It is easy to forget that you are in charge. Remember to update your business plans regularly. This does not mean that you have to re-do the complete business plan. It means that when you know you have completed a project or a major task you then put aside 10 minutes to re-assess where you are with your overall business goals. If you find that you are on target and still have many more projects to do, simply tick the box and continue. If you notice that there are gaps in the overall plan you can decide how much time will be needed to consider the projects or goals needed to keep you on track and then schedule the time to do this. This action will keep you in the driving seat rather than finding out at the end of the year you have taken a wrong turn and wasted time, energy and money going down the wrong way.
Tag business
curly
October 11, 2017
Insurance Is Important
It is very easy when working as a #life-coach or #business-coach to underestimate the level of insurance cover you need. There are many reasons for this under estimation which might include that you do not understand your legal liabilities or that you do not have an up-to-date valuation of your assets.
During our life coach training diploma we discuss the main types of insurance that life coaches and business #coaches should consider. We recommend that you take out a policy which includes professional indemnity and public liability even if you do not meet your clients face to face. Let me explain, public liability covers you in the event that you have claims made by members of the public for incidents which happen in relation to your business activities by covering the cost of compensation for: personal injuries, losses of or damage to property. You may feel that you are never going to have a client to your premises but there may be a time in the future when a wealthy or prestigious person wants to meet you before hiring your services and you decided to meet in a hotel. Anything can happen which may or may not be under your control.
Professional indemnity insurance (PI) covers your legal costs and any expenses incurred in your defence, including any costs or damages awarded, if you are alleged to have provided inadequate advice or services that caused your client to lose money. I realise that as life coaches we do not give advice but you cannot control the way the client interprets your questioning guidance. As business coaches there may be times where advice is asked for.
We recommend that you take out a policy which includes professional indemnity and public liability and if you go to our website https://www.achievementspecialists.co.uk/Life_Coaching/Insurance
where you can get a quote for a wide selection of activities and you will also get the Achievement Specialists discount even if you have not trained with us!
curly
June 8, 2017
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I would be posting some interesting and important details about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which is expected to come into force around the middle of 2018 so that all coaches, not just Achievement Specialists trained coaches, are prepared well in advance. As you will be aware, I strongly recommend that as a large part of growing your coaching business you generate referrals from your clients and your contacts.
The GDPR has references to both ‘consent’ and ‘explicit consent’. Do you know the difference? Do not be alarmed if you do not at this stage. The difference between the two is not clear given that both forms of consent have to be freely given, unambiguous, informed and specific. You will need to show that your consent trail demonstrates agreement to personal data being processed. Important Tip: Consent cannot be inferred from Read More
curly
July 10, 2016
‘I attended a business seminar several years ago and the keynote speaker began his presentation by asking what we thought was the most important thing to consider when starting a business. He wrote all the suggestions on a flip chart. Then, he took a red pen and scrawled ‘No!’ right across them all. When he announced that the first thing we should all have was a ‘get-out plan’, there was a stunned silence, broken by a few laughs from those who thought he was joking. But, he was absolutely serious.
Without wishing to depress you, it has been said that there are only three absolute certainties in life. These are birth, death and taxes. The same applies to your business venture. The big difference is that you can control and plan for its virtual death, just as you did for its birth, and to minimise your tax bills. By virtual death I simply mean that the original founder (you) decides to dispose of the business for whatever reason.’ Quote from The Business Coaching Handbook
What are your options?
Your first step must be to consult a solicitor, an accountant and a qualified financial adviser and your prime objective is to gain maximum benefit whilst reducing your potential tax liabilities.
Here are somethings you might consider Read More
curly
June 21, 2016
Here are a few of the reviews of the workshop part of my Level 7 Life Coach Diploma Course which was held last weekend.
“Excellent course and content. Great mix of practical and classroom work. Stretching and challenging FUN! Curly was brilliant and so was Kathrine. I am absolutely shattered! I am motivated to be the best coach I can be and I will always strive for excellence – Curly, you are an inspiration.” Excellent chosen in all review categories. B.C.
“Fantastic course, fast pasted. I am so glad I have chosen the Platinum. (This is the top option of the coaching diploma and she will be mentored by me for 6 months after the workshop.) Challenging, yet a very powerful course for those who are 100% committed.” Excellent chosen in all review categories. J.R.
“Curly so very useful and empowering. I have learnt so much the pace was perfect and the marketing session was really useful.” Excellent chosen in all review categories. L.R.
A fantastic learning experience! Thanks Curly and Kathrine.” Excellent chosen in all review categories. C.F.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the course, it was stimulating and inspiring.” Excellent chosen in all review categories. R.A.
Here are the topic we covered:-
Workshop Overview
Practical Coaching Activities – During this workshop you will experience 14 separate practical coaching sessions using the goals you prepared in PART 1. The sessions will be arranged in the following format:- Read More
curly
June 15, 2016
COLIN’S COLUMN
I am a man of many talents. One of these is the ability to recognise areas where I haven’t any talent. Like plastering for example.
So when a part of our apartment, located in a 200 year old house, needed some major cosmetic surgery, it was time to break open the piggy bank and get a professional in.
Our man kept to his appointment and did a great job at a fair price. Then he announced that he’d see us a week later to make sure it had all dried out alright and to give us a present.
He kept that appointment too and presented us with square white box containing a good quality china mug. It featured his logo of a flying plasterers’ trowel. His unexpected gift made us feel good even while promoting his brand and mugs are always handy anyway.
Of course coaches are all familiar with the beneficial effects of keeping journals in general and gratitude journals in particular. But these can be inward looking, so how about showing gratitude in a tangible form as our plasterer did? Read More
curly
April 19, 2016
International Fully Accredited Coaching Diploma Level 7
I no longer publish the Special Achievement Newsletter and as a farewell gift I have a great offer for all my readers as a huge thank you for taking your valuable time to read the newsletter and my blog and for your interest in life coaching. I promote referral systems as one of the many ways of building your coaching business and I walk my talk. So here is the offer:
If you refer someone to the Silver or Gold Option Diploma and they purchase a Silver or Gold Option place on any course date this year, you will be awarded £150, on the condition that you send an email to the office with the person’s name along with their email address and this is received prior to the person booking the course with us. ON TOP of this we will give the referee (person you recommend) £150 OFF their course providing they state that they were referred by you either on registering with us or when booking their course with us. This offer ends on close of business June 30th 2016, is subject to our T&C’s and is not available on the Distance Learning Diploma.
curly
October 21, 2015
Coaching Metaphor
Let your client drive the bus!
Remember that your client has all the resources they need within them and resist the temptation to give advice or directional contributions to the coaching session. Simply get on your clients bus and go along for the magical mystery tour letting your client do the driving and the coach becomes the passenger.
Passengers do not tell the driver how to drive, which route to take, how the bus functions, what to do in the event of an accident, they just watch interested in the scenery (behaviours) or asking the driver about the route (client background/goals/ideas) and which roads the driver could take to reach the destination (outcome). The passenger may mention a route they had heard about so the driver could have choices but the passenger does not drive and therefore the decision on the roads to take is down to the driver (client).
Sometimes the passenger points out things of interest along the way (successes/achievements) If the bus driver becomes lost you can look at the ordinance survey maps (Beliefs and Values elicitations) or the country map (goals) to decide which route would best get you both back on track towards the destination (outcome).
If the driver keeps looking Read More
curly
January 8, 2015
We often forget that our mobile devices hold client information because we overlook the odd text or email which has been received on our mobile device.
Recent surveys have shown that 75% of mobile devices have information which is work based/sensitive stored on them and that nearly 50% of these devices are not encrypted with around 30+% not password protected.
Ask yourself this question,
‘Do I hold any information on my mobile devices which relates to my coaching business?’
If the answer to the above question is ‘yes’, the next and very important question is, Read More
curly
December 16, 2014
The Law of Three
Colin Edwards and the Law of Three
Although is around ten years since I was last involved with magazine editing – or any other proper job for that matter – I still take an interest in the whole editing and publishing scene. This is how I learned about Trinity Mirror Digital research about readers’ attitudes.
Your awareness of their key findings could have a profound impact on improving the effectiveness of your print and on-line publicity material, whether you are a life coach, some other professional in independent practice or otherwise involved in business development. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, I offer you ‘The Magic of 300’!
People will only read an on-line item if it is around 300 words long. On most screens this allows them to see the beginning, middle and end of the piece in a single glance and then they can judge how long it will take to read it. There are exceptions, for instance, when readers have a keen interest in the subject matter. There is no need to do a word count if you keep in mind that a screen-full is about 300.
It takes around two minutes to Read More