After learning about packages & pricing, she raised her prices and clients are now paying in full!
Presenting Bootcamp STAR Graduate – Rev. Dr. Patricia Keel, Spirit Matters Coaching
Patricia is one of our Top 11 students in this past session—the “cum laude” of the bunch who launched her businesses with our support and who is now thriving!
Rev. Dr. Keel offers transformational life coaching, spiritual coaching.
3 Wisdom Tidbits from a 70 Year old Rock Star
I turned 70 last week and now I am a Bootcamp Rock Star! How great is that? I feel I’m getting younger and more engaged and involved in life everyday. I love my life. I’m off to India for a 9 day Spiritual Journey. My life is a frigging fantastic miracle. Oh JOY!
It wasn’t always like this. For a long time it was a Bumpy Road of overwhelm, stress, resentment, fear, confusion, frustration, anger, cluelessness. I was pretty much a mess through my 40ies. I’ve been waking up a little more each year. They say, “With age comes wisdom,” so I have three life tips to share. Tidbits of love from me to you, learned the hard way, but solid advice if you’re willing to experiment and try them on.
Before we look at the 3 Tips I have for you, let’s see if my wisdom and advice will be useful for you. Are we a match?
If you’re at all like me, you see yourself as a thoughtful, conscious woman. You have it mostly together at home and at work. You’ve read lots of self help books over the past few years, probably gone to therapy to help solve your problems, or marriage counseling for your relationship. You have some kind of spiritual connection. And you understand the power of the present moment, even if you can’t find it. Maybe you’ve listened to Eckhart Tolle or Deepak Chopra on Oprah’s Super Soul Sundays. You’ve tried yoga and meditation, but that hasn’t calmed the restlessness inside you.
It’s hard to pin down, to explain what’s happening. There’s maybe a feeling of anxiety, scattered thinking, a little confusion and some self doubt. You feel something is UP for you – a change, a shift, a something different in your life, but you’re not clear WHAT it is, HOW or WHY it is happening, what to do about it, and more importantly do you want it, are you ready for the change?
For some women the shift happens first in our relationships. We find that the person we are closest to, our spouse, our partner, a family member or close friend begins to bother us. We find ourselves more and more sensitive to little comments or we tire of their same old jokes. Routine behaviors, petty small things start to annoy us. We find ourselves taking their comments personally and become defensive or aggressively fight back. Or we retreat and find ourselves avoiding certain conversations or even cutting that person out of our lives altogether.
Over time our connection and sense of trust and closeness fades. We begin to wonder why were are in the relationship if it is going to cause us so much pain and suffering. Clearly the other person has changed, and not in the direction we expected. We want them to be they way they used to be.
These are early warning signs. For some this is the ultimate rationale we used for initiating a divorce, or shutting a friend or family member out of our lives. Stress in the relationship seeps out into every other area of our life. It can lead to sleep issues, as we stay awake analyzing a particular situation over and over in our minds. Our health begins to suffer. It can lead to loneliness and isolation as we pull away from others so that we don’t have to address what is bothering us. At worst we drop into anger, resentment, fighting and arguments in front of children, further destroying the family as our relationship continues to self destruct. Ultimately we feel alone, at a loss to deal with what is happening.
For other women the first signs of an internal change, a shift occurs at work. It might be that we’re not satisfied with the career path we have chosen. We find fault with the system or with our boss or staff. We aren’t feeling fulfilled in the day-to-day routine of our job. We come home exhausted with little or no energy to enjoy our family or friends, even yoga class doesn’t revive us. We feel we are living for our paycheck. What seemed exciting when we first began is now routine, even boring.
We feel we‘ve outgrown the work and are no longer making a contribution. Discontent in the workplace leads to potential challenges and power struggles with our co-workers. Lack of enthusiasm and energy feeds our sense of lack of purpose.
Each of us needs to feel we matter and that what we are doing in the world matters. When this need is unfulfilled we find ourselves in the limbo of a life transition. Conflicting demands for financial resources, family obligations, and our inner discontent at work can cause major upheaval in many areas of our lives.
For some women the problems and issues we are trying to solve in our relationships, or in our work and career are complicated by low energy, low mobility, and body pain. Adding the physical pain and emotional stress of an injury or chronic condition to everyday life can further reduce our available internal stamina to step out and consciously make changes in our lives. Chronic health issues can mirror chronic issues that have not been addressed in the emotional and spiritual body. Victim consciousness can develop when there is a sense of helplessness combined with physical pain.
For some of us the discontent we feel is directly connected to a spiritual crisis. Perhaps the death of a parent, or serious illness in the family brings us into deep questioning of our faith. We question our existence and what is the meaning of life. All these existential questions that can never be truly answered can take us into a depression and bring with it a deep sense of separation and disconnection with life, from ourselves and our spiritual source.
Can this be all there is? Not a pretty picture! Yet so many of these challenges and more are faced by women everywhere. Do you see yourself? Is this discontent and longing part of what you struggle with every day?
Are you this woman? I was her 25 years ago: two divorces, 2 kids, different dads surviving as a single working mom, overcoming addiction, changing careers at age 45, going back to school at age 55, starting a church in Berkeley and discovering my passion and purpose in my early 60ies. I know that feeling, that inner discontent, I had it bad and tried to fill it with Chardonnay, dating men I really didn’t love, and staying in a job I hated. I spent lots of money on therapy and read every book in the self help/change your life section until I finally found a path that felt right. Eventually I finally found someone and something I could resonate with and that brought me some relief from my own craziness and my self-destructive behavior.
What if you could stop feeling like you had to do it all?
What if you could let go of some of the stress in your life and get a good night’s sleep? When was the last time you woke up feeling happy and ready to enjoy your family and your work? It’s what you deserve.
What if your relationships were built on companionship and sharing, rather than competition and judgment? What if you could really trust yourself and your partner?
I know this is possible for all of us, and it is a goal of mine to support women on the path of happily ever after. The AFTER doesn’t mean we have to leave a relationship, or a job, it means we have to see what is happening inside us and be willing to fully accept it and experience it. We have to wake up to ourselves.
So here are my 3 Tidbits of Love from my 70 years of trial and many errors
Every perceived problem is calling forth some higher quality inside you. Your greatest challenges are your biggest opportunities for growth. Rather than rush to solve your problem, first look inside and see your perception and perspective.
Don’t look to change the outer world to solve your inner discomfort, your stress and pain. Look in the mirror to find what is bothering you and feel it fully. What people, situations, and challenges bring the most intense feelings? These are your best teachers. Be humble and don’t run away.
Stillness and silence create an inner and outer stability that form a foundation for you to assess where you are. In the stillness you can to listen for guidance and experience the subtle energies inside your body, From that place of calm center you have freedom to move forward in the direction of your dreams.
I am so happy to share with you. Let me know how it’s working in your life, patriciakeel@gmail.com. I have lots of free audios and online radio archives that you can listen to and find more support. I also offer weekly Livestream video broadcasts of the Oneness Meditation and here is the link to watch an archive or join me live. My podcast Relationship Fix airs on iTunes, Stitcher and many podcast channels. . I am taking a group on a 2 week spiritual course to India in June, 2017. My online webinars, courses, and coaching programs are on my SpiritMattersCoaching.com. Sign up to receive my free gift Taking the Next Step: Courage to Change, or a complimentary half hour Jumpstart session to see if working with me is a fit for your life right now
On my last trip to India, June 2016
Oneness University in So. India
================
Rev. Dr. Patricia Keel has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Matthew Fox’s University of Creation Spirituality, now known as Wisdom University. Her doctoral project was based on bringing the Art as Meditation focus of Creation Spirituality into Unity churches with a dynamic 7-week program series called Living The Creative Life, based on Eric Butterworth’s book. Patricia has been creating curriculum for churches since 1995 as Founder of SpiritMatters, a church growth program company.
Since retiring in January, 2011 from her role as minister at Unity of Berkeley Patricia has been traveling to India 14 times to participate in courses, trainings and deepening processes at Oneness University, a small spiritual school in southern India. She also traveled to Shantikunj, an ashram in northern India operated by All World Gaitri Pariwar. Learn more about Rev. Dr. Keel
Kate Steinbacher, Co-founder of The Coaches Console, had just landed her first coaching client.
She was excited … and shocked. She’d just started her coaching business, and thanks to being a natural-born networker and a charming extrovert, she already had people lined up, excited to work with her.
Only, she didn’t have any systems in place for supporting her new client … or the clients she hoped would follow.
So Kate did what any typical coach would do. After she got her first, “yes”, she picked up the phone, called her mentor coach and said …
“Oh, crap! Now what?”
Like many coaches, Kate operates primarily from her right brain, creativity taking the lead.
Operating a business is more of a left-brain activity, requiring logic and organization.
(Ah yes … I’m betting you know where this is going!)
For the first year of her business, Kate let her creativity and her passion for coaching run her business. She loved coaching! She felt lucky she was getting paid to do it. In that way, she operated from the mindset of a Hobbyist. But she had the goals of a Business Owner – to make a big impact and great money.
Rather than putting systems in place (like a Business Owner would), her “official plan” was to call her mentor coach every time she ran into another part of her business with which she needed help and say, “Oh, crap! Now what?” (Sounds like a Hobbyist, right?)
From all outward appearances, this plan was working well for Kate. She was getting and supporting more clients, and she was having fun. She was professional, credible, and thriving.
But from Kate’s perspective, things looked quite different.
Her approach was costing her time and money. She was so disorganized (her own words!) that it took 3 months for her to receive money from her clients. In one situation, she was so embarrassed about her lack of organization that she waived her client’s invoice all together! (If Kate were here, she’d tell you the same story, herself.)
She struggled to manage her time, and soon became very overwhelmed and stressed trying to juggle everything herself.
This is typical for most coaches and “start-up, service-based entrepreneurs” (those who have a set of skills and/or services they offer to a group of clients).
They discover they have a passion that is really a calling. They bravely venture into entrepreneurship. They work with mentors and teachers who begin to educate them on everything, the hundreds of necessary tasks they need to start and run a business.
Then, overwhelm sets in.
There is so much to do and so much to learn, and without a system, running a business can feel incredibly stressful.
(One of our Coaches Console members described her start-up experience before she began using TCC as “holding everything together with spitballs and duct tape”!)
Seriously – combine these things …
Learning the hundreds of details necessary for running a business
The desire to appear professional and organized
The urgent need to make money
The fear of failure and fear of success
… and you’ve got the recipe for overwhelm.
Everything feels urgent and important.
Fortunately, although we can’t decrease the number of details involved in running a business, or the desire to appear professional, the need to make money, or the fear of failure, we can offer you a solution to this overwhelm!
The cure to overwhelm is to prepare for clients before you get them.
Yes, you read that right: before you have any clients, you should set up effective systems for attracting, converting, and supporting them.
Your fear-based ego may be jumping in right now, exclaiming,”But wait! What if you never get any clients? Why would you waste time and resources creating these systems if you fail?!” Or, “You need money – just go out and get clients!” Or, “You’re smart. You’ll figure this out later.”
Let that go.
Take a bit of time up front, as the CEO of your business, to learn and understand the best practices necessary for laying that foundation. Be proactive, rather than reactive.
And find a mentor who can show you the way.
Kate had a great mentor, but she was in reactionary mode. She did not take the time to become proactive, and therefore she spent her first 3 years of business stressed, overwhelmed, and feeling scattered.
We would LOVE to help you avoid those “Oh crap!” moments!
To help you become more proactive, we want to share the 5 Critical Keys to Your Thriving Coaching Business. Later, we’ll go into more depth, but for now, you can begin thinking about whether you have these keys in place.
Critical Key #1: Attract. The first step is to attract your ideal clients, so they know who you are and what you have to offer.
Critical Key #2: Engage. Once you’ve found those leads, it’s time to engage them and give them a taste of the transformation they can experience by working with you.
Critical Key #3: Convert. When you’re looking for leads, you plan to turn them into clients, right? This is where you do just that, so you can make your impact and grow your business.
Critical Key #4: Support. Once the ink is dry, it’s time to ensure your clients enjoy working with you and feel supported.
Critical Key #5: Refer. You’ve heard it before and we’ll say it again: word of mouth is, hands down, the fastest way to grow your business. Make it easy for your clients to refer their friends to you.
Consider this your homework! Take a few moments now to jot down some notes about these 5 Keys as they relate to your business.
Finally, be on the lookout later this month for additional resources to help you flush out these 5 Keys, identify the best practices for each, and discover how to organize and implement them in your business.
The one comprehensive place to go as the owner of a startup, where you can get a collection of referrals, resources, and support now (and as you continue to grow your business).
The “trick” you can use to make marketing sexy and authentic – NOT salesy – so you enjoy it, communicate the value of the transformation you provide, and land new clients!
The 5 reasons you’ll definitely want to invest your time in this type of business-building … even if you’re an introvert.
How to get people to know, like, and trust you – even if you don’t know them yet! (Yes, this is another of our awesome ninja tricks!)
So, you want to build your mailing list. And not just build it, but also take steps to make its members engaged and responsive. You know authenticity, readership, and engagement are crucial to growing your business.
But.
You’re just starting out, and you don’t have any contacts! Even if you did, you aren’t sure if it’s okay to start contacting them. And even if it was okay, you don’t know what to say to them.
Hold it right there.
Help is here!
The contact list you create in your business is a gold mine. You should treat it as such: mindfully create it, cultivate it, nurture it, and protect it. Fortunately, I’m going to show you how.
First of all, chances are you have more contacts than you realize. And there is a way to have them “opt-in,” officially, so you can start sending them emails. And … you guessed it: I’m going to give you a template for what to say when you reach out!
Ready? Let’s do this.
First and foremost, you have more contacts than you realize. They’re just scattered across the many facets of your life and the many platforms on which you’ve collected them. From your high school and college classmates to your colleagues from previous jobs, to all the friends you’ve made along the way, it’s likely that your contact list is already pretty decent.
As technology has evolved in the past couple of decades, you’ve probably stored your contacts in different places: that old Rolodex, Outlook, your personal email account, your smartphone, your address book … you get the picture.
Collect Your Contacts and Organize Them into a Central Platform.
This is the groundwork. Go through Outlook, your smart phone, Facebook, LinkedIn, your business cards, old email accounts, maybe even old spreadsheets. Enter ALL your contacts into one central list.
Once you see this new, central list, you may be surprised that you have several hundred contacts!
The problem: they’re not official business contacts. They may be family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, or people you’ve encountered at various events.
A quick note here: even though you may be thinking these people don’t necessarily seem like your ideal clients, don’t be too quick to cull them out! Your existing contacts may not be your ideal clients, but they could provide a stepping-stone to people who are.
Ok, so you have your list of contacts. But none of them have officially opted in (signed up) to receive emails from you about the services you offer through your business.
So, let’s talk about the next step.
Ask for Permission to Send Them Emails.
Once you’ve got your contacts organized into one big email list, it’s time to let them know about your transition into starting your coaching business.
I call this notification the “Dear Jane” letter.
It’s a quick and easy way to get in touch with your existing contacts and give them the opportunity to opt in to your business mailing list.
It serves a secondary purpose, too, as a networking tool: your contacts can refer their own contacts to you, now that they know what you’re up to.
The “Dear Jane” letter includes seven components:
The positioning and personalization statement. This is where you connect with those you know in a simple and personal manner.
Your announcement. Let readers know you’re launching your coaching business, and tell them about your specialty.
Your 5-Part Connection Conversation to create engaging dialog and response.
An invitation to opt in and receive your lead generation magnet (also known as your free gift).
The Ask. Ask directly if they are interested in what you’re up to or if they know someone who is. Ask for the referral.
An invite to “Coffee.” Bring it back to a causal connection and show interest in what THEY are up to.
The opportunity to unsubscribe. Including this option in every email ensures you meet spam regulations.
This “Dear Jane” letter will help you cultivate a specific contact list for your business, full of people who are interested in hearing what you have to say.
Take the “Quality over Quantity” Approach.
List building is not about getting a name on your contact list for the sake of having a greater number of “subscribers” and the bragging rights that come with that.
(The “Quantity over Quality” approach will get you high unsubscribe rates, frustrated people, and a list that isn’t responsive when you promote your services, events, or programs.)
When you cultivate a list of interested people, you’re then able to communicate the right message to them, quickly, prompting action.
When you share messages, tips, and resources, the members of your list will be more likely to take the next step toward reaching their desired results.
YOUR result: a mailing list that is engaged and responsive … and a business that continues to grow.
How to find – and Get – More New Clients, More Easily… when you first start your coaching business, building it can feel like a struggle. It’s difficult to find clients, and when you do, it’s one at a time (talk about a slow process!) but it doesn’t have to be this way. When you know the real reason people buy from you (as well as what they’re NOT buying from you), and you develop a process for leveraging resources already in place, you can get lots of clients, at once. The result: you grow your business quickly! Watch this video right now to learn how to finally get more clients, more easily.
Collect Your Contacts and Organize Them into a Central Platform.
Ask for Permission to Send Them Emails.
Take the “Quality over Quantity” Approach.