Our Top Tips for Conquering Overwhelm in Your Coaching Business

Our Top Tips for Conquering Overwhelm in Your Coaching Business

by | Feb 19, 2024

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.

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Episode 308: Getting Help Sooner Rather than Later – 5 Steps to Take When Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

Getting Help Sooner Rather Than Later – 5 Steps to Take When Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Getting Help Sooner Rather Than Later – 5 Steps to Take When Hiring a Virtual Assistant

by | May 8, 2023

Getting Help Sooner Rather than Later – 5 Steps to Take When Hiring a Virtual Assistant

One way to make progress in your business a lot sooner, is to outsource some of the tasks that other people can take off of your plate. When you focus on the things only you can do such as work with clients, run your programs, show up on video and expand your circle of influence, you will feel less stressed, more productive and can actually earn more money.   

But how do you get started when it comes to hiring a virtual assistant?

In today’s episode of The Wellness Business Podcast, you’ll discover…

  • The 5 steps you should take when hiring a virtual assistant that will set that working relationship up for success right from the start
  • A list of questions you can ask past references to get a feel, ahead of time, if this virtual assistant is a good fit for you
  • Our very best pro-tips that you should consider when hiring a virtual assistant whether they will be filling an ongoing support role or taking care of one-off tasks for you

Karen and I both use multiple virtual assistants in our businesses. If we didn’t, we would never be able to keep up with the daily and weekly tasks that are demanded by our businesses.

As an example, for this podcast alone we have a podcast editor, someone else that posts our weekly episodes to the podcast blog, and then we each have our own VA’s that post our weekly podcast episodes to our individual websites, as well as we each have our own social media managers that create our podcast graphics and schedule our posts accordingly. That’s six virtual assistants between the two of us just for the podcast.

To be transparent, in the beginning of our businesses we both waited way too long to get virtual support. Knowing how that negatively affected our businesses and health we felt it was important to give you these 5 pro tips so you can hire help sooner rather than later.

Here are 5 Steps to Take When Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Step #1 – Determine your business needs – While it would be great to outsource almost everything in your business there are some things that only you can do. The flip side is that there are certain tasks that should be outsourced because your time is better spent elsewhere.

To figure out where you should begin, start by making a list of day-to-day or one-off tasks that you would like support with. This will not only help you get clarity about where you want help, it will also help you decide if there is overlap between tasks so one person could handle more than one thing.

Step #2 – Set clear objectives – In order for you to establish a win-win relationship with your virtual assistant, you need to set clear objectives from the start. When we first began our journey in hiring a VA we tried to find someone that could do it all for us. The idea of having one person that knew the ins and outs of our businesses felt like a dream come true. But we quickly realized that not only is it unrealistic to expect one person to be an expert in all things, it also set the virtual assistant up for failure. Not a great way to kick things off.

Now, when we hire someone, we look for someone that specializes in a certain area that meets the needs of our objectives. The clearer you can be about your job description, due date, and pay structure the more likely all of your objectives will be met.

Step #3 – Check their communication skills – Searching for virtual support is now a global opportunity. You have the ability to connect and work with people from anywhere in the world. That is a tremendous opportunity as long as there is clear communication between the two of you.

One of our favorite ways to make sure we’re a good match for a virtual assistant is to do a test project. As an example, when Karen was searching for a new social media manager she posted a job description, went through the applicants previous work history as well as the portfolios they submitted and then she chose her top 3 candidates. She reached out to each of them and asked if they would be willing to create 3 social media posts and graphics for her Instagram account. She offered to pay them 1 hour of wages based on their preferred hourly rate from their application and she gave them a due date.

Believe it or not, one gal missed the due date and never reached out to Karen. When Karen contacted the VA the next day, she offered a reason why she was late so Karen set a new due date for her. Once again, she missed the deadline. When she did finally submit her posts and graphics, Karen already knew that she was not a good fit because she could not meet a promised deadline. Communication is key and at no time did she take the initiative to let Karen know she was going to be late in submitting her posts. Not a great first impression.

Maria on the other hand, went above and beyond. She researched Karen’s social media and her website. Her trial posts and graphics were ideal client specific, and incorporated her marketing message, so she was hired. 

Step #4 – Ask for their portfolio and/or references – One of the easiest ways to find a great virtual assistant is to ask your colleagues. Karen and I have shared our virtual resources with one another for years and it’s always been a great fit.

If the work you want done is something visual, like social media graphics, pdf creation, or video editing, then it’s easy to ask them to provide a portfolio that includes multiple examples of projects they’ve completed in the past. If they are truly a professional virtual assistant they will already have this created ahead of time which means they can supply the link easily.

If you’re looking for general virtual support with things like email management, calendar bookings, organizing Dropbox, customer service replies, etc. then that’s not as easy to put into a portfolio. This is a great opportunity to ask for references. References are people that you can reach out to that have worked with this person in the past that will share their feedback about what they think of your potential hiring candidate.

Being prepared with a few questions ahead of time that you can ask the reference will make this process go more smoothly.

Here are 5 sample questions you can ask:

  1. How long did you work with the virtual assistant and what tasks did they perform? This question will help you understand the length and nature of the previous working relationship and the tasks the virtual assistant has experience in handling.
  1. Can you describe the virtual assistant’s communication skills and responsiveness? As communication is a crucial aspect of any remote working relationship, this question will give you an idea of how well the virtual assistant communicates and responds to queries and requests.
  2. How well did the virtual assistant adapt to new tasks and challenges? This question will give you an idea of the virtual assistant’s problem-solving skills and ability to handle new tasks and challenges.
  1. Can you describe the quality of the virtual assistant’s work and attention to detail? This question will give you an idea of the quality of work that the virtual assistant delivers and whether they pay attention to detail.
  1. Would you recommend this virtual assistant to others, and if so, why? This question will give you a sense of the reference’s overall impression of the virtual assistant, and why they would or would not recommend them.

Step #5 – Start small and build your skills as a project manager – In any good employer / virtual assistant relationship, both people need to bring their A-game to the table for it to be a win-win. I’ve found that oftentimes, the quality of the work being delivered to me is determined by how well I’m doing my job as the business owner and project manager. That’s why I like to start with smaller projects and progress from there over time as we build a relationship.

Here are some things to think about when hiring virtual support:

  • Are you clear in what outcome you want to receive by providing examples, clear specifications, due dates, pay structure, milestone check-ins, etc.
  • Are you meeting any expectations put on you by the project such as delivering sample screenshots, brand colors, user names and passwords for necessary platforms, etc. If you aren’t meeting deadlines you’ll be showing your virtual assistant that you do not put a priority on deadlines so why should they.
  • Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the relationship you have with your virtual assistant. It takes time to build trust on both sides so starting with smaller projects, getting great results, course correcting as needed, and moving forward in incremental steps is a recipe for success.
  • If your working relationship with your new virtual assistant is going to be ongoing, rather than a one-off project, let them know up front that you’ll start them off with a 90-day probationary period. After 90 days plan to have a meeting to see how things are going on both sides. Is it a good match? How’s the communication? Is there anything you can do to make their job easier? Great communication works both ways and this is a great way to set clear expectations and parameters of the first 90 days.

What is one task or project you can start outsourcing in the next 30 days? Once you get started with outsourcing, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner!

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Download Karen’s free guide: 10 Steps To Hiring Virtual Support That Save You Time and Money

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

Managing Your Energy Vs. Managing Your Time

Managing Your Energy Vs. Managing Your Time

by | Mar 6, 2023

Managing Your Energy Vs. Managing Your Time

When it comes to your business, there is a lot to do. You are likely already busy in your personal life, so managing it all can feel a little overwhelming sometimes.

We are all familiar with the concept of time management, but there is also something else to consider which is managing your energy. 

When you’re conscious and intentional about how you’re spending your time and you’re aware of what is draining your energy vs what makes you feel happy and energized, you’ll notice a big difference in how you feel – your mood, your productivity and enjoyment of what you do.

Today, we are talking about managing your energy vs managing your time, and we’re having an open and interesting conversation to give you some ideas on what you may want to implement or try. 

In order to manage your energy, it’s important to start with the things you know tend to drain you, vs what doesn’t. Things that drain you can also be things you enjoy doing, but because it takes mental or emotional energy, you have to limit how much you do in a day or a week.

Kathleen: For example, I enjoy doing livestreams in my Facebook group, but after 30-40 mins, I need to take a break. I could not do livestreams every day or probably not even every week, and I’m aware of that and I schedule accordingly.

Also, because I know I will feel tired afterwards, I know not to schedule other appointments or tasks that take a lot of brain power. So, after doing a livestream, I wouldn’t plan to outline a podcast episode or do something that takes a lot of creativity.

Another thing that helps me manage my energy is not overbooking my calendar.  I spread out appointments during the week – whether it’s lunch with friends, doctor appointments, interviews, recording podcast episodes, I’ve learned that if I overbook my day, it wipes me out.

Karen prefers to work in longer blocks of time, so she can power through and get the most important things done by noon. 

We have some helpful tips to share to help you better manage your energy, and we’re going to cover 7 of them:

  1. This is obvious, but still important to point out – get enough sleep. If you don’t prioritize sleep, you are going to start your day feeling tired, and it goes downhill from there. 
  2. Tune into what gives you energy, so you can incorporate that, such as exercise, meditation, spending time in nature or whatever you enjoy.
  3. Arrange your schedule whenever possible to focus on maintaining your energy rather than overbooking and overscheduling yourself. If you notice you are wiped out by 3 pm each day, it’s a good sign to listen to your body and take a break or end your workday then if possible. 
  4. Take mini breaks during the day. This could be doing something as simple as stretching, doing some breathing exercises, stepping outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air and sunshine or it could be going for a quick 5-10 minute walk.
  5. Limit multi-tasking and focus on completing one task before moving to the next one.
  6. Limit distractions as much as possible – this means leaving your phone in the other room when you’re working or turning off push notifications.
  7. Look at tasks that you can outsource to free up more of your time and protect your energy.

When we focus on managing our energy, managing our time tends to fall into place because we will likely get more done while feeling better. 

Tune into the things that deplete your energy and decide how you can work around it, delegate it or break it up during the week.

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Article from Harvard Business Review, called “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time.”

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

3 Common Facebook Group Mistakes to Avoid

3 Common Facebook Group Mistakes to Avoid

by | Feb 20, 2023

3 Common Facebook Group Mistakes to Avoid

If you have a Facebook group for your health coaching business but it seems like an uphill battle to get members to engage (and sign up for your programs) it could be that you’re making one or more common mistakes. 

The good news is that you can turn things around pretty quickly.  Once you know what mistakes to avoid, you’ll have more of the right people joining your group, and you’ll also have more members enrolling in your paid programs (instead of them only consuming your free content).

On this episode we’re sharing 3 Common Facebook Group Mistakes to Avoid, and here’s what you’ll discover:

  • The #1 reason why people are joining your group but not becoming clients
  • Tips for naming your group to attract the right members
  • One of the first things new members will look for as soon as they join your group, and if you don’t have this in place, you are missing a huge opportunity to build trust and connection
  • How to lead people to the next step to working with you in a non-salesy way

Let’s dive in!

Mistake #1: The group name is not directly aligned with or related to your niche.

One of the common mistakes made with groups is that the group name isn’t clear about who it’s for. This is a problem because if your group is pretty generic about health and wellness, you may have a lot of people joining, but they won’t necessarily be your ideal clients. This means engagement tends to be low and people won’t be enrolling in your programs because they aren’t a good fit for your particular area of expertise and your offers.

One way to know if your group name is specific enough is can people self-identify that this is an area where they need help and is it very obvious who the group is for.  Will people see the group and know right away if it’s for them or not?  Remember, you only want your potential ideal clients joining your community, so be bold about claiming your niche and go all in on it.

See if you can spot the difference in these two names and see which one is very specific:

  1. Abundant Health and Energy
  2. Thrive Through Menopause

The first one is general and could be for anyone – men or women at any age with any issue or problem. The 2nd one would be an option if your niche was helping women with menopausal issues, and the right people will be interested in joining and the wrong people will scroll on by, and that’s exactly what you want.

When you look at your group name, is it specific enough?  You can always fine tune it a bit to narrow it down more. 

Mistake #2: No welcome video pinned to the top of the group.

This is a really important element to include in your group because when people first join your group, they come in and take a peek around. They want to know who you are as the host of the group and the expert. When they see a welcome video from you, they instantly get to connect with you and get a feel for your personality and what you’re about.  Think about what you do when you join a new group – you want to see what’s going on and find out if it’s going to be a helpful community – or not.  By having a short 1-2 minute video pinned to the very top, it’s usually one of the first things new members will check out, and when they feel like they’re in the right place, they are more likely to come back the group, post questions and engage.

Mistake #3: No (or very few) calls to action to work with you. A call to action to work with you could be to book a discovery call or join your paid program. It’s easy to post content in your group, but it’s important that members know how they can take the next step to get support from you.  People are busy and they don’t want to have to dig around to find out what you do and how you can help them, so you want to post about it from time to time.

There are several ways to do this and one of them is during your livestreams in your group. You can share a story about a client and what problem they were having when they came to see you and what the result was after they implemented what you recommended.  This creates interest and curiosity about working with you. During the livestream, mention that you have a few spots open for discovery calls this month and how they can schedule one. 

Another way is to post occasional direct invites in your group to book a free discovery call. Be sure to include who it’s for and a link to your online calendar to make it easy for people to take action. 

Need more ideas for your Facebook group?

Be sure to download your free Facebook Group Audit Checklist, so you can audit your own group to help troubleshoot any issues you’re having and get the best results possible. 

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Kathleen’s Free Facebook Group Audit Checklist

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!

Successfully Building A Health Coaching Business While Working Another Job – Part 2

Successfully Building A Health Coaching Business While Working Another Job – Part 2

by | Feb 6, 2023

Successfully Building A Health Coaching Business While Working Another Job – Part 2

Many coaches that we talk to believe that they don’t have the money to invest in virtual support but truth be told, you can find help for a lot less than you may think, and it will free up your time to work on more of the income-generating tasks and projects for your business.

We both wish that we would have outsourced things much sooner than we did. It took us quite a while to realize that there are tasks in our own business that anyone can do and there are some that only we can do. If we are focusing on the tasks that only we can do then we are able to make more money because a big portion of those tasks are related to working with paying clients.

Today we’re sharing 3 budget-friendly ways to get virtual support.

Option #1: Project Only Support.

This type of help would be related to a certain project, for example, having a pdf created as a freebie, video editing for your paid program, or graphics created for your next promotion.

Option #2: Promotion Only Support

This type of help would be for a certain period of time. For instance, you bring someone on for a 14-day period during your next launch. They would help you during the hectic periods, (right before, during, and right after the launch). This type of support can be invaluable during a launch period because there are so many moving parts that are happening all at the same time.

Option #3: Pre-Established Number of Hours Each Week/Month

This is an option that offers more consistent help for you and your business but can still be budget friendly when you plan ahead with the tasks and job description of what you want support with. This is a great opportunity to pass along repetitive tasks that need to be done but don’t require that you handling them. It’s also a great way to add accountability and consistency to your business because you have a set schedule with another person.

The top 5 tasks that we recommend outsourcing when you’re first starting out are:

  1. Blog posts – formatting and uploading to your website
  2. Social media – scheduling posts, creating graphics
  3. Uploading and scheduling emails into your email management system
  4. Client resources – recipes, PDF guides
  5. Graphics for your website and/or social media

We’re sure your next question is… where do I find virtual support. That’s a great question. We’ve found amazing people through the years using a couple of different resources.

The first one is Fiverr.com. This website is great for finding contractors for one off projects like PDF creation or creating graphics.

The next resource that has served us really well over the last few years is a Facebook group called: Virtual Assistant Savvies. This is an excellent group to find virtual support in every possible area of your business.

You can also try onlinejobs.ph. This is a virtual assistant finder website for help from people who live in the Philippines.  You can find people who charge as little as $6 – $8 an hour because the cost of living there is so low.

Oher options include Upwork.com and asking your colleagues for recommendations. 

The key to getting great help is to take the time to figure out exactly what you are looking for, (including a task description, number of hours per month, or if it will be periodic help/one-off projects).

Karen has a free download that will help you be successful in hiring virtual support no matter what your needs are. It’s called Outsourcing Like a Pro: 10 Steps to Outsourcing. It will be a valuable resource as you work through this process.

Here’s the thing, when it comes to successfully building your health coaching business while working another job it’s important to realize that there is only so much of your time to go around and while you can build your business at a slower pace, which is fine, it’s still important to pull in virtual support as needed so you can focus on the things that actually get you clients as well as leaving time in your calendar to actually work with clients.

As we wrap up this two-part series, we want to address one more topic that we get asked about all of the time.

How will I know when it’s time to transition my coaching business full-time so I can quit my 9-5.

This is such a great question.

While we can’t give you an exact formula because it’s different for everyone we can give you some parameters to help you make your own decision.

  1. Decide how much income your business needs to make for you to live the life you want to live. That may require some sacrifices for a while but the decision has to be yours. Once you figure out what that income needs to be you’ll then have a target for your business revenue to make the switch.
  2. You’ve tested and proven your business model. It’s important that you have some consistency with attracting the right clients as well as testimonials with client successes. Until you’ve built processes and habits into your business routine, (everything we’ve talked about in these two episodes), our recommendation is to not quit your job. Having a proven method that is getting results is a key indicator that you can transition.
  3. You’re willing and ready. Just because you can go all-in on your coaching business doesn’t mean you’re ready. Having a proven business model, building a cash cushion, and bringing in consistent income are great financial signs that you may be ready to take your business full-time, but that doesn’t mean you’re mentally or emotionally prepared. Wait until you’re ready. If you like your business being a side-hustle and don’t really want to make it your full-time gig then honor that. Trust your gut!

Decide what action you will take based on what we covered part one and part two of this series and see what a difference it makes. 

Resources and Links mentioned on the show:

Freebie: Karen’s Ultimate Health Coach Success Plan Blueprint

Outsourcing Like a Pro: 10 Steps to Outsourcing

Virtual Assistant Savvies Facebook Group

Virtual Staff in the Philippines

Kathleen’s Facebook Group

Kathleen’s Instagram

Karen’s Facebook Group

Karen’s Instagram

Wellness Business Accelerator

;

Let's Connect on Facebook:

Click here

Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!