Episode 34
Dear Solo: How Do You Make a Course, Coaching, or Program Work for You?
This is the companion audio for this week's Dear Solo.
I answer one question each week in the letter. If you'd like to receive the letters, you can subscribe at: theeleveatedmind.com/letters
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Transcript
This is the audio companion for the dear solo letters.
Speaker:And this one is answering the question,
Speaker:how do I make the coaching courses or programs actually work for me?
Speaker:I feel like I'm always showing up to learn and that's it.
Speaker:This one's gonna be a little bit different because ~ a lot of
Speaker:my questions are marketing based,
Speaker:some and I will always go into the inner work side of it.
Speaker:But this one's gonna be a lot of the inner work across the board.
Speaker:And I feel like I need to read this one,
Speaker:my written response, and expand on it from there.
Speaker:This can easily become a very lengthy response,
Speaker:so bear with me. I'm hoping to keep it super concise.
Speaker:But I think it's something that a lot of you will really appreciate hearing.
Speaker:I wanna call this endless learning without something that
Speaker:you can call progress or a goal reached as aimless consumption.
Speaker:It's a combination of lack of clarity and consuming in order to feel productive.
Speaker:It's very, very common. And you can't see me,
Speaker:but I'm raising my hand because I've certainly been there.
Speaker:It's kind of this default mode we can easily drop into.
Speaker:And the first thing that I want you to understand in building a business
Speaker:is that it requires you to experiment a lot.
Speaker:You have to try different things to figure out where the demand is.
Speaker:You have to I mean even for me in my business
Speaker:it has evolved and changed so very much
Speaker:as I experiment and determine,
Speaker:okay, there's no real demand here in this direction that I'm going,
Speaker:so I'm gonna shift a little bit.
Speaker:And there is some demand here,
Speaker:but I don't really enjoy this.
Speaker:So I'm gonna shift a bit.
Speaker:It is this process which
Speaker:And this experimenting, getting out there and doing it is the only thing that really
Speaker:tells you for certain that gives you the information you need in order
Speaker:to reach your goal.
Speaker:So not knowing these things though,
Speaker:w that place of of lack of clarity is it's really very frustrating.
Speaker:Really very frustrating. And without any sense of,
Speaker:you know, so what do I do about it?
Speaker:How do I manage it? How do I
Speaker:gain clarity and keep moving forward,
Speaker:we get lost in these, as I said,
Speaker:this aimless consumption mode.
Speaker:And we have a lot of start and stops.
Speaker:And that's to some degree that's normal because you're looking for
Speaker:the clarity and you're beginning again and you're refining and you're narrowing down
Speaker:and you're honing in on the business that ~ that you want to actually build.
Speaker:However, as I said, it's very,
Speaker:very easy to get lost along the way,
Speaker:to slip into that default mode,
Speaker:that aimless consumption. And so,
Speaker:as I said in the letter itself,
Speaker:here's my best advice. Choose one simple goal based on what you believe
Speaker:you want most right now around your business idea.
Speaker:The the likelihood of this changing is pretty high.
Speaker:It's okay. Because we can think that we want one thing,
Speaker:you know, whether it's building a coaching business or building a business based
Speaker:on courses. And then we get into it.
Speaker:We get in the middle of it and we realize I don't really want all of this exactly
Speaker:as it is right now.
Speaker:So choose one simple goal based on what you believe you want right now,
Speaker:what you want most, you know, around your business idea.
Speaker:And just and start moving forward.
Speaker:Start getting out there and doing the things because you can't know anything
Speaker:different until you get out there and do it.
Speaker:The important pieces is when you're getting out there and you're you're putting this
Speaker:work out there and you start having these realizations,
Speaker:and maybe it's you discover there isn't any demand in this particular area,
Speaker:and you have to shift a bit, keep going,
Speaker:don't stop. Or you realize there's some part of this that you're
Speaker:not really enjoying or that you're struggling too much with,
Speaker:then shift again, keep going, don't stop,
Speaker:because it's this process that's further refining and further honing.
Speaker:the business. You know, ~ one of the the example
Speaker:I give in the letter is I want to work intensely for three days
Speaker:a week with a mix of working with clients and working on my own
Speaker:on projects like silently, producing enough to cover bills and fifteen hundred
Speaker:a month in fund money to start.
Speaker:Just to start. I don't have any super ~
Speaker:Unrealistic goal, this is something I can believe is possible,
Speaker:and this is where I start. It's going to expand from there,
Speaker:but this is the kind of thing I want you to identify.
Speaker:The thing that you feel you want most right now.
Speaker:You don't have to say who it's for necessarily,
Speaker:you have an idea, ~ but just loosely set the goal of the thing that
Speaker:you want most right now. That's what's going to motivate you to keep going.
Speaker:You can explore whether that's coaching or teaching or advising
Speaker:or guiding or supporting or building products or some mix of that.
Speaker:You can explore that as you go.
Speaker:Just don't be don't paint yourself into a corner to say that I have
Speaker:to build a coaching business and that's it.
Speaker:Because the thing that you want most for yourself,
Speaker:I know that you want to help people.
Speaker:And underneath that, there's something else that you want for yourself.
Speaker:And you just do not know in this moment how that's going
Speaker:to come together. You don't know what the vehicle for that necessarily is.
Speaker:You may have an idea that you're going to enjoy,
Speaker:say, coaching, ~ but that may not end up being the thing in the end.
Speaker:So stay open to I'm gonna follow the breadcrumb trails
Speaker:to whatever it is.
Speaker:that gets me to the thing I want most for myself.
Speaker:If you know some people will need a lot of structure
Speaker:to get there. Some people don't need a lot of structure and don't do well with
Speaker:a lot of structure to get there.
Speaker:You have to be able to assess along the way and say,
Speaker:am I moving closer to my goal or am I drifting or have I not moved at all?
Speaker:And so what what's needed? What do I need to do?
Speaker:as I mentioned, whether it's structure or whether you know it's a little
Speaker:bit more freedom, know yourself well enough.
Speaker:You know, it you can say, you know,
Speaker:I love knowing that I have this structure and these places to show up
Speaker:and this work to do. And I want to caution you that that can be the same thing
Speaker:as the aimless consumption.
Speaker:Because you can do that all day long and still not move closer to your goal.
Speaker:So that's where I say being able and willing to assess along the way.
Speaker:Again, it comes down to that word clarity.
Speaker:And as much as it's a ve it's such a generic word,
Speaker:I don't like using it, but I have no other word for it at the mo in the moment.
Speaker:So it's always at the root of this.
Speaker:It's like I don't know what I want.
Speaker:I don't know how to get there.
Speaker:And you can end up chasing a direction without knowing what,
Speaker:as I said, what you truly want.
Speaker:You give yourself in doing so and as part of that frustration,
Speaker:you give yourself unrealistic goals or you hold an inaccurate expectation
Speaker:and then you just perpetuate a cycle.
Speaker:You know, think about it as like a job that you have taken on or you've been hired
Speaker:for, maybe it was your career.
Speaker:Like that was very clear. You went into that with very clear definition
Speaker:and very clear expectations. You knew exactly what it is you were expected to do.
Speaker:You showed up, you did it, goal reached,
Speaker:wonderful. When it comes to building a business,
Speaker:it's wide open.
Speaker:There is no clear definition necessarily.
Speaker:Your expectations are all over the place,
Speaker:and as a result, you have zero clarity.
Speaker:So
Speaker:You have to be the one because there isn't a boss deciding for
Speaker:you what the structure is, the definition,
Speaker:and the expectations. And this is why I come back
Speaker:to that simple goal. Right now,
Speaker:depending on where you are in this journey,
Speaker:you may not have
Speaker:any steady income coming from.
Speaker:the from the business. And and I say it I say steady income rather than clients
Speaker:because not everybody is out to cle to get clients.
Speaker:this can look so very different.
Speaker:And I won't go off on that tangent.
Speaker:But coming back to this is where that goal is so very important.
Speaker:So if you're if you don't have anything like whether it's clients or
Speaker:or or income coming into the business right now
Speaker:You know, we could then say, I wanna reach the goal of
Speaker:Knowing the exact path it takes for
Speaker:me to generate income from doing the thing I love,
Speaker:doing the thing that lights me up.
Speaker:How can I monetize that? How can I turn that into,
Speaker:even if it's just a trickle, right?
Speaker:Even if it's just a few hundred dollars a month to start.
Speaker:If you can do that consistently,
Speaker:steadily, then you've figured out the path.
Speaker:You've figured out the how. Then it just comes down to multiplying it.
Speaker:But that's another goal. I don't want you to worry about that right now.
Speaker:So I want you to get as super clear as you can in this moment
Speaker:on the thing that you want to spend your time doing.
Speaker:And what's that realistic goal from there?
Speaker:If you are
Speaker:Let's say that you do have income coming in,
Speaker:but it isn't enough.
Speaker:then the goal may be something like I need to or
Speaker:I want to to clarify that what I'm doing and bringing
Speaker:in money through do I love every part of it?
Speaker:Is that working for me personally?
Speaker:And so now I have to figure out why is there n not enough?
Speaker:Is it a volume issue? Is it a leads issue?
Speaker:I need to figure that out and whatever I need to do to figure that out,
Speaker:whether it's I need some coaching or advising around that,
Speaker:someone else to put their eyes on my business and help me see it.
Speaker:If I do see it, if I understand what that is,
Speaker:then what? What do I need to go?
Speaker:Do I need to go learn something?
Speaker:Because learning is important in business.
Speaker:I just don't want you to get lost in the learning.
Speaker:Do I need to go learn something?
Speaker:And then
Speaker:Okay, give yourself a window of time to learn that and apply it as you
Speaker:go in real time because that's where usually the cliff exists.
Speaker:What do you need in order to apply something?
Speaker:What when I've said earlier like that you need to get out there
Speaker:and start doing this, put it out there.
Speaker:Over and over again.
Speaker:What do you need in order to do that?
Speaker:Do you need some accountability?
Speaker:Do you need just a very clear and cut plan that tells
Speaker:you exactly what to do and when?
Speaker:What is that for you? And make sure that that piece
Speaker:is there. I promise you that.
Speaker:No
Speaker:or program or
Speaker:newest AI tool is going to fix this for you until
Speaker:you understand these things about yourself and you you take them a moment
Speaker:to assess what the problem actually is and
Speaker:are you truly willing to fix that problem
Speaker:You know, it's if I go back over the years for myself,
Speaker:there was a point, you know, many I stayed off of social media for a very long time.
Speaker:And I'm still not on a lot of different social platforms at all.
Speaker:It's just never been something I enjoy,
Speaker:~ although I do understand the necessity for it for business.
Speaker:So
Speaker:There came a point when I said for myself,
Speaker:you know, what's what's the problem currently?
Speaker:Visibility was a big problem. Very introverted.
Speaker:So visibility, you know, was definitely a challenge.
Speaker:And at that point,
Speaker:I remember when I made the decision,
Speaker:okay, visibility. ~ one of the big ways I'm gonna get visibility is is social media.
Speaker:I'm gonna have to make a decision,
Speaker:am I willing to do that? Because this is required.
Speaker:If I'm not willing to do that,
Speaker:that's okay too, but it also me then means I may need to switch my business model.
Speaker:But I have to take a hard look at that and say,
Speaker:what am I willing to do in order to make this happen?
Speaker:Does that change my business model?
Speaker:Does it change, you know, what I'm doing currently?
Speaker:Of course it does. and then what do I need to do in order to make that happen?
Speaker:So again, you have to decide what the structure,
Speaker:what the definition is, what's the structure that you need,
Speaker:and what are realistic expectations for your business,
Speaker:because there is no boss over you telling you what this is.
Speaker:And once you have decided that,
Speaker:then you have to determine.
Speaker:your very first goal because you're gonna have others.
Speaker:You may hit that goal in 30 days and move on,
Speaker:you know ideally the clarity helps you to reach that goal pretty quickly.
Speaker:And then you have to decide
Speaker:What is gonna actually make me do these things in order to reach that goal?
Speaker:What do I need as the person to make sure this happens and then do it?
Speaker:There's no magic pill.
Speaker:As much as I wish there was. There's no Ozimpic for business.
Speaker:There's Ozimpic is a shot. It's not but they although they do have pills now.
Speaker:And I won't say that it's necessarily magic,
Speaker:but it is pretty miraculous in some ways.
Speaker:Alright, I'm gonna stop there because this is something I could talk about forever
Speaker:and ever. But I really do hope that this helps.
Speaker:For those of you who find yourself in this kind of same place,
Speaker:or when you heard the initial question,
Speaker:you're like, Yeah, yeah, like I'd like to know that too.
Speaker:I hope that this helps. Please take a moment if you received
Speaker:the Dear Solo letter.
Speaker:the email, go in and hit reply and ask me a question.
Speaker:I'd love to answer it on a future one.
Speaker:Much love.
