10 Mistakes To Avoid As A New Coach
Congratulations you have decided to step into one of the most rewarding professions. And also I truly believe one of the most challenging to your own personal growth.
The truth is as a coach you must go first.
Meaning – you can only take your clients as deep and as far as you have gone yourself.
So, as a coach you will always be doing your own inner work. As your business grows and evolves, so will you.
You will make mistakes, it’s part of the process. So, please do yourself a favor and don’t resist them. The mistakes you make will also be some of your biggest growth opportunities. They will enable you to help and transform your clients to more profound levels.
But that being said here are 10 mistakes to be aware of that many new coaches make:
Thinking that all you need is a certification. Look, getting certified is a great place to start and highly suggest it. However, it’s just the beginning. Most certifications will provide you with a tool or a few. You will learn the theory behind them, and how to use them. Unfortunately most certifications will not give you the ample amount of time and practice to fully understand the ins and outs of them, so you feel competent and confident in using them. Make sure to always be honing your craft. Invest in honing your craft first and foremost.
Jumping right into marketing and sales training before you have worked on developing your skills. If you don’t feel competent in your abilities to lead someone to their desired results, your energy will be funky. So, when you go out and market yourself it will not land with your audience. Energy isn’t something we can see, but it is something that we can feel. Work on your competency first. Then when you go to work on your marketing it will convert with your audience.
Collecting multiple certifications in different modalities or methods. Practice constrant. You don’t need a ton of different coaching methods, you need one and to be good at it. If you have shiny object syndrome with certifications, notice what you are trying to achieve? Most of the time I find coaches think this is what will make them feel confident. But, I’m here to tell you it’s simply not true. Confidence comes from an inner knowing that you can trust yourself and what you know. This comes from doing the work on yourself and practicing your skills on peers and getting critical feedback.
You are treating your business like a hobby. If you want to have a thriving coaching business you must treat it like a business. Decide how many hours you will work a week and then block them off on your calendar. It’s important to spend 50% of the time working in your business (client calls, practicing your coaching skills, putting out value, creating content for your clients) and 50% on the backend of your business (generating leads, marketing, sales, accounting).
Not setting aside the time for your own self-coaching. It’s essential that you are a living breathing example of your work. Doing your own self-coaching is one way to stay in integrity. Checking in with yourself, asking yourself powerful questions, and processing your own emotions.
Not getting coached yourself. This is a big one. Many new coaches think they can’t afford or shouldn’t need coaching now that they are a coach. This is a huge mistake. You are a human first. You will have your own blind spots. If you truly value coaching you will see the benefit of having someone supporting you through your own journey as a coach and human,
Thinking you should be able to do this on your own. Humans are social creatures and have evolved from supporting one another. This is no different. If you want a thriving coaching business, it’s essential to surround yourself with people who will cheer you on, who understand entrepreneurship, and who can guide you through the ups and downs.
Not setting goals. Setting goals is going to keep you focused and intentional about your work. The point of setting goals is not whether you hit the goal, it is who you become on the way.
Comparing yourself to other coaches. Everyone is on their own path and comparing yours to others is only going to send you into a dark hole of misery. Stay focused on your own work, who you want to serve, and refining your craft.
Expecting your business to feed you off the start. Think of your business as a baby. It needs a lot of love, nurturing, and support for it to grow. Which also means it’s going to need you to pour time, money, and energy into it. Make sure your basic needs are being met by something outside of your coaching business, so you won’t need to put unnecessary pressure on it. This never works.
The truth is this work is extremely valuable. It transforms lives and being a coach is an honor.
Never stop honing your craft and elevating your skills as a coach; it is the foundation of your business.
The best way to do that is to put yourself in a supportive container where you can practice, get strategic feedback from a mentor and peers, and get coached on all your own blocks.
To learn more about the Somatic Coach Certification or the Somatic Lab check out the programs tab.
