Don't Make It About The Money
Sarah Short
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There's a bizarre phenomenon that seems to be unique to the coaching profession. I've looked and looked, but I can't see it replicated anywhere else.
The phenomenon is this: coaching shouldn't be about the money.
There is a feeling that coaching somehow transcends the boundaries of other professional services.
There's an idea that coaching is special, more righteous than any other service.
There's a belief in some quarters that coaching is almost a spiritual thing.
There's a belief that 'pure' coaching should be unsullied by money, that the act of coaching should be about giving back and that giving back should be enough for anyone.
I'm really struggling to articulate what I'm trying to say because the thing I'm trying to describe is rarely articulated by others. It's more of an implication - a fleeting expression of disdain, a visceral reaction to the idea of promoting coaching services, the idea that if your coaching is good enough your clients will find you.
There's a belief that coaches will put enormous amounts of passion, integrity, and authenticity into what they do and that they should prioritise their client's progress above their own financial gain.
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Coaches Deserve To Be Paid
Why shouldn't coaching be about the money? Why shouldn't coaches be paid a professional rate? We worked hard and spent a lot of money to get our qualification(s), so why shouldn't we be able to charge for our services?
I firmly believe that coaching shouldn't be all about the money. If you're doing something solely for the money it will get you down eventually.
However, we offer a professional service and we should be paid accordingly and there's nothing wrong with that.
A coach I know personally paid $30k to a very well-known coach/author to take part in his mentoring/business building group programme (yes, you heard me right - a group programme for that price!). After 6 sessions, this coach asked when they were going to get to the part about how to make this financially viable and the well-known coach curled his lip and said 'don't make it about the money, it will be written all over your face if you do, and people will think you're desperate'.
I think this response is extraordinary. Why would a coach join a business-building programme if not to build her business? Let's face it, if you don't have clients, you don't have a business at all. Businesses have paying clients - that's what makes them businesses! (And this chap charges $30k - who is he to say don't make it about the money?!)
Flip The Perspective
If we look at this situation from a different perspective - that of the consumer - we wouldn't expect to receive a service and not pay for it. We're quite comfortable paying a professional rate for a professional service - so why is being on the purveyor of the service side so different? We wouldn't say to an architect 'don't make it about the money' so why do we think it about ourselves?
I'm not offering answers to this enigma, I'm looking for your opinion. What is it about the coaching profession that gives us these curious beliefs about coaching?
Property Developer and Creator or Industrial, Commercial and other property investment projects
1 年It is kind of hard to let go of the money and just give you full attention to another. But once you dive in, the universe of another is one of the most amazing adventures to experience. https://www.mydreams.app/the-stars ??
-Life Coach
1 年I'm reading a book at thr moment which I had put off reading as the title is uncomfortable. It's called "How To Be A Badass at Making Money" by Jen Sincero. It has blown my mind!! She addresses the whole money is dirty, bad, not to be talked about etc. and blows it wide open.
??Author ?? Master Mentor Coach ??Creative Coach Supervisor ?? Leadership and Transitions Coach ??Retreat leader??Podcast host: Lifting the Lid on Coaching Supervision
1 年There’s something in here about the difference between being a service provider and being a thinking partner . When money changes hands, the person we are working with might unconsciously come with a consumer mentality, expecting to be mentored or taught. That’s not the dynamic we want to create in coaching, which is more about encouraging them to build their own thinking muscles. They are paying to do the hard work of thinking for themselves which is totally different from being a customer of a service. But you don’t pay a personal trainer to lift weights for you and expect your own muscles to increase. So yes the coach needs to work on their own money mindset AND we need to support the thinkers with whom we work to change their mindset which equates money with a service which they equate with mentoring or teaching. I hope that adds something useful to your pondering Sarah.
Founder/ New Beginnings Meditation (Holistic Practitioner) Mindfulness Meditation Educator Indie Author of "Finding Your Calm" An Essential Meditation Guide Co-Founder of Ladies of Tranquility (Wellness Studio)
1 年I think this article has some valid points. such as coaching shouldn't be just about the money as the article states, it should be about giving back to our communities through experiences and taught skills acquired of time to help build our clients in a way that gives them the resources they need in order to maintain in todays society. I also think that by giving back should be fulfilling in its entirety. Because who doesn't love the feeling of helping or being a light in the darkness that everyday life can bring. I Enjoy being able to connect people with the practices that I have personally utilized in my own life that gave me the opportunity to see the light in the darkest of days. and so when we as coaches go into these professions no it shouldn't be solely on making money but to be as passionate in our practices and have the will to produce a practice that continues to resonate with them for a lifetime . The beginning of being paid for the service is an added bonus.