Our Top Tips for Conquering Overwhelm in Your Coaching Business

Our Top Tips for Conquering Overwhelm in Your Coaching Business

Our Top Tips for Conquering Overwhelm in Your Coaching Business

It’s common to feel overwhelmed at times when it comes to your health coaching business, so if you’re feeling like there’s a lot to juggle right now, you’re in good company. You wear many hats as a health coach and business owner, so there are going to be times when you feel like it’s a LOT!  We’ve been there too and there are still times we feel overwhelmed, but we’re much better at managing it and dealing with it now. So today we’re sharing Our Top Tips for Conquering Overwhelm in Your Coaching Business

Sometimes, feeling overwhelmed can prevent you from taking action or making decisions which keeps you stuck, so by implementing our 4 tips, you’ll feel less stressed and be more productive.   

Let’s start with tip #1 for conquering overwhelm in your coaching business. 

1. Prioritize tasks and projects

This is the one that helps me the most and I use it all the time. Make a list of what needs to be done and include the due date or deadline.  I like Trello for this but I also use pen and paper, so use what you like. For bigger projects that have multiple steps, I use Trello, but for my general to-do list that I refer to a couple of times a day, it’s old school pen and paper in my spiral bound notebook from Target.   Each week, determine what tasks and projects are a priority for the week or for the month. Sometimes, a priority is based on a deadline you want to meet such as your weekly email or blog post and sometimes, it’s a deadline for content for social media or something else. Map out a timeline and what can be done each day or each week, so you have a plan to help stay on track.  Even putting things in writing can help, so you have a visual on it.

I did this recently with a promotion I was doing.  I felt like there were several things I needed to do in addition to preparing for the promotion, including outlining podcast episodes, writing copy for Facebook ads and more, so I prioritized based on the deadlines, and that’s always helpful for me. I also looked at my list of promotional ideas for my 3-day sale and looked at what was a must and what was optional, so I could decide what I was going to include.  Not everything made the cut based on my timeline and other things I had going on and that’s okay.  When I’m pressed for time or feeling overwhelmed, I ask myself what the top priority is right now and what is optional. 

2. What can you simplify or streamline?

It’s easy to get caught up in complicating things or going too elaborate sometimes.  An example of this would be that you’re going to be hosting a webinar and you want to have a workbook to go along with it for the registrants to download. While a workbook would be nice, it’s not a must, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed, perhaps this is something you can do next time.  Another example would be instead of hosting your online challenge or group program in a platform like Kajabi, how about hosting it in a FB group for now? Instead of focusing on everything being perfect or having all the bells and whistles, focus on how you can help clients in the easiest way possible.

Our Top Tips for Conquering Overwhelm in Your Coaching Business

3. What can you outsource?

There is a lot to do as a wellness business owner and that means it’s very easy to get lost in the details of the behind-the-scenes tasks. Entering and formatting blog posts, creating and scheduling social media posts, writing emails, creating graphics and/or slide decks, setting up landing pages and sales pages, the list goes on and on.  Write down everything you do and see if there are tasks you can have a virtual assistant do for you.  Even if you take one or two things off your plate, it will free up some of your time to work with clients or reduce your overwhelm.   We did a detailed episode about finding and working with virtual assistants on episode 308 – it was called: Getting Help Sooner Rather than Later – 5 Steps to Take When Hiring a Virtual Assistant. We highly recommend listening to that one if you’re thinking about hiring someone.  I still have my very first VA on my team from 7 or 8 years ago. I remember feeling elated and relieved to delegate some things to her and I’ve never looked back. I was doing it all on my own for too long, so I know how that is. I’ve added more people to my virtual team over the years, and I’d be lost with out them.  Adding even one assistant for a couple of hours a week can make you feel like you can come up for air and get a break from your long to-do list.

4. Take it one step at a time and one day at a time.

Remind yourself that you can only do one thing at a time and you’re doing the best you can and remember to take breaks. Taking breaks during the day and time off each week is critical because if you burn out, it’s so much worse.   Sometimes, just changing your environment or physiology can help.  Get outside for 5 minutes, take a walk, do some deep breathing, get a change of scenery by getting some work done at a local coffee shop, chat with a friend – whatever makes you happy.

Which one of these tips do you think will help you the most? Or maybe you have  a tip that helps you with overwhelm. Come on over to Instagram to let us know.  You can find me at @kathleenlegrys and Karen at @karenpattock.

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Get it Done: 5 Steps to Overcome Your Tech Challenges

Get it Done: 5 Steps to Overcome Your Tech Challenges

Get it Done: 5 Steps to Overcome Your Tech Challenges

If you’re facing tech challenges as a health coach, you are not alone.  We hear this quite often, so we know the struggle can be real and quite frustrating. 

While having an online business requires some tech, coming at it from a different perspective can sometimes be helpful.

In this episode of The Wellness Business Podcast, you’ll discover:

  • A 5-step strategy that will help you determine whether it makes financial sense to stick it out to overcome the tech-challenge yourself or instead, hire a virtual assistant
  • The importance of analyzing the cost implications of choosing between DIY solutions and seeking external assistance
  • A super-simple strategy that allows you to hire someone to help you that won’t cost you a single penny
  • The best approach when hiring a virtual assistant to guarantee that you get the results you’re looking for within your allotted budget

In this episode, our goal isn’t to cover the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant to help you if you’re dealing with a tech-challenge, but rather to give you a 5-step process that helps you overcome your tech challenge once and for all. Yes, in some cases, that may require hiring someone to help, but in other cases, our system may prove that you are the right person for the job.

Let’s dive in!

Here are 5 Steps to Overcome Your Tech Challenges

Step 1 – Identify the specific tech challenge you’re facing

First and foremost, you have to know exactly what you’re trying to accomplish. For example, this could be setting up a MailerLite landing page, thank you page, email delivery & automated follow email sequence. That feels like a lot of moving parts but when you work inside one platform it does make it easier to navigate.

When you feel like the task is big and overwhelming it’s easy to stay in analysis paralysis. However, when you identify the specific tech challenge you’re having it may not be as big as you thought. For example, in the scenario shared above, it may be that you’re only having trouble with one piece of that puzzle, rather than the entire process. Hiring someone to help you with that one piece could be more cost-effective and a huge time-saver that makes it worth your while to bring them on board.

Step 2 – Decide if you can do it yourself with minimum learning or if you need to find someone to help you

This is the ultimate question, right? Do you need outside help which costs money vs. spending hours or even days, figuring it out yourself? There is a cost to doing it yourself. Time spent doing that task means less time for working with clients. Does the expense savings outweigh the lost revenue? Even if you don’t have clients at the moment, time spent working on back-office tasks means you’re not doing the marketing things that attract clients to you. That’s a major trade off and has the potential of lost revenue. It has to be part of your decision-making process.

As we discussed in step 1 – if you break down the project you’re trying to complete you may find that it’s only a small portion of it that you need assistance with vs. the entire project.

Step 3 – Look for someone in your family, friends, colleague group that has tech skills that would be open to helping you

In other words, get scrappy. While you may not be the techiest person in your circle of family and friends you have a skill set that you may be able to offer as an exchange for their services. Think of bartering your services for theirs.

Karen hired a high school student to edit her YouTube videos several years ago, and it was a great decision.

Maybe it’s a tech-savvy grandchild or girlfriend/boyfriend of someone you know. You can either offer a reasonable rate or offer something in exchange. Maybe a coaching session, meal planning, or a discount on a 30-day coaching program.

Outside the health coaching space, you could offer to babysit or a week of meal prep may be a good option. Be creative and see what you could do that would help them that doesn’t include paying them.

Get it Done: 5 Steps to Overcome Your Tech Challenges

Step 4 – If you decide to hire a VA, here are a couple options to find the right person

The easiest and best option is to ask for recommendations from other coaches. It’s always great to get an introduction from someone in your field. It takes the guesswork out of whether the VA is legit and reliable.

Another great option, and one Karen has personally used, is to post the job description in the VA Savvies FB group. This does require a little more work and keep in mind that the job description will need to be extremely specific to get the right person. Since this will more than likely be a one-time service it makes sense to ask the applicant to give you a quote to complete the job.

If hiring someone is on your radar, be sure to listen to episode 308 of the podcast. In that episode we walk you through Getting Help Sooner Rather Than Later – 5 Steps to Take When Hiring a Virtual Assistant.

Step 5 – Review applicants and quotes. Hire skilled VA with specific instructions, milestones, and timelines

Here we are at step #5 and at this point you’ve for sure made the decision whether you’re going to work through the tech challenge yourself or hire someone to help you.

If you’re decision is to hire someone then it’s key to set yourself up for success by giving them specific instructions, milestones, and timelines. Every subcontractor needs to have some form of accountability as a way of completing the job on time and giving you the results that you’re looking for. The more details you can agree upon before they start the less chance things will go off the rails. Do your best to make sure you are both on the same page.

Lastly, requiring a specific quote from them ahead of time is imperative so you know that completing the project is within your budget and they feel like they are getting paid what they are worth.

While tech challenges can feel stressful sometimes, it can be an opportunity to either learn something new or decide to take it off your plate and delegate it to someone else.  As we always say: “There is always a way!”

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What Health Coaches Need to Know About Using AI in Their Business with Lisa Fraley

What Health Coaches Need to Know About Using AI in Their Business with Lisa Fraley

What Health Coaches Need to Know About Using AI in Their Business with Lisa Fraley

AI is everywhere it seems. Many health coaches are using it which is great, but it’s crucial to be aware of potential pitfalls and mistakes that are easy to make without even realizing it.

Since tools like ChatGPT are relatively new, it feels a bit like the wild west right now, so we invited our favorite legal expert, @LisaFraley, to clarify some important things we all need to know and to help us navigate using AI in our businesses.

In this enlightening interview, Lisa shares valuable insights on:

  • 3 main issues and potential areas of concern to be aware of before using AI
  • How to avoid plagiarism and copyright violation (and the difference between the two)
  • The current surprising statistic on the accuracy of medical information being shared by ChatGPT
  • Best practices for using AI safely as a health coach right now
  • What to do if you discover someone has copied your original work

Tune in to this must-listen episode as Lisa provides essential guidance every health coach needs to know.

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Takeaway Tuesday – Our Best Recommendations to Prepare for a Successful Photo Shoot

Takeaway Tuesday – Our Best Recommendations to Prepare for a Successful Photo Shoot

Takeaway Tuesday – Our Best Recommendations to Prepare for a Successful Photo Shoot

We’re sharing some behind-the-scenes prep we’re doing for an upcoming photo shoot we have scheduled. Photo shoots aren’t just about the clothes you wear or whether you’re having a good hair day. There are several key factors like location, props, etc. that should be taken into consideration for the best outcome.

We’re also diving into a trending topic related to offering a free download on your website. We’ve seen a trend lately of coaches only having popups on their website vs. a static opt-in opportunity and in this episode, we’re sharing why we believe it’s important to have both.

In this episode you’ll discover:

  • Our behind-the-scenes tips and strategies to have a successful photo shoot complete with a list of props we like to include
  • Ideas for great backdrops for casual photos on social media or B-roll for Instagram Reels
  • Our recommendations for the best place to locate your opt-in opportunity on your website and whether pop-ups are still a good idea

Grab your favorite headphones and let’s dive in!

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Why Marketing Yourself Makes You Feel Vulnerable & How to Build Your Confidence

Why Marketing Yourself Makes You Feel Vulnerable & How to Build Your Confidence

Why Marketing Yourself Makes You Feel Vulnerable & How to Build Your Confidence

If you feel vulnerable or uncomfortable marketing your business, you are not alone.  For some coaches, the feelings extend beyond mere discomfort and ventures into the realm of physical reactions such as nausea, sweating, and, in some instances, even tears. Today, we’re exploring this topic and offering a few strategies we think will help if this is something you are facing right now.

A few months ago, we touched upon a related topic in an episode titled “Crushing Self-Doubt – How to Tackle & Overcome Imposter Syndrome.” If your apprehension about marketing your coaching business and programs is rooted in imposter syndrome, we highly recommend checking out episode 333 for helpful tips and insights.

As a quick refresher, Imposter syndrome, loosely defined, is the nagging doubt that undermines one’s abilities, making one feel like a fraud. While imposter syndrome is one condition that can hold you back from marketing your coaching business full on, what we’re discussing today is something completely different. It’s more of a physical reaction brought about by the feeling of vulnerability. What we’re doing today is exploring what’s causing that vulnerability, so you can turn it around.

For many coaches, marketing their program offer isn’t just business, it’s personal. Of course, it feels personal because ultimately you are your brand. Your business is built around you and what you have to offer. Often, being a health coach is part of your identity. We totally get that and understand how all of those things can feel intertwined and connected.

Vulnerability often stems from a core fear. There are multiple fears that arise when you are inviting someone to work with you…

  • Fear that they won’t see the value in your coaching program
  • Fear that they won’t believe that you have what it takes to help them reach their goals
  • Fear that they’ll say it’s too much money
  • Fear that your program won’t get the client your promised results

In researching this episode, we Googled, “Why do people fear selling”?

The answer that came back was…

“This innate anxiety—about social rejection drives most people’s fear of selling. The fear of the customer rejecting you as an individual, instead of merely rejecting your offer, is at the core of most people’s aversion for this kind of interaction.”

So, at the core of the vulnerability lies a fear of rejection. Ouch! None of us want to feel rejected so that’s why it’s important to embrace certain strategies that will help you separate our personal connection to the outcome of any sales conversation.

Here are 5 strategies you can start using this week:

1. Take on pro-bono clients.

One way to build your confidence when it comes to marketing your program, and something that we always recommend, is to take on 3 clients for free and coach them each for a 30-day period. Be up front with them that goal is for you to practice your coaching skills and in return will be anxious to receive their feedback in the form of a testimonial. We both took on pro-bono clients when we first started out and it really does build confidence. The best part of this practice run is that you’ll get to discuss your program with them, marketing it, without the pressure of asking for the sale. This is a perfect time to ask friends and colleagues for referrals. And more often than not, at least one of those clients will turn into a paying customer after the 30-day period is up.

2. Stop making assumptions.

One of the mistakes coaches make when marketing their program is to assume that their would-be client is going to have certain beliefs about the program, particularly as it relates to the investment. It’s easy to put our limiting beliefs off on our potential clients without even realizing it. When that happens, you are basically sabotaging the relationship right from the beginning. 

3. Don’t take ‘no’ personally.

We know that’s easier said than done but here’s a reframe that should help you overcome taking it personally. When someone says no to working with you it really has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. In essence, they are saying no to their desired outcome and/or reaching their health goal. It truly has nothing to do with you or your program.

4. Shift your perspective.

How would it feel to think of yourself as “sharing information” about what you do? Or “showing benefits” or “sharing your passion?” If you feel uncomfortable or anxious about “selling”- find a way to shift your perspective to one of sharing information rather than “convincing someone to buy.” If you reframe your perspective to one that feels like you’re sharing information and giving your potential client the opportunity to make the desired changes in their life that can be the mindset shift that makes the conversation feel uplifting rather than salesy.

5. Keep practicing!

To overcome the physical symptoms you feel right now when you’re inviting someone to join your coaching program, just know it gets easier the more you do it. Make a point of making at least one offer every single week. That could be in your Facebook group, through email, on a discovery call, or on your social media accounts. Let your audience know that you have an open spot in your coaching program, or invite them to book a discovery call.  You can do this at the end of some of your posts to make it easy.  On average it’ll take someone 10-12 times of hearing your offer before taking action.

If getting better at discovery calls is one of the skills you want to work on this year we also have an amazing episode called: How to Lead a 1 on 1 Discovery Call that Results in the Client Saying Yes. It’s episode # 24 which we will link up in our show notes. This episode will give you a proven framework for running successful discovery calls which will lead to building your confidence when marketing your coaching program.

Let’s recap our 5 confidence boosting strategies:

  1. Take on pro-bono clients
  2. Stop making assumptions
  3. Don’t take ‘no’ personally
  4. Shift your perspective
  5. Keep practicing
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Top 3 Reasons Why Your Free Offer Isn’t Converting Well and How to Fix It

Top 3 Reasons Why Your Free Offer Isn’t Converting Well and How to Fix It

Top 3 Reasons Why Your Free Offer Isn’t Converting Well and How to Fix it

If you’ve created a free offer to grow your email list but people aren’t signing up for it like you expected, it can leave you feeling confused and a bit deflated. Just know there can be some trial and error with any type of offer, even a free one, so we’re sharing 3 common reasons why this can happen and how to fix it.   

Your free offer can be anything from a PDF guide to a free challenge, a webinar or anything you are providing for free in exchange for people giving you their email address.  When we talk about conversions, we’re referring to the number of people who have taken the desired step you want them to take which in this case is entering their email address to receive your free offer.  If you’re promoting your lead magnet to your warm audience – people who are already familiar with you such as your social media followers, podcast listeners, etc.  a good conversion rate to shoot for is at least 50% – that means at least 50% of the people who clicked on the landing page, signed up.  If you’re promoting your lead magnet to a cold audience such as running FB ads, the rate will likely be lower – more like 30% or so.  Those are just ranges to keep in mind, so you have an idea what to expect and what to shoot for. 

We had the opportunity to do lead magnet audits for our Wellness Business Accelerator students a couple of months ago, so the timing for this is good while it’s still fresh in our minds.    

Okay, let’s jump in!   

Reason #1 for a low-converting free offer is that the title and topic are not specific enough.

This is the most common issue we see. When you consider that the title is the first thing people are going to see, and often base their decision on whether to get it or not, it needs to be very obvious right away who it’s for. 

This all starts with your niche.  We see dramatic changes with our Wellness Business Accelerator students when they dial in on their niche, and then create a free offer that addresses a top struggle or challenge they know they have and want fixed.

If you don’t have a niche that speaks to a particular subset of the population, it’s going to be very challenging to not only grow your email list, but also enroll clients in your coaching programs. 

Once you determine your niche and consider the top struggles, questions and challenges your ideal clients have, coming up with a topic and title for a compelling free offer becomes much easier. 

When you have a topic you know your audience will find helpful, you can use ChatGPT to generate title ideas to make this easier.    

Here are 3 title format ideas that can make this easy too:

  • 10 Ways to _________
  • A beginners guide to ___________
  • 10 _____ to Avoid if You _____________

Examples title that are filled in for those could be:

  • 10 Ways to Improve Sleep This Week
  • A Beginners Guide to Intermittent Fasting
  • 10 Common Foods to Avoid if You Have IBS 

Each one of those is very obvious who it’s for and that’s exactly what you want, so you’re growing an email list full of people who are interested in your particular area of specialty or focus.

Reason #2 for a low-converting free offer is that it’s not clear how it will help them (what benefits will they receive?).

This goes even further than just the title and subtitle because you also need to consider what you are going to include on the landing page people visit that tells them about the free resource and where they sign up to get it.  This will also come into place in your social media posts or ads you run that explain who the resource is for and what it will help them do. 

Even though the resource is free, it’s still critical to ‘sell it’ by conveying what’s in it for them.  Once you decide on your topic and title, brainstorm a list of 3-5 ways it will help your ideal clients.  It could be helping them avoid mistakes, save them time, make something easier and/or getting a quick win. 

Let’s take the title example we shared – 10 Common Foods to Avoid if You Have IBS.  One main benefit people could receive might be:   

Discover the most common trigger foods at restaurants, so you aren’t caught off guard.  The benefit there is not only knowing some of the common foods to avoid, but also some that are found at restaurants that could catch the off guard and cause a problem.

Lastly, reason #3 for a low-converting free offer is that the landing page is too busy or asks for too much information.

The landing page is just a single web page that includes the information about the lead magnet and a place where people can enter their email address to get it.

It’s easy to want to include a lot of information on this page, but it’s not a sales page, so you want it to be succinct and to the point and not include anything that isn’t absolutely necessary.

3 common mistakes we see are:

  • Too much text on the page
  • Images that make the page look too busy and detracts from the action you want people to take
  • Asking for first name, last name AND email address.

As far as text on the page, you want to include: 

  • The title and subtitle (if you have one)
  • Who it’s for and what it will help them do
  • 3-5 bullet points about the benefits of the resource
  • A box to enter their email address -ideally, email address only. The less information people have to fill out, the higher the conversions tend to be

You want this page to be very easy to scan and read quickly, so the reader can decide in a matter of a few seconds if it’s for them or not. 

One way to make this easier is to use landing page templates that come with your email management system rather than trying to create one from scratch. We also recommend you share your landing page with a colleague or someone else who can give you feedback to let you know if it’s clear who it’s for, how it will help them and if it’s easy to read without looking too busy. 

If you have a free offer that isn’t converting well, don’t feel discouraged – it’s a work in progress. Use this information to do an audit, and you can also ask a couple of people to look at it for you to see if they can tell who it’s for, what it will help them do and if the page is easy to read and visually appealing. The more you get to know your audience and their top pain points, the easier it will be to create irresistible resources for them.

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