[The articles I post on ChurchCentral are drawn from recent issues of Christian Coaching Magazine and
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Businessavvy
The Psychology of Growing Your Business in Tough Times
by Christopher McCluskey, PCC
 
“I’m afraid people won’t pay for coaching now. They can’t afford it, and unemployment is too high.”
 
I’ve heard these words over and over the past several months and, based upon what I see in the news, I can understand why. It’s conventional wisdom. The trouble is, it is simply, and absolutely, not true.
 
Don’t get me wrong – it’s true that we’re in a recession, perhaps even a depression. It’s true that the unemployment rate is 9.5%.  It’s true that people are cutting back on discretionary spending, that businesses are closing their doors, and that our federal government is altering the marketplace beyond recognition.
 
But what is patently false is the notion that people won’t pay for coaching now, that they can’t afford it, or that unemployment is too high for people to hire coaches. These are mindsets, mental rehearsals which, if unchallenged, create their own self-fulfilling prophecies. They are not truth.
 
Got truth?
Truth is that so many people are hiring coaches that coaching is currently the second-fastest growing industry in America, second only to Information Technology (Money magazine). Truth is that coaching is the number one fastest-growing home-based business (Entreprenuer magazine). Truth is that the median household income range for a family of four in the U.S. is $55,759 - $103,719 (U.S. Census Bureau, March 2009). People can afford a coach.
 
Truth is that a 9.5% unemployment rate means that 90.5% of employable persons are employed (U.S. Census Bureau, May, 2009). That is well over 125 million people. Truth is that, in tough times, people are more keenly aware of the need to be intentional with their time and money and careers and relationships and lives – the very things coaching addresses.
 
Christians are called to live in truth – only truth – and never in fear. Proverbs 23:7 states, As a man thinks in his heart, so is he…  Our mindsets determine a great deal about who we are and the lives we lead. We coach our clients around mindset all the time; perhaps we could use some coaching of our own on our mindsets about business and marketing in the current economy.
 
A Case Example
An excellent coach I have mentored can serve as a voice for anyone struggling with mindset. We’ll call her Sandy, and the exchange below is taken directly from our emails. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Sandy built a solid business in keeping with her vision of a caseload of 15 clients, a women’s group, and paid speaking engagements. In mid-January, she sent me the following note:

I am sad to say that I have to postpone our next appointment. My business rapidly dried up in the last six weeks. Current clients have dropped out and decreased frequency due to the economy, and I have not been able to secure new clients for the same reason.
 
I have a two-month window in which I will have to decide whether I have to take on outside employment. I can’t believe I am saying that, but our financial future is tenuous so the mandate to work is greater than ever. I am feeling quite anxious which is not like me.

My email response was as follows:

Whoa – this is not good.  I’m sorry to hear that the caseload dried up, but especially to hear that you may have to take on outside employment!
 
It’s certainly not a problem to postpone until February, but I really want to encourage you to get creative in thinking about ways to get a couple new folks on your caseload.  It’s probably a relatively small number of clients which would make the difference between “I need to take another job” and “Hey, I’m fine.” Maybe two or three, or perhaps four?
 
If I had my druthers, I would love to brainstorm ways you could respond to this slump and spin it into an opportunity for expanding your market exposure.  You’re ready – your website kicks, your experience and confidence are up, and there’s no question that coaching is really what you want to do instead of some kind of outside work.

Her email two-and-a half months later on April 2, 2009:

I want to thank you for the nudge (shove!) in January to do what it takes to keep my business going. I started three new clients in Feb, four new clients in March, one already for April, two new members in the group, and a few very viable consultations still in the pipeline. I am seeing my income go up!
 
I am back up to 16 active clients, and am getting about 10 sessions in a week.  It is feeling good and busy. Thank you so much for reminding me of my agenda.

To confirm that this wasn’t a brief upturn followed by another downturn, I phoned Sandy before writing this article. She excitedly reported, “I eventually got six ideal clients from that workshop and they’re all with me still. I am up to 21 clients now!” 
 
The pivotal point for Sandy came in her response to the statement, “It’s probably a relatively small number of clients which would make the difference between ‘I need to take another job’ and ‘Hey, I’m fine.’ Maybe two or three, or perhaps four?” As she pondered that assertion, her mindset shifted. A healthier, more truthful mindset changed everything. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he…”
 
Shifting Your Mindset
How do we turn from our fears about the current marketplace and adopt a more truthful, rational mindset? Some Do’s and Don’ts:

~ Don’t lose faith.
~ Don’t cut back on marketing efforts.  Seriously consider increasing.
~ Don’t run sales.  Add value to your service package instead.
~ Don’t be double-minded about your business.  Hold your vision.
~ Don’t buy into the “security” myth about working for someone else.
~ Don’t court discouragement. It will come, but don’t entertain it.
~ Don’t allow too much escaping behavior. Monitor things like web surfing, channel surfing, pointless Facebooking & blogging, recreational shopping, abusing junk foods/sugars/caffeine, etc.
~ Don’t view, read or listen to too much media.
 
~ Do stay focused on God and disciplined in your walk of faith.
~ Do look for untapped markets.
~ Do be vigilant with time management. Prioritize and follow through.
~ Do diversify your streams of income. Add new services.
~ Do stay current. Keep learning. Get more training.
~ Do mentally rehearse truth, counter fears, recite Scripture and positive mantras.
~ Do stay creative. Access your imagination.
~ Do work with a mentor coach.
~ Do join a MasterMind group or other gathering of coaches who challenge and keep each other motivated.
~ Do know your business and stay on top of the numbers. Know how much money you have coming in, how much you need, and constantly analyze the ways you can hit and exceed that amount.
~ Do find out what your clients want, and provide it.
~ Do tap your clients & friends to market for you. Access their networks.
~ Do increase your level of play and recreation – feed your soul.
~ Do sleep, exercise, eat healthily, connect with yourself and others.
~ Do stay determined.

Working Your Mindset
Best-selling business author, Michael Gerber, reminds us that we must always be working on our businesses as well as working in them. The nature of a service-oriented business like coaching is that we spend most of our time working in it – marketing, talking with prospects, answering emails, serving clients. The inherent danger is that we easily “lose the forest for the trees”.
 
Frequently board the same metaphorical helicopter you use with your clients and get above the trees: Recapture your vision, modify it, expand it, over and over. It is only when we step away our businesses to get the meta-view that we capture fresh vision, discover new opportunities, and set new goals.
 
Whenever you hear those internal voices saying, “People won’t pay for coaching now,” “They can’t afford it,” “Unemployment is too high,” “The economy is too bad,” know that you’ve lost perspective. You’re rehearsing perceptions rather than truth. Stop working in your business for a while and work on it again. Prayerfully review the list of Do’s and Don’ts and recommit to the actions that will foster a healthy, more truthful mindset.
 
After all, there’s no question that coaching is really what you want to do instead of some kind of outside work, right?
 
Christopher McCluskey, PCC, is President of Coaching for Christian Living (www.christian-living.com) and Director of the Professional Christian Coaching Program (www.professionalchristiancoaching.com), an ICF-accredited coach training program.
 
  
  
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