In the coaching profession, a big milestone is to reach $10k months in your business.
$10k months means that you have figured out a number of things:
- You’ve figured out who your ideal client is (who you love working with)
- How you serve them best (your zone of genius)
- How to get the best outcomes (what you get known for)
- The value of that outcome (how much to charge)
- How to repeat this process (how to scale)
In other words, you learn how to serve your clients with your gifts.
This month, I’m proud to say I hit – and surpassed – this milestone.
I won’t have my clients being the only ones who exceed their goals!
But there were many times along my journey when I didn’t think I’d get to this point.
Not only was it slow going for me in the beginning, but right in the middle of my coaching practicum Turkey experienced a number of violent terrorist attacks and a coup attempt, all of which triggered a lot of childhood trauma for me.
I felt like someone pulled a rug out from underneath my feet and I went flying – up in the air with no sense of direction, no ground underneath me, and no knowledge of what the future would bring.
I was having panic attacks, I couldn’t eat, I was anxious all the time.
Looking back (and with the help of an excellent therapist) I was experiencing a mix of shock and PTSD.
It was a low point of my life with an intensity I’d never known before.
I was in the middle of completing an intense coaching certification program and practicum, and didn’t think I’d be able to complete the requirements to graduate – even though it was something I’d already invested a lot of time, not to mention money into.
I kept telling my husband that I didn’t have it in me. I was emotionally, physically and mentally taxed. I didn’t have anything else to give.
Until I made a decision that I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me by.
I wasn’t going to let my investment go, and I was going to complete the program and get my coaching certification.
I was going to do this.
It wasn’t easy, and we got a lot of support from family.
My mother-in-law came to stay with us and helped us keep the house running while I delivered a slew of intensives with clients to complete my practicum hours.
She prepared meals, took care of laundry, and kept our spirits high.
I got support from my coach, mastermind partners, my coaching community, my parents.
And I stayed completely laser focused.
Once I completed my practicum I felt like the winner of a long, hard race.
Despite the intense pressure I was under, I graduated from a year-long certification program and was serving paying clients.
And now, seven months later, I hit this next big milestone.
When I shared the news with my mother-in-law she said, “See, you didn’t need to worry or panic or go through all that drama.”
But I contradicted her and explained that yes, I did.
Because building a business is simple, but it’s not easy.
And it’s how you get through the challenges that make you a better business person and more self-actualized person in general.
Everyone goes through trauma and tragedy and pain.
Everyone experiences challenges and setbacks and breakdowns.
But the pain does not have to lead to suffering if you do two things.
- Learn the message the experience is trying to teach you.
- Use what you learned to help someone else.
It’s is precisely because I walked through the fire that I can support my clients as they build their businesses, lead their companies, and grow their teams.
It’s because I know first hand the pull between wanting the pain to stop and wanting to taste the victory of my desire come to life.
When a client is facing the challenge of adopting a new skill or taking a new action, I can walk right beside her because I know exactly what it feels like and I know how to help her see each next step to take.
That is what mentorship is about, it’s about taking the hard, painful lessons you’ve learned and easing someone else’s suffering by helping them decide where they need to take themselves next.
It’s not doing the work for them, but helping them find their own sense of direction from a place of deep knowing and wisdom.
This can only come from experience.
I am delighted to work with women who are leading the companies and teams that make our life better.
If you are looking for a coach to walk with you through the fire, I am currently conducting interviews to take on my next client.
I invite you to contact me to see if it makes sense for us to set up an interview.
