Launching Your Business in Quarantine

Not sure what to do in isolation? I'm talking to you, Coach, who's in the process of launching your business. My name is Amanda Kaufman. I help coaches launch and grow their businesses. In this show we share strategies that move you forward with your business and  your own performance. 

Nobody really knows what was going to happen since the outbreak started. Coaches have reached out because they're nervous, understandably. The economy is already responding. It's a challenge and coaches have a duty to put out as much positive energy as they can. 

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Getting back to the blog...

What does that look like? First check yourself. We need our energy and health. Wash your hands, follow guidance from governments and doctors. Take care of basic needs, like sleep and eating nutritionally. Take care of yourself. 

Second, check everything's cool at home. I check in with my partner. If he's not okay and I'm not okay, ain't nobody else going to be okay.Then the kids, so everybody's happy and healthy. 

Third, you're worried about whether you are going to be able to sell. Are you able to survive this? Truth is, it's going to be a struggle, but not in the ways you think. I've been selling for years, and individuals in crisis still buy coaching. Why? Because the coaching helps with their situation. Investment decisions are in the hands of the buyer. Buyers  invest in your coaching based on whether they think coaching is a solution for their challenge. Question is, is your coaching solving a relevant problem?

We have a student who closed a deal over five figures. He has online facilitation expertise, and he was talking with clients with no experience working online. He offered value and was able to make that sale, even in quarantine. 

Okay, people are buying coaching, but isn't it icky to sell at a time like this? Absolutely not. It wasn't icky for you to sell three weeks ago, it isn’t now. Are you having connected conversations? Are you genuinely helping to achieve something? Then you need to be compensated. You need to charge in order to recoup your energy, time and the value that you're providing. If you've built your expertise to facilitate a process that supports people, there's nothing wrong with getting paid. 

“I'm not as established as others”. That’s not new and you've got to start somewhere. There's never a good time to start a business. It takes more investment and work than you think. But people having support right now to take control of their lives and step into this transformation is  a powerful service.

To recap, take care of yourself first. Make sure your family is okay. Then live into that purpose. Think about how you can serve. People are buying coaching. Examine what is going to be competitive in this marketplace. 

You’re able to work through that, create a strategy and work it. Everything will be alright. Subscribe to this newsletter so that you're getting helpful updates. We're here for you. 

Transcript of The CRUSH Method Show - March 25 2020

Hey there! Not sure what to do now that you might be in isolation, you might be at home and your coach? I'm particularly talking to you, Coach, who's in the process of launching your coaching business. My name is Amanda Kaufman and I have been helping coaches launch and grow their coaching businesses through authentic, connected relationships. I teach you marketing, I teach you sales. This is the crush method show, our weekly show, where we share with you tips and tools and strategies that are designed to move you forward with your coaching business and in your own high performance as well. 

So I've been getting a ton of questions. You know, I wasn't sure what was gonna happen. I don't think anybody really was when there started to be quarantines and isolation all throughout the United States and the rest of the world in response to the Corona virus. Because I'm known among coaches as being somebody who helps with their sales and with their marketing, I've had a lot of coaches reach out to me because they're nervous and that's understandable. I think everybody's nervous. The economy is responding already, to the slowdowns and shutdowns of businesses everywhere. This is a real challenge. It's also a time that I feel really strongly that coaches have a duty, responsibility and obligation to put as much positive energy as they possibly can into the world right now. 

So what does that look like? Well, number one, just check yourself. You've got to put your own mask on first before assisting others as they remind us before we take off on every single flight. It's the same thing right now. This is a situation that's not likely to change very quickly. It's going to have long lasting ramifications and effects. So what we need is our own energy and our own health first and foremost. Basic things. Wash your hands, do a really good job of washing your hands, do a good job of following the guidance that you're getting from governments and from doctors and from experts in this space. Do your part, right?! The thing is, you also need to make sure that you're taking care of basic needs, like sleep and eating nutritionally. Manage your screen time. Make sure that you're taking care of yourself the way that you know how to take care of yourself. Right Coach? 

The second thing is make sure that everything's cool at home. So I use a priority pyramid when I'm planning and I'll put a link in the show notes to show you how I prioritize my time. I always put self care at the top of that ladder because as a mother and a business owner and a wife, 

I'm not much good to anybody if I don't have my voice working and I'm grumpy and I'm not emotionally regulating very well. So I put myself on the top of that pyramid, and it doesn't take much to really help me feel at my best and in my best energy for the situation. Then the second thing is I put my partner, Chris. You may hear him on other episodes. He's with the kids right now. If he's not okay, and I'm not okay, ain't nobody else gonna be okay.So we've got to make sure that we're taking care of each other, and then I take care of the kids. Then I come on here and I take care of you. So everybody's happy and healthy.

Everybody's doing okay. But that priority pyramid and really addressing things from the top down is a strategy that I've used for years to help make sure that I've got my priorities are where they need to be. I'm happy to share it with you. Like I said, I'll leave the link in the show notes 

The third thing I really wanted to share with you, Coach, if you're worried about, are you gonna be able to sell coaching or are you gonna be able to survive through this economic hardship? That is the natural next question. Once you've got your health in order and everything is safe and you're hunkered down and the truth is,it's probably gonna be a struggle, but maybe not in the ways that you think. I've been studying marketing and implementing a lot of marketing and sales techniques for years now and if there's one thing I will tell you is that every individual when they are in a moment of hardship, even for themselves personally, they still buy coaching. I know that from individual situations where people were in a financial crisis or they were in some other health crisis or something like that, and they still made the investment to coach. Why? Because the coaching was going to help them with their situation.

The thing to keep in mind is that an investment decision is always in the hands of the buyer. The buyer is the one that's going to decide whether they're wanting to invest in the product, and your coaching is a product. They're going to make that decision based on whether they view your coaching as being a viable solution for the challenge or the aspiration that they have. That's not changed since the Corona virus outbreak. I have been a part of a lot of communities of people who were doing online marketing. I have to tell you this, I'm telling you this straight up, people are still buying coaching. The question is, is your coaching positioned to solve a problem that people actually have?

We have a student in one of our programs who closed a big deal on March 23rd, like over five figures. BIG deal. What he was selling was something that people needed. He has skills in online facilitation, and he was talking with business owners whose teams have no experience working online. They saw value in what he offered, and so he was able to make that sale. We've got lots of other examples in our community where people are still making sales, even with quarantine, even with isolation. In fact, people are on social media more than usual because they're at home and they're bored. So they're on social media, they’re checking their emails more often. There is a general climate of more people shifting online than ever. 

So if you've been a virtual coach or you have been wanting to be a virtual coach, the natural thing is OK, Amanda, I buy it. People are buying coaching, but isn't that icky? Isn't it icky to sell at a time like this?To that I say, No, absolutely not. It wasn't icky for you to sell your coaching three weeks ago. It is not icky for you to sell coaching now. The whole thing is, are you having consensual conversations with people? Are you trying to ram it down their throat, or are you having a really connected conversation with somebody? Are you genuinely and authentically helping them to see something that's for their own good? If the answer is yes to all of that, then you need to be compensated for your services and for your time and the attention that you're putting into those relationships. Just like a lawyer charges their fees. Just like an accountant charges their fees. A coach needs to charge a fee in order to be able to recoup their energy and their time and the value that they're providing with that process, that service. There's tons of services out there that people don't bat an eyelash, they don't think twice about paying for it, and coaching is a unique industry because there's a lot of concern about “it's just coaching”. Honey, if you're gonna look at it like it's just coaching, then it's perpetuating the issue. Coaching is a viable, valuable process. Is a valuable process facilitated by an expert in that process. If you've done the work to build your expertise to facilitate a process that genuinely supports people getting results, there's nothing wrong with you getting paid for it. There's nothing wrong with that. 

Now, you might be thinking, “Well, jeez, Amanda, I'm not as established as a lot of other organizations now”. That was also true three weeks ago. You've got to start somewhere, and frankly, there's not ever a good time to start a business. It always takes the investment. It always takes more of an investment than you think it's going to take, and it takes a lot more work than you think is going to take. That's just true. That's just the way it is. People having support right now and taking empowered control in their lives to be able to step into this transformation that truly no one in the world can escape from is a powerful service.

So just to recap today's special episode of the crush method show, I want you to take care of yourself first. You want you to take care of yourself first, because if you're good, then you can help everybody else. Make sure your family is okay. Your partner, if you have one, is okay and taking care of you at this time. Then live into that purpose. Really think about how you can serve. Maybe the first way to serve is to do something for free. I think the best way to demonstrate to people you can help them is to actually help them. If you can actually help, then it's okay to have that conversation with their consent about you potentially helping them longer and maybe even getting paid for it. 

As a coach, people are buying coaching. They're just doing it because their needs may be different than they were a few weeks ago. So you need to be patient. You need to be willing to do the work to examine what positioning is gonna be competitive and effective in this marketplace. I saw a post a little earlier this week by a coach who says he's starting out. He helps employees find jobs when they're dissatisfied with the ones that they have. In this climate, that may not be the most strategic approach, because a lot of people might suck it up and stay in jobs that they don't like because they're worried about whether they're gonna have a job at all. 

So pay attention to the fact that the climate has changed. 

But you, my friend, are able to work through that. You're able to come up with a good strategy and you're able to work it, and everything will be alright. So just keep showing up and make sure you subscribe to this to this newsletter so that you're getting helpful updates all the way through.

We're here for you. Just let us know if there is anything we can do to help you in this time. Chat soon!