What a start to 2020. Life is chaotic and uncertain for many right now. For those of us with online businesses (including my clients with an online coaching business), it has been somewhat business as usual. Depending on our business model and team, there may not be much (if any) downtime for us. My clients are taking all of the pandemic chaos in stride, adapting and making adjustments where needed, moving their live events and workshops online, and more.

Coaches, the world needs you right now! Don’t underestimate your value, and don’t believe those who claim people aren’t buying at this time. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those people are operating from a scarcity mindset and have a narrow view of the world based on their own interpretations. Your life and your business is what you make of it.

Many, many people are spending money and even buying into high-end programs. I’m seeing it in my business, I’m seeing it in my clients’ businesses, and I’m hearing it on social media and in groups I’m in.

People need your positivity and your leadership. They’re craving it. They’re feeling lost and they’re seeking it out. Whether it’s about business, money, health, weight loss, mindset, self-belief, grounding and connecting to source, or whatever it may be, it’s time to step up and serve.

How? When life gives you a pandemic, get creative and innovate!

Create. Innovate. Build. Grow.

• What about those of you who normally work one-on-one, in an office setting?
• What about those of you who have live events and workshops planned, and you know things won’t be back to normal by your event date?
• What about those of you who have a full-time or part-time job and have been building your coaching business on the side or as a hobby?

This is the time for online coaching businesses to flourish.

It’s the way of the future. Embrace it.

You don’t have to slow down your business and cancel your events, but you may have to change your approach a bit.

In Person Coaching

If you’ve had the model of one-on-one, in-person coaching/consulting in an office setting, now’s the time to revamp your business model and join the online coaching business world. It has never been easier. You can hold your coaching or consulting sessions via Zoom Meetings. As an alternative, there’s always Skype and phone, but really, Zoom is better quality video conferencing and more reliable.

Use an online scheduling calendar that connects to your personal calendar to easily allow people to book their appointments, without having to juggle back and forth to find a time that works for both of you. There are many great calendars out there, including Calendly and ScheduleOnce. If you have Office 365, Microsoft Bookings may be a good starter option. It doesn’t have as many features as other systems, but it will get you started.

Live Events and Workshops

Live events take so much planning, and for larger events it can be a devastating financial loss to outright cancel them. Get innovative. Many organizers are thinking on their feet and taking their events into 2020 with the latest technology by turning the live events into a virtual event, rather than canceling or postponing. It’s full steam ahead.

For higher ticket events and trainings, some are offering people an option of choosing to attend virtually at the same scheduled time or transferring their registration to a future live event (perhaps one in the fall or next spring).

Depending on the size and length of your event, and what features you want to have, you may want to do a livestream broadcast, and there are so many options out there. There’s a private Livestream broadcast, closed Facebook group with Facebook Live broadcasts, Zoom meeting/webinar broadcast, Demio webinar broadcast, and more.

If you had a workshop planned, Zoom is a great, interactive option.

Or you could record videos of you presenting/teaching the material and create an evergreen course that you can launch over and over again, and you can include live Q&A Zoom calls for the interactive experience, if you like.

Sent Home From Your Full or Part Time Job?

What about those of you who have a full or part-time job, and you’ve been trying to grow your coaching business on the side – or it has just been a hobby? You’ve been sitting at home, self-distancing, perhaps working from home or perhaps not doing much of anything constructive with your time.

Now is the time for you to step up and make things happen. You may have the extra time to put into it. Take it seriously. This can change your future.

Or you can sit around watching TV all day. It’s up to you. Your future is in your hands.

If you haven’t realized it yet… if you’re relying on employment to pay your bills and put food on the table, you’re not really in control of your finances. You’re at your boss’ or company’s mercy. If this is ringing true for you and you’ve been wanting to be self-employed and self-sufficient, start taking the steps now to ensure this never happens again. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it and a good investment of your time.

What can you do? Create your signature program that you also use as a guideline to coach from now, and that you can later on turn into a group coaching or evergreen online program.

If you don’t have enough clients, focus on working one-to-one virtually (Zoom/Skype meetings) to get that experience under your belt so you know what people are needing from you. Offer short, complimentary discovery sessions to find out what people need and are struggling with, and then offer them what they need (your expertise and guidance by way of a coaching package).

If, going into this pandemic, you had all of the clients you could handle on the side of your main job, work on growing that virtually, both one-on-one and by developing a group coaching program, virtual workshops, and/or getting your signature coaching program set up and launched online as an evergreen training program or combo of evergreen with live Q&A calls. The options here are really endless. Use your time wisely. Use your imagination. Get creative!

This can be a great opportunity to transform your business and your future.

Need some help?

For those of you who don’t currently work with me who are interested in getting your programs and courses set up online, I’m looking at putting together a small team to build out the courses.

Basically, you and I would dive into the details of your course/training/workshop/group coaching program and plan it out, and then I would have the team build it for you under my guidance. It would be customized based on the length of your course, features needed, and the platform that best suits your needs.

I’m really excited about the idea of being able to help more of you fulfill your dreams and goals as quickly as possible!

If this sounds like something you need help with and you don’t already have a clear plan of how you want everything set up, the best place to start is with an in-depth “Online Systems Assessment and Strategy Session” to get clear on where you are in your business, what services or training you want to move online, creating a draft outline, platform options and recommendations for your situation, and discussion of timelines. Afterward, I will provide a report of the information I collect and my recommendations, along with a quote for setting it up via the recommended platforms.

If you know this is the right time to transform your coaching business by moving your expertise online so that you can serve more people and make a bigger impact in the world… shoot me an email at lisa@thevirtualsolution.com and we’ll discuss it further!