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Welcome to Amplify Your Authority, the podcast where innovative marketing meets heart-centered entrepreneurship. Join Marissa Shadrick, an award-winning international speaker, Ray Edwards certified copywriter, and personal brand expert. You'll gain insights into the external strategies for business growth and how to navigate the internal journey of entrepreneurship. Now get ready to amplify your authority in a competitive digital world. And now is your host, Marissa Shadrick.

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Welcome, welcome to another episode of Amplify Your Authority. I'm so glad you're here. I'm Marissa Shadrick, online marketing consultant and certified copywriter. And today we're going to talk about coaches. Are you a coach? Are you looking for a coach? When do we know that it's time to hire a coach? Now there's different types of coaches. This is an interesting subject because there was a time back in the day that I really wondered what is a life coach? And there's so many different types. Like we can kind of look back at our life and figure out well, I've actually hired coaches in the past. We have, for example, fitness coaches, right? Many of us will start at a gym and maybe we'll hire a coach for a month or two or three months. We also have nutrition coaches, right? We have a program, maybe we're trying to do weight loss. And so we get help from a coach or a nutritionist. So there are many, many coaches for personal development, for business development, but there comes a time when we realize okay, YouTube videos are enough. Courses, digital courses is enough. It's time to get serious about this and find a coach. Now, depending on where you are in your business, again, there's different types of coaches. You have to figure out the area that can benefit from a coach that will affect and improve other areas in your business or in your personal life for that matter. For example, mindset coach. Now, all of us can use a great healthy mindset because it will affect our relationships, it will affect our personal life, it will affect our business life, it will affect the way we parent. It has this ripple effect, if you will, that spills into other areas of our lives. When we're thinking about business, we have to consider what is that key thing that I need. So, as I mentioned, there are mindset coaches or productivity coaches, right? Maybe it's how you organize your time that's really the bottleneck. So you have to consider do I need a productivity coach? And will that spill into other areas of my life and help me be more productive? Or it could be a life coach, or maybe you need an executive coach. There are different types of coaches. There are, for example, financial coaches. Maybe you need someone to help you look at the financial side of your business. In any event, when we're looking for coaches, we come to a place where the digital courses are great, all of these things are great. We're learning new skills, we're learning things about online marketing. But when we're implementing, that's when it really is beneficial to have a coach. I know in my own journey, I learned a lot of things. And by theory, it all made sense. It made sense. I got it. But when you implement it, the outcomes were a little different. And other things came up. And knowing exactly what tool to use or how this was going to increase my bottom line, or understanding how I was going to get traffic. It wasn't just learning pieces of the business, but how did it all work together? And having all these questions that popped up and not really finding a course that would answer a specific question. And so we get into this season where we've learned a lot of things, but in the implementation stage, in implementing the workflows and the strategies and the technology on the back end, we get stuck. And so what I want to share today is for you to consider at what time is it a good time to hire a coach. Now I'm specifically talking about a one-on-one coach, someone that will walk alongside you for probably a minimum of three months, and then you could continue on if you need to, but someone that will help you just see where your business is at, review your digital assets, consider where you're trying to get to, maybe by the end of the year, or look at your quarterly plans, find where the gap is, be able to help you with the skills that you need to learn. Now, they may not necessarily teach you the skills, but they may reference you that this is an area that you can outsource or an area that you would need to learn more about. So at what point is it a good time to hire a coach? Now, for me, I knew that a one-on-one coaching program would benefit me for certain things, but not for everything. So, for example, when I was doing the international speech competition, I knew that I needed a personal coach to help me with the public speaking because I was so deathly afraid of it. And so they helped me with a lot of the logistics as far as the location when you're speaking. They helped me with crafting my speech, they helped critique it, they gave me that personal one-on-one. A group coaching program probably wouldn't have been as beneficial. Now, on the other hand, sometimes what we need is community and we need a group coaching program because it's not just the learning experience, but the collaboration with other people, knowing that you're not alone, knowing that you're working with other people that are in the same place that you're at, like-minded people, the support, the encouragement that you get. So for people that need one-on-one, it's really those people that aren't quite sure where they fit in group coaching programs. They're not quite sure if this program is going to give them that personal attention that they need to be able to get over wherever they're stuck. So sometimes it could be technology, sometimes it's in the area of sales, sometimes it's in the area of prospecting, but a one-on-one coach can help you through that. And then at that point, you might be ready for a group coaching program. So when we're looking at this and we're considering, okay, I've taken some courses, I've implemented some stuff, now I'm realizing that I'm getting I'm getting a little bit muddled in the whole process. There is something that I call the reality of execution, which means once you start implementing, everything seems to expand, and you didn't realize how many components there were maybe to a launch. And so it starts getting a little bit heavy, it starts getting a little bit complicated, and you're not sure how to move forward. And all of a sudden, your head is just swimming with all these ideas, all these to-dos that you feel you need to do, and it's hurting some of the things, the activities that really is going to help you get in front of the audience that you're trying to sell to. And again, it's all about building trust. So at the same time you're building products and services that you're trying to sell, you need to be cultivating relationships. You need to be cultivating and nurturing the email list that you already have, and you need to be creating something and being able to get some exposure online to new audience as well. That's a given. So you combine all that together and you have all of the content creation you have to do and the prospect you have to do and the admin stuff you have to do and the course creation you have to do, it can be overwhelming. And I know for me, I have switched from group coaching programs to one-on-one coaching to mastermind, depending on the season that I was in in my business. And so right now I have someone that is a mentor to me, and it's perfect because it's not overwhelmed like a lot of calls that I have to be on, but I do get access to this person one-on-one, but we're still in a in a uh group coaching setting. And that's just fine for this season because I don't need a lot of hand holding, I just need to bounce some ideas off of people. So it just depends on where you are in your business. So, what can a one-on-one coach do for you? Now, I can't speak for all coaches because there are different kinds. There's relationship coaches that help maybe with marriages and couples, health and wellness, that could be a long process. You know, I can't speak for all of these because there's there's all kinds of coaches. Uh, the same thing, financial coaches, if you're trying to get out of debt, that's a whole different story. Uh, people that are trying to maybe um achieve something in the sports area and they need a performance coach, that's a different. But I'll tell you, in the marketing space, what really helps, and I think what a coach and what I do for my clients is I meet them where they're at. And I think what coaches can do when we're reviewing a business is see what the entrepreneur can't see for themselves. Right. And sometimes it's the positive things, and sometimes it's areas that need improvement. So you need that outside voice to be able to look at things objectively and see both the good or the strengths and the areas where there's weakness. And sometimes we can't do that for ourselves. We need someone to come in and kind of review and look at the things that we're doing and say, here, what you you're doing here is really great and it's a good start, but we can go deeper here. And we could try some other things before testing other marketing strategies. So that's the first thing that a coach, and I do this with my clients, is I can see what they can't see for themselves. And oftentimes they need to see the positive things they they're doing. They need to see all the results they've already achieved. They need to acknowledge their accomplishments because oftentimes when we're on our own, our confidence level just plummets because we're trying to achieve so much all the time. And most entrepreneurs are high achievers and they're trying to grow their business, and they're people that already believe in personal development and they're so hard on themselves. Sometimes they need to be able to see what they can't see, and that's all the great achievements that they already have already. And then areas of improvement, you can tackle those one at a time. The other thing is that a coach, and I do this also with some of my clients, is that sometimes in order to begin to do the activities that's going to help move the needle, there's some habits that need to be developed, a routine that needs to be developed, or something that needs to be scheduled on a calendar. And so this is what we call change. And that can be difficult, but the accountability that you get with a one-on-one coach can help you develop those habits that you need to be able to continue to move forward and grow. The other thing that they can do is they can identify the strengths that you have because oftentimes your strengths will compensate for areas where there's weakness. And I know in my own life, just the fact that I enjoy technology and I'm very organized has helped me in other areas of my life where I'm not, I'll say, as developed. It's helped me to be organized and very strategic into learning something that I needed to learn. And because I love technology, then it helped me embrace any new learning. It didn't matter what kind of tech was behind it. So we can use those strengths to be able to improve other areas that need developing or an area that we need to learn or a habit we need to develop. So as you begin to understand your makeup the way God created you, you can use your strengths to help you in areas that are maybe a little weaker, that need that muscle developed, your strengths can help you do that. And a coach can help you do that. The other thing, besides leveraging your strengths to improve weaknesses, is all of these things will help build your confidence. Sometimes having someone there that is not only gonna be you're gonna be accountable to, but is gonna be able to applaud the progress that you're making and you're able to see results, that's gonna boost your confidence and that's gonna show up everywhere. Whenever you're on video, in the emails that you write, that confidence is going to spill into everything. And that's huge. We have to not only build up our confidence, but we have to protect our confidence because there's so much up and down that goes on in the online space. There's so many things that change online. So a one-on-one coach can help you with those things and help you improve your confidence level. And the other thing, too, is you'll learn skills, you'll learn new things, and you'll learn from the coach's mistakes. Because all these coaches that teach something, whether it's one-on-one or group coaching, they've done it for a while. They've made the mistakes, they can shorten your learning curve, they can save you time. Oftentimes, some of my coaching clients, they'll have a question, they're sitting there and they're thinking, Oh, I gotta go on YouTube or I have to find a tutorial, I have to do all this. And all they need is just maybe a one sentence, two-sentence answer for something that's gonna simplify that whole process. And they go, Wow, this was fantastic. This just saved me a whole week's of work, right? Because they don't know that you don't know what you don't know. And when you have a coach and you're able to ask any question, not just specific to a course, but any question, then it helps because whatever they're working on, they can continue to move forward and they're not derailed and they're not slowed down and they stay in that momentum. And that happens a lot with my clients. Sometimes the question they have has nothing to do with the main topic, but it's something they're working on. If they can just get the answer so they can get it done, then they can move on to those other things that are really important. And that's what it's nice to have a coach and have access to a coach. And so whether it's one-on-one or group coaching, even my group coaching clients, I give them an opportunity to have one-on-ones with me because we can really go deep and take a look at some of the things that they're doing and see if we can create a plan, at least have a quarterly call so we can set up a plan for their quarter. So, coaches, specifically, I'm talking about online marketing because that's my space, but coaches can really save you time and they can help you begin to implement the habits or the routines that you need to move forward. They can help you see your strengths so you can use those to develop other areas that that maybe need a little bit more development. They can applaud your wins, they can give you accountability, they can speak from a place of experience. So sometimes we have too many things on our plate, and they can tell you, you know what, it's time to table this and let go of this for another season and focus on this one thing that's gonna help you grow your business. This is something that's so helpful. And whenever I have an opportunity to have a one-on-one with someone that can mentor me, it's like, yay, it's awesome because you come away with so much and you feel so much better. And as I go through, I'm doing more coaching, but I love being mentored myself. Um, and that's why I respect so much the mentors that I've had in the past because they've helped me just shorten the learning curve. And so when you're thinking about this, just know that a coach, a one-on-one coach, can just help you across the board with a variety of things because sometimes in a group coaching setting, it's great. I love group coaching, right? The energy that you have in group coaching, but sometimes there's not enough time to answer these other like one-off questions, where when you have a one-on-one coach, you can answer those one-off questions that's maybe you know weighing heavy or slowing you down. We want to get all those things out of the way. And they have this objective eye. So growth doesn't happen on an island. You need to be aligned with someone because, and I've said this before, and I'll say it again, I'll keep repeating myself because it's so important that we are not enough. We're enough to be loved, we're enough to be valued, we're enough to be respected, we're enough to be honored. But when it comes to growing an online business, we are not enough. And that's why relationship marketing is so important. But that includes mentorship, that includes having a coach. And if you can't afford a one-on-one coach, then do the next best thing and get in a group group coaching setting where maybe they offer one-on-ones. Now, in my group coaching setting, I offer one-on-ones quarterly to help them with their quarterly goals. There could be a hybrid like that. So see if if you can find something like that or talk to me. I would love to have a conversation with you. I also, in some of my programs on my higher-end programs where we talk about strategy and traffic, I also offer the SOS calls, right? The Mayday calls, where if they're in the middle of something and they have an opportunity and they're not quite ready and it's an SOS call, they know they can get on a call with me because I don't want them to blow that opportunity. I don't want them to miss an opportunity because something is not clear to them, or they think they have to finish something that a lot of times we think we have to have more than we actually need. And so sometimes simplifying things is kind of my forte. I love simplifying. And oftentimes that's all they need is just that outside voice to simplify something for an opportunity that's coming up. So it's really crispy clear, and it's going to be something that's really going to resonate with an audience, maybe that they're speaking to, or an opportunity to be a guest on a podcast, or an opportunity to maybe be on a summit, whatever it might be, it helps them to have that clarity and it helps them to have somebody rooting for them. The other thing is it also helps you remember that we're lifelong learners. We never stop learning. We're always learning. That's why I think a lot of entrepreneurs love to listen to podcasts and read books, and we're always learning, always discovering new things. And this is part of it. Having a coach, whether it's a one-on-one coach, you know, personal coach, or having a coach in a group setting is so helpful because we're always learning and always taking away so much value, even in a group setting when people aren't necessarily maybe it's not your turn to speak, but someone else is sharing something. You learn from their struggles as well. And then you realize that we all struggle with similar things, right? Nothing is new under the sun. And all of that lifelong learning is going to help you be consistent. Be consistent and protect your confidence because you realize that everyone has areas of struggle. So the magic is really doing the reps that's going to help you to be able to be consistent, and that compound effect is going to be what adds to the results that you see in your business. And it also helps to protect your dreams and protect yourself in a stressful world, you know, protecting your confidence, protecting your dreams, knowing that you can do this. It just takes time. Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves because we see that one person that says, you know, I made seven figures in one year. And then people go, Oh my gosh, are you kidding me? What am I doing wrong? And sometimes I think, you know, some of those things that people say, I I never like talking about money. I just think there's other ways to communicate than saying, I made seven figures, or I made six figures, or I made this much money, you know, because it's not all about money. A lot of people that I work with and a lot of solopreneurs, it's not about the money. They have they have really a desire to have an impact on people. And I know for myself, I don't want a big business. I don't want to have a huge team. And I know a lot of my audience, they're the same way. They're fine keeping it small. And there's nothing wrong with small. If you reach your revenue goals, whatever that amount is, there is nothing wrong with that. You don't have to have a huge team. You don't have to do what everybody else is doing. You can customize your business so it fits your lifestyle, fits your goals, and you get to do the things that you love to create an impact in this world. So I just wanted to share those tips with you about coaches, one-on-one coaches, and group coaching. I love coaching. And if you're a coach and you need a coach, I would love to have a conversation with you. So, coaching, I think, is not going to go away. I think we benefit when we're a coach and when we're the coache, we benefit. It's just such a great way to invest in ourselves to be able to get that mentorship that we need. And, you know, it's a lot of fun. It's not any fun doing it by yourself. And sometimes when we're in an online business and we work from home, we can feel so isolated. So that's the other component, too, that we grow our friendships and our networks as well. So that's what I have for you today. I hope you had some good things that you got out of this podcast episode. I wanted to share this because it was on my heart to share. And I hope if you haven't found a coach or you don't have a coach, reach out. I'd love to have a conversation with you. I have group coaching programs, I have a low membership group coaching, and I also have one on one coaching. Happy to have a conversation with you. I've got a program for every budget. So love to talk to you. Take care, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye bye.