Behind the Scenes: The Power of Coaching in Times of Change
Have you ever had a moment in your business where you think, “I might need someone to help me with this?” I know I have! I’m sharing my own experiences of seeking help to navigate the challenges and changes in both my personal life and business.
In this episode, I go behind the scenes and offer you an inside look into my business from overcoming technical glitches to strategic decisions. It's a reminder to all of us that asking for help isn't just okay—it's essential for growth and impact. I discuss how embracing vulnerability and seeking expertise from others has not only saved my business from potential setbacks but has propelled it towards a path of meaningful growth. Whether it's rethinking my email strategies or making hard decisions about business direction, this episode is packed with insights on resilience and adaptability in the ever-evolving landscape of online business.
Recognizing the Need for External Help
One of the toughest hurdles for any entrepreneur is acknowledging when they can't do it all alone. It's a humbling realization, but a necessary one. For me, the moment came when I was overwhelmed by technical issues that were beyond my expertise. It wasn't just about solving an email glitch; it was about recognizing that my time and energy were better spent on strategic growth rather than troubleshooting. Hiring a coach or seeking external help allows you to focus on what you do best while leaving specialized or unfamiliar tasks to those who can handle them more efficiently.
The Right Time to Hire a Coach
Deciding when to hire a coach can feel daunting. It often comes at a time when you are either at a crossroads or facing significant challenges that hinder your growth. For me, it was during a period of deep introspection and dissatisfaction with the direction my business was heading. A coach can provide not just expertise but also an outside perspective that challenges your assumptions and pushes you towards greater self-awareness and strategic clarity.
How Coaching Transforms Your Business
Coaching brings transformation in many forms—through accountability, expertise, and personalized strategies that align with your business goals. In my experience, coaching helped streamline my business processes, refine my marketing strategies, and increase my operational efficiency. More importantly, it restored my confidence and reignited my passion for my work by helping me rediscover and realign with my purpose.
Overcoming the Stigma of Seeking Help
There's often a misplaced stigma in the entrepreneurial world about seeking help; many fear it shows weakness or incompetence. However, the reality is quite the opposite. Successful entrepreneurs know that leveraging diverse resources, including human expertise, is a strength. It demonstrates a commitment to growth and a pragmatic approach to business management. Embracing help is a strategic decision that supports sustainable business growth and personal well-being.
Investing in Your Future Success
Investing in coaching is investing in the future of your business. While the upfront cost can be significant, the long-term benefits—increased revenue, improved business practices, enhanced personal growth—far outweigh the initial expenditure. Think of hiring a coach not as an expense but as a capital investment into your business's future, much like purchasing essential equipment or software.
In conclusion, knowing when and how to seek help and hire a coach can significantly influence your business trajectory. It's about more than just solving problems—it's about strategically enhancing your capacity to lead and grow your business. If you're feeling stuck or unsure, remember that reaching out for help could be the catalyst you need to propel your business to the next level. Don't wait until it's too late; the right time to get help is when you first start thinking you might need it.
The Transcript for Podcast Your Business:
183: Behind the Scenes: The Power of Coaching in Times of Change
[00:00:00] This year has been a crazier of growth and expansion in my personal life and business, but truth be told I would not be here. If I had not received help. So today I want to share a little bit of the behind the scenes journey that I've been taking in my business. When I asked for help and how that coaching has been impactful for myself, my podcast. And my business.
[00:00:24] So we're taking a look behind the curtain. Going to get real and personal with you today because I know that this is such an important topic for online business owners who truly want to grow and make an impact.
[00:00:36]
[00:00:36] [00:01:00]
[00:01:18] Hello, and welcome back to share strategize and shine. This week has been nuts. I feel like I've been saying that a lot and that's just because I've been working on so much, in my business and my life. It's the end of the year. It's just been like this crazy time. And then this week. , my email broke.
[00:01:37] So let's talk about it. My email broke. , I have been in online business for over 10 years. In some capacity I had before I was doing podcasting, I was doing greeting cards and wedding invitations. And I started doing that when my daughter was, uh, before she was born. So it's actually been almost 14 years of online business.
[00:01:59] [00:02:00] If you can believe it. And I'm always shocked by how there are still things that I need to learn. And this week, uh, I I've been using active campaign for a very long time and my active campaign just died on me. Like, I don't know what happened. And I hope that somebody from active campaign is not listening.
[00:02:20] Cause I just. I don't know I'm in, I'm so embarrassed, but. I guess my automations and my emails have been sending twice to some people.
[00:02:31] You know, and here's the thing like technology is not flawless. But I had gotten an email from somebody like an unsubscribe and they said, I'm getting too many emails. And then a very kind soul actually pointed out that they were getting double emails from me this week. And I was so embarrassed and I was like, oh my gosh, I should know how to do this. And I had to take a deep breath and step back for a minute and say, no, Caroline, you don't have to know how to do this because this is not [00:03:00] your area of expertise.
[00:03:01] Like that's the thing about being an online business owner, right? Is like we have to learn. So many things to make things work the way we want to. And we all become like many. Technology experts. And while I'm really good with podcasting, I don't have a ton of experience when it comes to email , software, setting up funnels and things like that.
[00:03:23] I've been leaning on other people to teach me those things and to learn those things. And I've learned so much. But I'm still the one setting it up an active campaign and I'm human and sometimes things happen. So I went through this whole like, process of like, oh my gosh, I'm the worst. And then pulling back and be like, no, you're not, this is okay.
[00:03:44] Like you can fix this. And looking for help, not being able to find help and realizing that probably what I need to do is start over. Have you ever reached that point with technology, with something in your business where you like, you know, [00:04:00] I think the best thing for everybody involved would be to start over. I know, like with podcast editing, sometimes that happens to me too.
[00:04:08] Like, I'll be trying to edit an episode in a new software. I'm trying, and I'm like, Ooh, this is not working. So I'm going to go start over and something that I know is going to be easier. So I ended up switching email marketing service providers, which was a huge undertaking, but I am so glad I did it now and not a thousand, more people on my list later because my list is growing every day, which is really exciting, but it's definitely getting to the point where like it needed to be managed better.
[00:04:36] So. My sister-in-law was here. And, , she was supporting me through the process of doing this and she was like, you're doing a data cleanse. And I was like, I am doing a data cleanse. It feels so good. And honestly, it felt so good to do. I had so many automations that I didn't need anymore. I have so many tags I'm not using anymore.
[00:04:56] And because I was cleaning out my email, I was [00:05:00] also cleaning out Zapier, which is what I use to like, have some of my things, talk to each other. So it was able to turn off a lot. In fact, I'm like, I'm thinking I might be able to go. Back down a level in the Zapier. Pricing plans. I need to look into that
[00:05:15] and I set up a really great. New email system for myself. And I'm so excited. And so I wanted to share that with you all, because I think we have this misconception that. People at a certain level in business, have it all figured out and like, we don't. Things still happen and it's how you handle it. And if you're on my email list today, and in my email, my email newsletter, I'm going to be talking a little bit about this and letting you know what you can do if you've been getting double emails from me and what you can expect going forward.
[00:05:46] So. We have solved the email problem. It was a huge problem. I was up till 1:00 AM last night working on it. And that is the problem that I solve this week.
[00:05:57] Leveling up by yourself as [00:06:00] hard. You can Google, you can watch videos, but that is only ever going to get you so far. And even like buying like courses right. You can buy all these little tiny courses, you know, I'll see them pop up. And those are only going to get you so far. I found that I was throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall last year, just like pots and pots of spaghetti, throwing them at the wall. Because I knew that my business needed to transition. And I started throwing spaghetti. And nothing was working. And my business felt. More disjointed than it ever has. In fact at the end of last year, like around Christmas time, I was literally contemplating just shutting my business down. And going back to school and getting my masters in switching industries, switching everything. And I didn't want to do that.
[00:06:52] I didn't want to do that. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what led me to decide not to do that. But I knew that I needed help. [00:07:00] And you've heard me talk about this before, but I really want to dive into the nitty gritty of working with coaches and actually getting help and how it's impacted my business. So I mentioned last year, I was doing a lot of spaghetti throwing, but I'm going to be real and completely honest.
[00:07:16] And I think transparency is really important, but my business completely tanked last year. I had hip surgery last year. And it felt like from that moment on. It just seemed like I could not stop the hemorrhaging. And I don't think it was any one thing I honestly like I, and I'm going to, I'm going to go into this in a little bit more in detail. And if this episode feels a little disjointed, because this is really hard to talk about, but.
[00:07:47] You know, I really think that the root of the problem is, is that I had lost my way in my business.
[00:07:53] I had forgotten why I was doing what I was doing. You know, with AI becoming so much more popular, [00:08:00] the agency side of my business. Really started to not be as valuable to people as it once was. I mean, there's so much you can do DIY. Now we still have agency clients. And we are still going to have a few agency clients, in the moving forward, but we've completely restructured how we work in the agency.
[00:08:19] And. When we take clients and all of that kind of thing, it's, it's completely different. But that was what was supporting my entire business and what was supporting me, being able to experiment and play with things like starting my membership and possibly doing some coaching and consulting. And. When the agency really started to tank. And that side of my business started to suffer. It became this game of. Grasping for money. To try and stay afloat and not really doing anything strategically or if intention, [00:09:00] but doing things because I saw them online and they thought. Oh, that's what I need to do. You know, and so again, just throwing spaghetti and I didn't know what was next. I didn't know what my next steps were. And I didn't know how I was going to get there. And I started to realize very quickly that I needed help figuring that out. Now it can be really stressful to get help when you don't have the budget for the help that you think you need. And at this moment when this like, kind of catalyst of things was happening, I did not have any extra money for coaching or anything. And so it was this really tough moment of like, okay, what do I do?
[00:09:44] Because I know I need help. But how do I get it? And so I started looking for help in ways that were accessible to me. And one of the things that I stumbled upon, actually, she stumbled upon me, but [00:10:00] you may have heard of the, create your purpose collective. Bye Quinn Tempest. And I'm going to link to her in the show notes. Because she is opening up. Enrollment for her membership pretty soon. But one of the things. That I was really struggling with was.
[00:10:24] Am I still needed.
[00:10:27] Is my expertise is what I do. Is it still needed in this world? I was really questioning. Whether or not, there was a place for me in the podcast industry moving forward. Whether or not, I wanted to be in the podcast industry moving forward. And just a general sense of like, I don't know.
[00:10:49] Why I'm doing this anymore. And through some conversations with her, I realized that what I needed to do was focus on [00:11:00] rediscovering. Who I was and what I wanted to do. With my life. And a lot of this also is so funnily coordinated with me turning 40. Right? So maybe this was just all a giant midlife crisis.
[00:11:11] I am not sure. So I joined the collective. And what's really neat about this group is the first three months you're in it. As you go through. What she calls the academy and through the work that I did that in there. I rediscovered my purpose. And let me tell you, I went into it, totally thinking that at the end of it, I was going to close my business. And that I was in this group to help me discover what was next after closing my business.
[00:11:42] This is where my brain was when I joined. And it was interesting because as we started working together and, you know, attending the calls and I had a mentor as well. I really started realizing that no, my purpose was in podcasting. [00:12:00] And maybe I should do a whole separate episode about this because it's an incredibly long, long story. But there has been this overarching theme in my life of playing it small. Being told I'm not good enough by outside people. , not having my feelings validated. Not feeling important enough. Not feeling like my voice can be heard. And when I started podcasting. I really wanted to help people.
[00:12:30] I wanted to become a coach. That's why I started podcasting. And it was not easy at first because I was very uncomfortable speaking. And as I've continued my podcasting journey, I have become so much more confident. In my voice, in my sharing, all of those things. And I started realizing that that was what I was helping others do all the time.
[00:12:54] Every time I had a strategy call, we would end up talking about their content, their confidence, how [00:13:00] they were showing up, if they felt good about it. If they had problems with how their voice sounded, it really became. This huge piece of what I felt like I was doing. With my clients. And so I'm gonna read you my purpose because this is what I ended up coming up with through her program. I empower women to unleash their voices and help them shine with confidence and influence through podcasting. And that came out of the work that I did. In the collective with Quinn and. I will tell you it has been such a game changer. I very quickly noticed that. My marketing and messaging started shifting my energy got better because I realized that I was fulfilling my purpose.
[00:13:50] Even though it wasn't necessarily paying my bills.
[00:13:53] Right. At this moment, I was fulfilling the reason I was put on this earth. And what's funny about [00:14:00] all of this is I was really doubting of starting the membership had been a good idea, but I realized that the membership was exactly what I needed to do. I just needed to come at it from a different perspective. From this place of purpose, right? Now this, this purpose was applied to everything in my life.
[00:14:19] We, you know, I also did some work on how I want my life to look and a lot of other things. And throughout all of this, I also had, a little bit of a mental health crisis and had to work on that. And so it was like I said, it was like this catalyst of all these things and all of the sudden. Now I'm living my life in such a different way.
[00:14:38] I'm so much happier. I am approaching my work differently. I'm not mad when I have to do things for my business, because I know that it's all working towards my purpose. Now the interesting thing about working on my purpose is that once I realized my purpose and the fact that yes, I do want to keep doing what I'm doing.
[00:14:57] I don't want to shut down my business. [00:15:00] It was like, okay, what's next?
[00:15:05] And. This was really hard for me because I have, for the longest time thought that my purpose was to be fulfilled. Through editing people's podcasts. And I'm going to tell you right now, I don't super love editing. Like I will do a little bit here and there, but it is not my favorite thing to do. I did it for years and I did a ton of it. And it's just not like how I like spending my time.
[00:15:28] I love spending my time during workshops. Masterclasses coaching. That's where I really shine. I feel like, and that's what I love to do. That's how I want to spend, like, if I'm going to work, that's what I want to be doing. But I didn't really know how I was going to get there. So again, I've been led to a place of. There's a transition I want to make in my business, but I don't know.
[00:15:53] What's next. And I don't know how to get there. And I met Ann Marie Rose. [00:16:00] So she was on my podcast. So I'll link to her episode and we instantly connected. And when she was on my podcast, we talked some off air. And I was like, oh gosh, I really hope I get to work with you someday, because I felt like we were just on such the same page and her energy was so great.
[00:16:17] And I was like, oh my gosh, I know that she could probably help me do what I need to do. She had a workshop. On how to hold workshops. And I thought, okay, I'm going to join this. And I did, I did the workshop and then she had a program and I joined her program on, creating a workshop sales strategy.
[00:16:35] So if you notice I've been doing workshops, that is why. The very first workshop I did did not go as planned. It went really well, but I had hoped to launch a new program. And the problem was, is I hadn't really solidified that program yet. Like I had an idea of what it was in my brain, but it, it wasn't quite realized in a, in a way that it should [00:17:00] be. So I want you all to remember that while I'm also working with her on this, I'm also like wrapping up, working on my purpose.
[00:17:07] Right. And I realized, that I really needed help with my offers. Well, of course, Ann Marie had an offer for that. So I'm in a program right now, working with her on my offers. And what's been so great about going through this process with her, is that. While we're working on the offers. We're also very much working on how I present myself and how I talk about the results and the transformation that I get.
[00:17:33] I think one of the hardest things I have faced as a business owner is being able to tell you all the great things I'm doing for my clients. I have a really hard time saying yes, my client is making more money because of the strategy that I helped her create. And she's implementing it, she's doing the work, but she would not have done that if she had not booked a call with me. And I have a really hard time saying stuff like that.
[00:17:59] And [00:18:00] talking about that. I, and this goes back to, you know, what I had mentioned earlier, like growing up and feeling like I wasn't heard, like my feelings, weren't validated playing it small. And Annmarie is a really great coach and she's really good at calling this out. And she has called me out on it multiple times. And it is something I'm working on. But through working on my offers, I'm starting to get a really clear picture of what my business could look like a year from now, two years from now.
[00:18:32] Last year, I couldn't even see beyond December.
[00:18:36] And this is why I wanted to share this with you. If I had not asked for help. When I needed help and found ways of getting the help that I needed. I would not still be podcasting today. Friends. I would still not be here. I still would not be have my membership. I wouldn't be launching a new program. None of this would be going on because I was ready to give up.
[00:18:58] And I think about that a [00:19:00] lot. And I think about how I would feel today if I had given up and not asked for help. And I don't think I would be, feel really good. I don't think I would feel good at all. I really, really hope that my story , encourages you to not wait. Till it's too late to get help. There are people out there who want to work with you and help you with the problem that you have.
[00:19:22] And if you don't know who that is or what that thing is really think about what would really move the needle forward. And honestly, like just saying, like, I need help. The universe literally dropped. These two amazing coaches into my life, right. When I needed them and for different reasons, right?
[00:19:42] Like I get different things. Out of my experiences with them. And I mentioned price and like, you know how expensive it is to pay for a coach. And I'll be honest with you. Like, it has been hard. To invest in these things, but. Nine times out of [00:20:00] 10 when I invest in help. I get that back in revenue.
[00:20:07] I also used to say this whenever I would hire somebody, it would help me make more money.
[00:20:11] And I really truly feel like that's true. You know, my goal at the end of the day is to grow my business. Is to help more podcasters and help them grow their impact. And to help my family as well, more financially. And so to make those steps, to make those strides, sometimes it takes getting an outside perspective to help you figure out what the next step is.
[00:20:38] And over the next few months, you're going to see me transitioning a lot of my offers, a lot of my services. Uh, we're definitely moving in a different direction here at wild home podcasting. And I'm so excited about it. And this is all starting with the launch accelerator that is starting June 17th.
[00:20:58] I designed this program because [00:21:00] the group course experiences that I have been in in the last couple months have been so transformative for my business. And because the work that you do in a group setting, talking to other people, hearing other people's perspective can be so, so impactful for your business. And I knew I wanted to apply that to a launch because launches are so hard.
[00:21:22] They are so hard. They're so hard to do by yourself. And even as a podcast coach who does custom launches. It is so hard to get those launches done when they're doing it by themselves. And so I'm so excited to be doing this in a group experience. It's going to be a six week experience. At the end of it, you will be ready to launch a podcast.
[00:21:42] If you put in the work and you show up. And you won't just be launching a podcast. You will be launching a podcast that is going to create more revenue and more impact for your business. So if you're interested in. Going on this journey with me, I'm so excited. Head to wild home podcasting.com/launch. Thank you so much for [00:22:00] listening to my story.
[00:22:00] I really hope this helps you and inspire you and helps you to know that like, if you're struggling, you're not alone. And it is okay to ask for help. And to get the help that you need when you need it. And even if that's reaching out to somebody and being like, I don't know that I can invest in you right now, but I am struggling with this.
[00:22:18] What do you think. You know, I have done that. I have said that to, you know, I think Quinn and I talked for almost a year before I finally said yes to the collective. And I'm so glad I said, yes, I'm so glad I took these leaps and I'm so excited for the leaps that I'm going to continue taking this year. To grow my business, but more importantly, to help you all grow your impact because. That is my ultimate purpose.
[00:22:44] That is why I'm here. That is why. I am podcasting and that's why I'm going to keep going. I'll be back soon with a new episode, have a great week.
