients, exciting group programs, workshops, and more.
Plus, when you’re not overloading your coaching schedule or feeling rushed, you’re better able to tap into your authentic leadership strengths, make empowered decisions more swiftly, and truly enjoy being in business for yourself.
Yes, you’re going to need to hustle to launch and grow your coaching business into 6 and 7-figures, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice control of your time.
Here are 3 easy habits you can create and settle into now, so that you can still enjoy a feeling of space and of being ‘off the clock’ while growing your coaching business.
These may look like small tips but trust me, they’ll give you a huge return in energy, peace of mind and a sense of being in control of your life as you grow your business.
Time Habit #1 Don’t Let Your Coaching Sessions Spill Over Time
Starting and ending your coaching sessions on time creates an important framework for you and your client to work within.
You’ve heard how projects take the amount of time you give them? The same is true with coaching sessions.
Being sloppy with time boundaries sends unspoken signals to your client that either you don’t respect their time, or that you’re not confident enough to coach to completion within your coaching session timeframe.
Yes, on occasion your client may have something that requires more than your normal coaching session time, but those occasions are rare.
If you’re in coach training now then it’s natural for your coaching to take a little longer, but as you gain more experience you’ll find you can get the same results in less and less time.
Plus, being a coach means tapping into and strengthening your leadership skills, and empowered feminine leaders know how to get things done elegantly — with speed — yet not feeling rushed.
Time Habit #2 Design Your Coaching Week
Do you have pre-designed days and times when you’re available for coaching?
This was one of the first frameworks I put into place for myself when I started my coaching business and I use the same framework today, nearly 20 years later.
What I highly recommend is ‘batching’ your coaching on specific days and times each week. Plus, having specific weeks you’re available to coach each month, with weeks off in between so that you have time to work on your business, not just in it.
(Want to see the exact schedule I use in my business? I’ll show you which days, times and weeks I coach in my Free MasterClass training >> Click Here for Instant Access)
If you’re already running a business and adding coaching as a new income stream, then every moment is precious for you.
Adding your coaching income stream is going to be a powerful catalyst for making important changes and setting up new boundaries in your other business.
Creating your coaching schedule will give you the perfect reason to start letting go of less-than-ideal clients, to begin saying ‘no’ to demands on your time that aren’t related to serving your highest end clients, and for asking for help from the people around you.
It may feel challenging at first but once you start letting go, saying no and getting help, you’re going to feel amazing, you’re going to see that you have more time available to get your coaching business launched and growing, and you’re going to love coaching your new coaching clients!
Time Habit #3 Don’t Give Yourself Assignments During A Coaching Session
As an over-the-top helpful person, I used to promise to get my clients links, book titles, resources, etc. during the coaching session. We’d hang up from the session and I was left facing a long to-do list.
That’s when I learned if there were resources I wanted to give, to find and send the link on the spot, inside of the coaching session.
And I let my client do her own Google search for the book title I thought would be perfect.
During those rare times when that wasn’t feasible to take care of making an introduction or giving a resource on the spot, I let my client know I would take care of it by the end of the week so that I had time to batch these types of tasks.
Ditto with taking notes – I write all of my notes during the coaching session, and I’m not shy about saying to my client, “Give me a moment to write this down.”
They don’t mind (and it can help give them a moment to take in what you’ve been coaching on) and I can end the coaching session complete.
And one last tip…
Even though we’re talking about setting boundaries, you can do this with love and what I call ‘yes’ energy.
Meaning, you feeling energized and having a positive approach to setting and maintaining these important boundaries.
Having boundaries doesn’t make you a bad person or a meanie.
Instead, boundaries send a message that you’re a professional who respects herself and others enough to honor time as the precious resource that it is.
xo,
Kendall
