From the Wisdom Vault...

Why it Pays to be Picky About Clients and Opportunities

Is every single client you have a pure joy to work with?
Do you easily find the time to market for new clients and create new programs?
Are you making the income from coaching that you had in mind?

If you answer 'no' to any of these questions, you're not alone. Most coaches grapple with these interrelated issues throughout their career. That was me just five years ago. I was working very hard and getting by but not having the experience I hoped for.

And here's why... I'd take on nearly any client, any speaking opportunity, say 'yes' to every proposal and leap at all the bright shiny objects -- those irresistible distractions that waste time and energy. I figured, any client at any price is better than none and any opportunity available now shouldn't be passed up. Have you ever thought that?

The bottom line: I was operating from a scarcity mindset.

Eventually, the cost of my poor decisions caught up with me because I was caught in a time/money Catch-22 -- I couldn't find time to make more money. My least ideal clients took more time and made the slowest progress. And most of those 'golden' opportunities that dropped into my lap took tremendous energy but were poor returns on my investment.

80% of my energy was tied up in things that paid only 20% of my income.

What finally changed? I did. I gave my business habits a complete makeover. Now I:
1. Make decisions as if my coaching practice is full all the time.
2. Highly value every hour of my time and charge rates that show that.
3. Hold high standards for the kind of clients I bring into my practice.
4. Run all opportunities through success criteria and only accept the 'right' ones instead of just the promising ones.

When you have a successful business you become picky about who you coach, where you speak publicly, where you network, and how you market. You treat every hour of your time as if it were equal to a large sum of money and make sure that for every effort you're getting a high return on your investment.

Why not start those good habits now and see what happens?

Once I made these shifts in my habits, I noticed that:
- My satisfaction with my coaching practice increased because all of my clients were ideal.
- My clients stayed longer, made bigger leaps in their progress, and referred more clients.
- The marketing opportunities I said 'yes' to put me in front of more of my ideal clients, generating more qualified leads and boosting revenue.

In short, my income doubled while working less hours, which left me time for more clients and high payoff opportunities.

To your prosperity!

Rhonda Hess
Founder, Prosperous Coach

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