Every morning I look at the news on my phone for fifteen minutes.  I read The Skimm and CNN’s 5 Things To Know for that day.  It’s amazing how much I can absorb in such a finite amount of time.  And as an Empath, I mean that not only intellectually but physically.  I take it all in…and then I meditate and do breathing exercises to shed the emotional toll of literally taking in the news of the day.

It’s difficult to shed the weight of the difficulties we are facing right now.  What I’ve noticed in talking to coaches every day is that there is a mounting fear that these immense challenges that we face as a society will also cause us to go into an economic recession and that their coaching businesses are going to dry up.  With uncertainty, it’s easy for our inner saboteurs to grab the wheel and steer us into fear.

It reminds me of 2020 when everything came to a screeching halt and the whole world had to reinvent how to operate amidst a global pandemic.  There was a tremendous amount of fear about the impact this would have on life, let alone business.  It de-mobilized a lot of organizations and the people within them.  I also know that it derailed a lot of coaches and their businesses, too.

With Great Challenge Also Lies Great Opportunity

I am proud to say that most of my clients had banner years in 2020.  They made sure that the work they provided met an essential need for their clients.  They pivoted where they needed to, to ensure their clients’ needs were met.  Offsites were re-designed to be successful and engaging in a virtual environment.  They zoned in on the biggest challenges their clients were then experiencing and created tools and resources to support them more successfully.  They became essential partners to their clients through a very difficult period.  Their value proposition became stronger as demands and challenges grew for their clients.

Perception Can Create Your Reality

Yes, there will be organizations and individuals who press pause on coaching services right now because they deem them as “professional development” instead of “essential services.”  In times of financial belt tightening, it is very common for non-essential services to be put on hold.  The question is “is coaching really a “nice to have” professional development service?”  “And if there is any truth to this, how do I change that?”  This could be a perception that could be corrected; that your value proposition must more articulately explain the essential nature of the coaching you do.

What If Perception IS Reality?

It also could be that your work, in how you currently offer it, isn’t as powerful as it could be.  It’s helpful and useful but it isn’t essential.  The question here is “how do I make my coaching work more powerful so it is essential to my ideal clients?” I guarantee you that you can make your work essential if you are willing to change and are able to be nimble.

You Must Be Nimble to Stay Essential in a Changing Landscape

As someone who has been coaching successfully for 22 years through economic crisis as well as prosperity – through the aftermath of 911, the Great Recession, and the COVID 19 Pandemic, as well as through times of great economic growth –  I can tell you with absolute confidence that coaching is needed more now than ever.  Leaders are facing unprecedented challenges and burnout statistics seem to only be getting worse.  As an example, Monster.com released a study that said 90% of US workers will be looking for a new job in 2023.  That is staggering.  Even if that statistic were half that, organizations are going to have to do some major renovations so that employees will want to be part of the solution.  What’s worked in the past is no longer working and this has upped the ante for Leadership.

It’s truly an exciting time (should you choose to look at it that way).

Coaches can be a huge part of this period of reinvention.  And it may be time for you to look at your own work – your focus, your process, your tools, your value proposition – and ask what renovations you need to make to insure you are an integral part of the solution.

If you want to be part of the solution and need support in making your work essential to your ideal client, let’s talk.

I’m excited to be part of the change the world is needing and I am guessing that you are, too.  What will you do this year to ensure your work is deemed essential to your ideal client?  Please share!  I always love to hear from you

With appreciation,

Tara Butler Floch