Are you ready to grow? Then get a Coach.

Women join my program usually with one financial goal in mind. Many want to pay off credit cards, student loans or other debt. For others it’s to add a certain amount to their household budget. And for some it’s to replace their salaries so they can completely quit their day jobs. It all depends on their individual situations. I’m a firm believer in each student defining their goals and what they look like for themselves. There is no requirement or pre-requisite to want to make $xxxxx. The whole point of becoming a VA and choosing this path is to get to be your own boss, make your own rules, and design your own life.  

GOALS GET BIGGER

However, one thing I know happens repeatedly — when one of my Expert VA? or Virtual Experts? reaches their original goal — is their goals change. They realize how capable they are. They recognize the need for their skills in the marketplace. They re-evaluate just how much they can do as a successful business owner. So what happens to their goals? They get bigger. 

I had one woman who wanted to add a couple thousand dollars to her family's income each month. Within six months she had met that goal. Now she’s a little over a year in her business and she’s trying to decide if she should develop a team or if she should move to working with fewer clients and charging them more. Another came into the program wanting to replace her salary ($45K). Her first year she generated $54K in revenue. Her second year $88K. Now, she’s looking at her third year going into business and has set a goal for $120K. She’s also changed her business model, narrowed her niche, and I can’t tell you what else, but her own growth has been remarkable.  

(For more real women with real results you can visit here.)

NEW HORIZONS CAN BE SEEN

Having the opportunity to consider your next move and what you want because you accomplished your original goal (or your second or your third) is a wonderful place to be in. I often say to VEs: Work until you reach your first horizon. When you get there, you realize you can now see the next one. You can’t determine what is beyond that first hump until you get there. Once you reach that first summit, then, and only then, can you even begin to consider what could be beyond it. Each achievement builds trust and confidence in yourself so you can tackle the next one you set. If you can dare to dream, you can dare to fly high.

GROWTH CAN’T BE REACHED WITHOUT COACHING 

I love to see Virtual Experts? awaken to their own power, to see what they’re capable of and push their own limits. What I love more is having them invest in themselves to make that next level of their success possible. Coaching. I don’t believe any growth (be it personal or professional) can happen in isolation. Sure, you can read books and watch videos and try things on for size, but there are three critical things missing when you’re flying solo: accountability, objectivity, and experienced guidance. 

Accountability 

How many times do we say to ourselves we are going to do something and then it never happens? This happens to me every New Year’s when I set resolutions that only last for thirty days. (Okay, more like seconds. You caught me.) It’s not enough to say these things to myself. It’s not even enough to write them down. We need accountability for following through on the actions that will set us up for success. 

When it comes to your business, it’s the same. You need a person who is going to hold you to what you say, help you make a plan for achieving what you set out to do, push you when you’re skirting around the hard stuff and help you soften your edges when you’re being too hard on yourself. Most importantly, you need that person who is going to celebrate with you when you do reach the goal. 

Objectivity

None of us can see the label clearly from inside the bottle. Many of us can easily slip into working inside our businesses instead of on our businesses – a distinction that can be murky at times, especially when you’re just getting started. Working with a coach offers that third-party perspective which is far more objective than our own point of view. They can point out inefficiencies, gaps, best practices, and more that we otherwise might not be able to see. 

Coaches provide a sounding board so we can talk out loud about our ideas and visions and sometimes even just doing that, without their response, can be incredibly helpful. Hearing what we are saying out loud, instead of letting it waddle around in our mind tripping over all the other ideas, can help us gain clarity and focus. 

Experienced Guidance 

Last but certainly not least, coaches have gone before us. I know it sounds cheesy but it’s true. Coaches have walked the walk. (At least really good ones that is. Don’t trust anyone selling something they haven’t experienced first.) They are offering you tips, insights, advice, and expertise based on lived experience (trial-and-error), achievement, and/or formal training. 

Not to mention you can get coaches that are specialized. Business coaches can be specific to marketing, or branding, or sales, or the Virtual Assistant world (like me). You can have more than one coach as a result of wanting to work with the best coach in a particular area you’re seeking guidance. I personally work with three coaches and each one offers me something different. My business wouldn't be hovering over the 7-figure mark without them. 

IF YOU’RE READY TO GROW – GET A COACH

Bottom line: if you’re ready to grow, get a coach. This is advice for anyone, not just established VAs or VEs. We can achieve great things flying solo, but we can achieve even greater things when we fly together.  

So, if you’re looking to scale your business to the next level, or test a new business idea, or change your model, grow a team, or something else, don’t do it on your own. Get a coach to help you map those steps to the next horizon where you’ll undoubtedly look out and see the next path you want to take. 

For more on becoming a VA, snatch up my book Leaving the Grind Behind: The Startup Guide for the Emerging Virtual Assistant. 

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Kathy Goughenour is an experienced and savvy business coach and trainer. From corporate marketing to Virtual Assistant to business coach and trainer.

Since 2008 she's been training and coaching women to build successful Virtual Assistant home-based businesses through her program Virtual Expert? Training.

If you are ready to start a profitable business as a successful Virtual Expert? I can help you find your niche and achieve your goals. Apply here for a free MORE Clients MORE Profits Breakthrough Session with a member of my team today to see if Virtual Expert? training is the right fit for you.