Let's clear the air before we begin. I love coaching. This blog isn't to belittle or take the spark out of coaching. The purpose of this article is to show you a little more grey and a lot more transparency.
I see a lot of looks, appearances and people making 50K in seven days flying around on the Internet. Some coaches claiming they make $600,000. But really, who makes $600,000 a year? Investment bankers, CEOs and ice-dealers are all up there.
But the reality is most coaches do not earn $600,000 per/year and may never earn that much. The flaw in those coaches showcasing their hefty hearty bank accounts, is the fact that these coaches are promising six figures and big bank accounts for others and not delivering. The promise of half a million, well, inciting isn't it? Especially if the person promising it to us is claiming that they earn $30,000-$50,000 per month.
I am a positive realist. I do believe that there are some coaches that deliver on their high promises but they don't deliver to everyone. A friend of mine is 20,000 dollars out of pocket, was kicked out of the online groups that she belonged to and is now starting from square one. Her coach promised her, and kept promising her, the gleaming pile of money that was just around the corner. After eight months of working with this coach, with several thousand borrowed dollars the client couldn't pay anymore and as a result the coach kicked her out of the coaches' public Facebook groups and wouldn't respond to her emails.
Coaches often claim they make a ton of money and some certainly do, but I can relate with the fact that those that do spend the money and invest the time. In my last launch I spent over $10,000 on advertising alone. This is not something I tell people, but I'm feeling a fresh perspective is well overdue.
One coach stayed up for 20 hours a day for several weeks answering questions and helping people out in her Facebook group.
Did I mention the cost of paying for your website copy? The investment for a great copywriter is around $1,300 U.S. per/page.
Of course, coaching like any profession has its downsides, but the reality is I don't see these publicized. All I see is the beautiful six figures and the girl jet setting to Paris to enjoy her weekend-long retreat.
That's the raw and the real truth behind some of coaching, but there is also the positive side too. But you've most likely heard that all before. Six figures, travel, work when and where you want and so fourth.
So, if you are thinking about becoming a coach or you are a coach be a coach with integrity, if you are going to share your six-figure launch, share your good and your bad. Be vulnerable, the world is seeking coaches that are willing to stand up and let the real them be seen. Screw-ups and all.
For me, I've had my fair share and no doubt you will too. Hopefully you have someone transparent to guide you, a coaching program to assist you in handling those moments and in embracing your truth and not looking to the worlds one-sided view.
A successful coach to me means total transparency, and transparency rests on integrity. Do your homework, do the math and don't fall into some of the alluring traps that the world of coaching can (and cannot) offer you.
Be different, be an honest and open coach. The world needs it. Heck, I'm waiting for it.