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S1.Ep38: “My job is keeping me from starting my dream business”

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Courtney has been a nurse practitioner for seven years, but two years ago she decided to follow her calling and become a life coach alongside her career. It’s been a journey, and Courtney called The Life Coach Hotline because she’s experiencing some fear that’s blocking her from going all in on her life coaching dream.

Many life coaches start their businesses alongside their full-time jobs, but is it even possible to give your coaching business the creativity and attention it needs while still maintaining a job?

Tune in this week to hear the shifts in thought required to truly believe you can build a coaching business while still giving attention to your career outside of coaching. You’ll learn what it takes to make these kinds of big decisions simpler so you can go after your dreams without the drama.

What You'll Learn on this Episode

  • How it’s possible to show up full force in your coaching business alongside a full-time job.
  • Why it’s normal to believe you’re short on time as you start your coaching business.
  • The thought shifts required to go all in on coaching while still working full time.
  • Why going all in on your coaching business doesn’t need to be a complicated decision.
  • My advice to coaches wondering when it’s the right time to quit their day job.

Featured on the Show

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE

Click to Read Episode Transcript

Lindsey: Hi, welcome to The Life Coach Hotline. This is Lindsey Mango, your life coach. How can I help you?

Hi, Lindsey, this is Courtney. So I’m calling in because I have been a registered nurse now for about seven years and two years ago I decided to pursue my life calling and purpose into life coaching. And it’s been a journey. In those two years I’ve come a very long way, but I still find myself wanting to really jump full force into that coaching, but I feel blocked or fear in doing that, mostly for financial reasons.

So I continue to lean back on nursing jobs even though I definitely do not feel in residence with the nursing career and I feel that putting my energy towards nursing is taking my energy away from my true purpose. And I am in a bit of a financial tight spot right now, so I’m just trying to navigate through that and kind of just move forward. And it’s eventually my goal this year to go into the coaching full force and by the end of this year be out of nursing. So, yeah.

Lindsey: I love it. Okay, I have something so beautiful and so simple, and I think we’re going to be able to shift this really quickly. But I’m just curious what comes up when I say this because I’ve seen this happen a lot where people are like, I can’t be all in on my business unless I rip the cord and jump in and quit my job and go into my coaching or go into whatever business.

And don’t believe that to be true. You can be all in on your business while still having your job to support your life. And I’m curious what your thoughts are when I say that.

Courtney: Yeah, there is a part of me that really does believe that because I have been doing that for the last couple of years. But I just know personally as a nurse it can be very energetically draining. And sometimes I do feel like I go into my nursing career and I’m one person and it’s a totally different person and I’m putting so much energy towards that.

Lindsey: Yeah.

Courtney: And on my days off I feel like I’m almost drained of my life force a little bit and creativity.

Lindsey: Yeah. Okay, so what would it have to change in order for you to prioritize, it sounds like because you don’t want to just leave your job necessarily. And I’m curious what would it take to feel, like to be all in on your coaching and still show up for your job? What would have to shift?

Courtney: To be all in on my coaching and still show up for my nursing job?

Lindsey: Yes.

Courtney: That’s a good question.

Lindsey: You’re like it’s the golden question. It’s the one I’ve been trying to figure out. But what do you think would have to shift? Like what thoughts, what beliefs, what changes would you have to make?

Courtney: I guess I would just have to believe that it is possible to show up full force in my coaching business while still being a nurse. I think for some reason I just don’t believe that. Like I feel a block towards that.

Lindsey: Yeah. Okay, this is so good. What does full force mean? ‘

Courtney: As far as my business?

Lindsey: Yeah, like how do you define full force in your business?

Courtney: I guess like showing up consistently on social media, I write an email list, taking clients. I want to hold more retreats in the future. I want to take a certain number of one to one clients, I’m not 100% sure what that number is yet because I’m still working those details out. And also just have the freedom to continue to learn, to grow as a coach and to network with other people and collaborate with other healers and things like that.

Lindsey: Yeah. I love it. Okay, and so what do you think is required to show up, let’s just take one of these for example, to show up consistently?

Courtney: What is required?

Lindsey: Yes. In your mind, what is required to be full force into that?

Courtney: Definitely time, right? Like a lot of consistency.

Lindsey: Okay, this is good. What are you realizing –

Courtney: These are good questions.

Lindsey: Yeah. What are you realizing as you’re talking? I’m curious.

Courtney: I’m kind of realizing that maybe I’m not doing those things consistently.

Lindsey: Okay. Well, and here’s the – Go ahead, what were you going to say?

Courtney: Oh, no, go ahead.

Lindsey: Well, I was just going to say I think it’s going to be hard to do that because there’s kind of two beliefs that I’m seeing show up. One, you think you need time. And so when you have a job, if you think time is associated with consistency, you are going to feel like there’s only so many hours in a day.

Courtney: Yeah.

Lindsey: So if time equals consistency, and I’m very limited on time, it’s going to feel like your consistency is hard to create because it’s reliant on –  Even though time is infinite, like I believe it’s abundant, but let’s just say 24 hours, you’re working X number of hours. If we look at the facts, if you believe that’s what correlates consistency, it’s going to feel very hard to do that when you’re working a job.

Courtney: Wow. Yeah, that definitely makes sense.

Lindsey: Because here’s the thing. And again, we’ll go to the – Because the other piece of this is the energy.

Courtney: Right.

Lindsey: You’re also thinking energy is this limited resource. And I totally get it. Like in my own mind, even though – Like I worked my job when I built my business, but I wasn’t a nurse, I’m sure that’s very different. But I kind of am comparing it to being a mom. I’m like, yeah, that’s very energetically draining, I get that. Sometimes your life force is a little bit not there all the way.

But I think that associating with that too, it’s like you basically are associating being all in and your ability to create what you want with these two, what feel like limited resources to you.

Courtney: Yeah, that definitely makes sense, for sure.

Lindsey: While you have your job, then you’re going to be like, oh, this is limited. And I say all this to say that really what you need is like a moment. So I always joke, and here’s the thing, the retreats, the taking clients, all of that.

So while you’re working at a job, this is more tactical, but I always think you want to focus on the most important things and the things that are going to translate to money, like the most money. Do you know what I mean? That are going to require the least amount of upfront time. Like all of those pieces because that’s going to be what helps you.

I imagine it kind of like a seesaw, right? Like you’re giving lots of time to your job, so you don’t want to be spending, I’ve always told people unless it’s like your truest like dharma and passion is to start a podcast, I’m like, I’d probably wait until you’re making some money to hire somebody so you’re not spending hours editing a podcast or doing whatever you think you need to do. Like, why don’t you just sign some clients, then leave your job. Then you open up, you level out this seesaw and now you can like get support and help and you have more time. Does that make sense?

Courtney: Yes, absolutely.

Lindsey: So I’m just like using this example, but I always think back and I’m like, oh, and I offer this now sometimes. I’m like, literally this is such a funny way to say it. But I really think that I could build an entire business working on a lunch hour or working while I’m literally peeing on the toilet. But I say that to say, I think that’s how simple it could be. That’s how long it can take to create a piece of content and put it out in the world and sign clients.

Now, yes, you might need time to do consults and time to book clients, which is something I would recommend sitting down and going, okay, where would I actually fit 10 clients or five clients or whatever your goal is, like when I sign them, right? But like to actually create them, it can take moments.

Courtney: Yeah, that’s so true. That’s so true.

Lindsey: Right? Like I bet on your way to work or like while you get a break or sometimes in the morning you have like an inspired idea. Or like an inspired like, oh, this would be good for me to say. Do you ever feel that?

Courtney: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Lindsey: Okay, what keeps you from putting it out there?

Courtney: I know this is probably going to sound like an excuse, but it always hits at the most inconvenient moments. Like it’s truly when I’m at work or like in the middle of something and I’m like, oh man. I usually try to keep notes and write things down, but sometimes I come back to them and I feel like they’ve lost their charge almost or I’m reluctant to go back to that idea.

Lindsey: Yeah. Okay, so I get that. That does happen to me sometimes too.

Courtney: Yeah.

Lindsey: And I think you would have to let the process be maybe simpler or easier than you’re letting it.

Courtney: Yeah, from what I’m realizing from this call so far, I think I’m just making things a lot more complicated in my head than they need to be.

Lindsey: Yes. It would be hard if, I’m just using this as an example, not that you said this. But like if you believed you had to have great lighting and appear a certain way and nail this video or do it this way, right? Like that would be hard to fit that into a day rather than like, oh, I screenshot my note section, I put that out in the world. Like I’m eating my lunch and I do a quick video.

The thing with this is you can’t have any level of like, I don’t even want to say perfectionism, but just kind of like particularness that is coming into the fear kind of, I mean more, that it’s going to require more time to execute those things than actually needs to happen.

Courtney: Yes, absolutely. That definitely resonates for sure.

Lindsey: All right. So what are your thoughts now?

Courtney: Yeah, I mean, this has just been – My thoughts are definitely like, like I said earlier, I am overcomplicating things and I don’t need to. And things really don’t have to take that much time, which makes me feel a lot better because I think one of my fears as well was not having time just for me and my life too because that’s important.

Lindsey: Absolutely.

Courtney: And I know like during those times when I am enjoying my life or just sitting outside with a cup of tea or just in the flow, like that’s when the ideas come.

Lindsey: Absolutely, that is a requirement. Especially if you’re coaching people, you can’t be not enjoying, you know what I mean? Like you can’t be like suck all of your time to that. That is where the juice comes from. That’s where the life force comes from. That’s where you’re your best example for people.

Courtney: Yes, exactly. And of course, I want to be the embodiment of what I teach and I want people to enjoy their lives. So I have to do that too. So yeah, so much has come out of this. And I just think it’s more giving myself a little bit of structure on those days off, but also allowing the time for things to just flow to me and also enjoy.

Lindsey: Yes, I love it.

Courtney: Yes, thank you.

Lindsey: Yeah. Yeah, I think the biggest things are like it doesn’t take time and your life force, again, you are creative. You do have those moments. It’s just about either capitalizing on them in the moment, even if it doesn’t look exactly how you thought, or coming back to them and bringing back that juice. But I would even say on your days off, like making your number one priority that embodiment is going to be what translates into great content and stuff that sells.

Courtney: Oh, that’s so good. I love that. I love that idea, that really sits well with me.

Lindsey: Right? That’s where you’re going to get your juice and you’re going to have these awesome ideas. And then you’re going to like, and then again, you get to let it be easy.

The last thing I will just offer you, just this is more tactical, is to really sit down and think about where you’re going to put those clients on your calendar while you’re working your job, because you will energetically and just like mentally block yourself if you’re unconsciously like, well, I don’t even know where they would go.

Like I would really say, okay, if I want to leave my job, I need to have 10 clients. Here is where I’m going to put these 10 clients and there’s going to be a hot minute where it’s a little busy. Like I remember working at night and working on my lunch hour and things like that. But it’s like, but then as soon as you hit that, you’re like, boom, leave my job, now I’ve opened up like every hour in my day.

Courtney: Oh, yeah, that’s good. I definitely want to do that because I think that’s a piece that’s also been missing because sometimes my schedule isn’t always consistent, but I do have four days off, which is good. So there is time to place clients. So yeah.

Lindsey: Yeah. Maybe yours isn’t a, you don’t have consistent call times with your clients. Maybe you, like I have had clients before, that I book the week before. I’m like, okay, let’s look at our week next week.

Courtney: Yeah, I love that. I think I kind of just got caught up thinking, oh my gosh, my program has to be so structured, but maybe it can just be a little bit more flowing.

Lindsey: There’s another place, right?

Courtney: Yeah, yeah.

Lindsey: Especially when you are, again, it’s not about time, but when you are giving time to a job, like the number one thing is just making it as simple and as easy as humanly possible. And then working on the beliefs that keep you from thinking you can do it that way. Like for me, I didn’t even, when I sold my first coaching when I was working a job, and I still do a lot of coaching like this is, it was like you get four calls a month for 12 months or whatever. Like I call you on the phone, that was it. That was like what I was selling. There were no worksheets. There were no notes. There was no program. There was no structure.

Courtney: Wow. Okay. See, hearing that from you and just, that’s very inspiring. So thank you for sharing that because it definitely gives me the permission slip to just be more flexible with what I’m doing. And that makes me feel really good.

Lindsey: Yay. Okay, good. You have to update me. I’m excited to hear how this goes. Thank you so much for calling in.

Courtney: Yes. Thank you so much, Lindsey, this has been amazing.

Lindsey: You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.

If you want to call in to The Life Coach Hotline, go to https://lindseymango coaching.com/lifecoachhotline. Talk to you soon. Bye.

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