View from our new living room

Sometimes you just have to stop and say “WOW!”

About five years ago, I moved to Santa Fe.  I was broke and broken hearted after a painful divorce process.  The only place I could afford was a dark, efficiency apartment.  It was embarrassing to have people over.  My business was fairly new and I was working hard to attract clients at $80 a session …

This Saturday, we move into our new home.  It’s a solar house so it’s very bright.  It has a gorgeous sunroom for Francesca’s office (she always said her ideal office would have “lots of light”), a sweet office for me, and a remodeled garage for the home gym I’ve been wanting.  And the gardens … I feel like we won the lottery! 

Growing a Thriving Business Through Appreciative Inquiry

The reason I can afford this wonderful home is my business is doing very well.  I have 3 mastermind groups full of delicious clients.  My individual coaching roster is vibrant and I make much more than $80 per session.  Interesting special projects keep showing up – like consulting on spiritual entrepreneur’s websites  and social marketing campaigns.

When I look at what I actually do in my work with clients, at least 70% of it is different than 5 years ago.  And this shift happened largely due to a business consulting model called Appreciative Inquiry.

Expand Your Business Through 2 Powerful Questions

On the surface, Appreciative Inquiry (AI) looks a bit too simple to be effective.  Yet it’s been used to increase profits and efficiency at some of the most powerful organizations in the world – including Walmart, The United Nations and The Girl Scouts of America.

The 2 basic questions of AI are:

1. What’s going well?
2. What do you want to do more of?

How Appreciative Inquiry Transformed My Business

Going deep with these questions has brought more profit, ease and FUN into my business.  By going deep, I mean sitting with them through time.  And being willing to grow in order to be the person necessary who can “do more of” something I’ve identified as being helpful.

For example, when I first started my business, I only did mindset work.  Specifically, I was using EFT and other energy psychology tools to help clear blocks to increased success.

As I worked with my clients, many of whom were coaches, therapists and healers, I noticed that as they cleared their inner blocks they often ran into questions about marketing their businesses.  And they felt I understood the deep dynamics of their businesses better than many traditional marketing consultants.

Noticing this positive feedback, I consciously grew my marketing skills.  I took classes, read books and subscribed to blogs.  Today the combination of inner mindset work and outer social marketing consulting means my average clients stays in my business from 18-24 months (instead of 3 months five years ago).  This shift changed everything!

How about your business – what is one area that’s going well?  What’s one thing you might want to do more of?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment below.

Credit: Stephen DePollo

Entrepreneurs charge people for a product or service.  Simple, right?  But it’s not so straightforward when it comes to spiritual entrepreneurs …

With the added intentions of transformation, deep integrity and the desire to improve the world, sometimes spiritual entrepreneurs get a little wobbly (Harvard Business School termonolgy) around the whole subject of how to price your service.  Having been asked about it several times in the past few weeks, it was time to write a pricing post.

Grandma’s Pricing Wisdom

I used to get uncomfortable when clients asked me the inevitable question: “How much should I charge?”   As I explored that discomfort, I realized that much of it stemmed from me buying into the pervasive quick fix, instant riches mindset.

After some deep work and many heartfelt conversations about the topic of how to price your service, I’m happy to say I now have a very simple answer to this common question: “It depends.” 

With spiritual maturity, one develops an understanding that overly simplistic answers aren’t always the most useful.  Instead, I want to channel that wise grandmotherly energy that’s available to us all (whether or not you were blessed with a wonderful figure like my Grandma Edie) and ask you to use the following questions as guidelines.

10 Questions to Help Find Your Ideal Pricing

1. What is most likely to happen if your prospective client doesn’t get help?
2. How much joy, relief and progress do the clients you work with you tend to experience?
3. Where are you in your process as a practitioner (very new, several years of experience, very experienced)?
4. On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you in your skills (10 being most confident)?
5. Is it realistic for someone to make significant progress on the kinds of issues you work with on their own?
6. How much more quickly do your clients tend to progress compared to people with similar issues who don’t get help?
7. How much time goes into the parts of your business that don’t involve working with clients – marketing, bookkeeping, figuring out technology, etc – for each hour of client contact?
8. How many people know about you and the services you offer?
9. How many practitioners have you heard of (even if they use different modalities) that help people with the same kinds of issues that you work with?
10. How much FUN do your clients report having?

Mindful attention to these questions can help you feel your way into a pricing structure that feels right.  And, the bottom line is that you need to be aligned with what you charge.  Prospective clients are definitely going to notice if you believe the price for your service is worth it or not.

What’s been your experience with finding your way with how to price your service?  What questions do you have?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment below.

Soren Gordhamer

On Wednesday, March 21st I interviewed Soren Gordhamer on the topic of Co-Creative Relationships and Your Thriving Business.  Feedback has been very positive!

Soren is the founder of the thriving Wisdom 2.0 Conferences and is a master at creating mutually beneficial business relationships.   He’s partnered in profitable relationships with Eckhart Tolle, Google, the Yoga Journal, Twitter c0-founder Biz Stone and many more.

Click here for the recording.

Credit: Paul Stevenson

In the past several weeks, I’ve been asked about the topic of group coaching at least six times.  Currently I offer three groups and they are a wonderful and sustainable source of income in my business.  They are also one of my best sources of new referrals.   Your helping business could probably benefit from more of them.

When NOT to Focus on Groups

Once upon a time, there was an enthusiastic new coach.  He had heard about the income potential of coaching groups and had facilitated various groups in his previous career.

So he sent out word he was starting a group coaching program at a fair price.  Within a short time he had enough people to start two groups.   But things quickly went downhill.  Clients weren’t satisfied.  Within 6 weeks of starting, most of them dropped out.  Our coach friend was NOT happy.

That new coach was me.  If you haven’t yet learned how to help people make big and lasting shifts in individual sessions, you’re not ready for groups.  

5 Great Reasons to Offer More Group Coaching

If you’re good at helping people get the results they want one-on-one, then it’s probably time to consider offering groups (or additional groups).  Here’s why:

1. Groups are FUN!  Facilitating deep work in small groups is one of the greatest pleasures I’ve ever had.
2. You make more money.  With skillful attention to structure and pricing, you make much more money per hour with group coaching.
3. Increased support.  When group members are working on similar issues, they support and cheer each other on.  This is incredibly helpful!
4. More value for the client.  Through “borrowing benefits” and positive dialogue with other group members, clients get value beyond your time and attention.
5. Larger network.  A member of a group can tap into the network of everyone else in the group – often with incredible results.
6. BONUS: When a group’s energy is flowing, it’s like nothing else.  People can’t help but tell their friends.  In other words, it’s great for referrals.

Keys to A Successful Group Coaching Program

Since my initial crash and burn, I’ve looked deeply into what allows coaching groups to succeed.  Here’s what I’ve learned:

1) Have a clear focus to each group. Know who your ideal client is and communicate this in your marketing.

2) Have a personal conversation with each potential member to discern whether they are a good fit for your experience level and coaching style.

3) Assess each candidate for her ability to both give and receive.  People who are very out of balance (in either direction) will disrupt what Napoleon Hill called the “group mind”.

4) To lead deep group work, it’s essential to experience it.  Attend workshops, trainings and coaching groups offered by skilled facilitators as often as you can.

What are your questions or comments about group coaching?  Do you have experience you could share?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment below. Also, if you need help setting up a thriving group coaching program, feel free to contact me to discuss your situation.

Francesca Shrady

Spiritual entrepreneurs have a very strong desire to transform the world.  You tend to give a lot – working with clients, doing what you do to build your business and in the other areas of your life.  This often means some challenging dynamics when it comes to creating intimacy.

On February 15th, 2012 Paul Zelizer interviewed Francesca Shrady – his wife – on how spiritual entrepreneurs can skillfully handle the unique challenges that arise in our intimate relationships.  Francesca also shared tips for creating a relationship that actually supports your business goals.

Click here to listen to the Francesca Shrady Call

Credit: Jenny Pansing

One of the more draining dynamics in a helping business is repeated cycles of the enough-clients-then-not-enough-clients dance. It will melt your enthusiasm faster than a double scoop ice cream cone left in the hot desert.

I see many spiritual business owners stuck in a limiting belief that all of your marketing should be deep.  When you’re first building your transformational business, it’s essential to give people a taste of the deep healing you offer.  

However, once things have started to flow the expectation that everything you put out has to be deep is likely to create unhelpful patterns.  For instance, this month has been a very good one for me including:

• More word of mouth referrals than ever
• A joint book launch project
• More offline networking than usual
• A wave of new clients.

With this background, this short post is my way of staying true to my intention to show up.  On the surface, it may not be as deep as some of my other posts.  Still, I’ve found a profound evening out in the flow of my business as I have made the conscious choice to show up regularly. I encourage you to explore how you can bring a more steady rhythm into your marketing.

What’s been your experience with how to maintain a steady flow of clients?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment below.

Credit: Dhilung Kira

2011 has been the best year yet in my business, my third consecutive year of greater than 35% growth.  (Insert happy celebration music here.)

However, the successes of 2011 went far deeper than how much money I made.  In fact, I believe that these deeper changes allowed the financial prosperity to show up while experiencing more fun and ease than ever before.

Because I want to support you in having more prosperity, fun and ease, I give you The 3 Most Exciting Success Lessons I Learned in 2011:

Intentions are more important than strategies.

Spiritual teachers throughout the ages have taught that what we hold in our heart of hearts is the largest contributor to what shows up in our lives.  In business, it’s more powerful than our marketing plans, project management schedules or quarterly projections.

Several years ago, I borrowed a practice from a colleague of mine of choosing one word to represent my business intentions each year.  My word for 2011 has been MOMENTUM.  The results have been remarkable.  I highly recommend this practice for anyone wanting to grow a spirit based business.

The antidote to overwhelm is grace.

Though it’s a little embarrassing to admit, I spent a good portion of my first 2 years in business in overwhelm mode.  More recently, when momentum would pick up in my business I’d tend to slip into overwhelm.  Early in 2011, a coach of mine worked with me to “let go of the regulator”.  The regulator is a part of large, older car engines that kept them from going too fast.  After doing the deep work to dialogue with the part of me that felt like I needed to stay small to stay safe, I eased into a new reality.

What I found there greatly surprised me. On the other side of that old protection mechanism was a deeper sense of grace than I’ve ever felt.  As I’ve cultivated that feeling, I molted my remaining overwhelm patterns like a snake outgrowing it’s skin.  (I’m hearing James Brown singing, “It feels GOOOOOOOD!”).  I’m able to be present and have FUN in a thriving business.

FUN is a powerful business strategy.

Speaking of fun, I decided to let my natural tricksterness (yes, I made that up ) out to play more in my business in 2011.  And my income grew larger than ever.  Is that a coincidence?

Richard Branson (of Virgin Airlines fame) doesn’t think so.  The primary message in his new book is “You’re taking business too seriously”.  You can read about it here.   While I’m still learning about how to skillfully integrate fun into a spirit based business, I’m more comfortable with this than ever.  And I’m ready for more FUN in 2012.

These are my 3 most exciting success lesson of 2011.  What were your biggest learnings about success in 2011?  I’d love to hear about them in the form of a comment below.

Annabel Fisher

On Wednesday, Novemeber 16th, I had the pleasure of interviewing EFT Practitioner and Trainer Annabel Fisher on How to Grow an Authentic Energy Psychology Business.  It was an incredibly candid look at the realities of growing an energy/spirit based business.

It turns out that this was one of the most commented upon – and most viral – interviews I’ve ever done.  So, I wanted to post the recording as a blog post to ensure that it’s easy to find for anyone who would like to listen.

Listen to Annabel Fisher call

Credit: H. Koppdelany

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  Folk saying

Recently, I’ve spoken with several heart centered business owners who were ready to give up. That sort of getting by but not really, wondering about how you’re gonna keep a roof over your head thingy gets old.  They started to doubt that they’d ever be able to do their transformational work and live a graceful lifestyle.

They had spoken with other marketing coaches and maybe took a program or two.  But the usual methods felt overwhelming.  They were ready to quit.

Why Client Attraction Seems Complex

At first glance, the world of marketing has become more complex than ever.  Social media marketing, video marketing, search engine optimizing, blogging … Oy vey!  It’s enough to start you wondering if you’d be better off bagging groceries.  But if you look a little deeper, there’s a simple reason why the whole process of attracting more clients seems overwhelming to many spiritual entrepreneurs.

Most marketers ignore the heart and spirit.  I don’t know of a mainstream marketing program anywhere that includes training in Emotional Intelligence, mindfulness or the other internal components of growing a business.

This leaves pure logic.  The result is that most conversations about growing a business focus on rational strategies and technology.  And in the words of the poet David Whyte,  that just doesn’t “bring you alive”.

You Already Have What You Need

Researchers at the HeartMath Institute have found that the electrical energy of what’s happening in the heart is up to 40 to 60 times more powerful than what’s happening in the brain.   So as someone with a well developed sense of compassion and empathy – core strengths of most spiritual people – you already have something 40-60 times more powerful than most marketing strategies.  

Come on Paul, you don’t REALLY believe you can grow a business on love and empathy?

How about a billion dollar per year example?  In 2009, I had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of Zappos.  When I asked him about their marketing plan, CEO Tony Hsieh told me they “don’t do much in the way of traditional marketing”.  Instead, they focus on “forming genuine emotional connection with our customers.”  By the way, they do most of this on the telephone …

Listen to how Maria Veloso, author of Web Copy That Sells, says it:

Your reader must be able to say, “Hey, she really understands my problem,” or “He reads me like a book,” or “She knows me so well it’s as though she’s been eavesdropping on my conversations.”  That why I keep emphasizing that before you write a word of copy (on your website), you have to know your audience.”

What if your struggles to attract more clients could shift just by relaxing into better utilizing your most powerful strengths – your well developed sense of compassion and empathy?

I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions about what works with attracting more clients in the form of a comment below.

Credit: Helga Birna Jonasdottir

When a yoga teacher takes her place at the front of the room for the first time, something changes.  She’s no longer among the rows of bodies practicing together.  She becomes something new.  Something different.  She becomes a spiritual leader.

Intuitively, you know that stepping into a leadership role is a different animal.  That’s one of the main reasons leaders get paid.  They are in a position to have an impact in more people’s lives and get compensated for taking time to do that skillfully.

Why Spiritual People Shrink From Visibility

Most spiritual traditions have strong teachings about the dangers of unrestrained egos.  12 step programs say that ego stands for “easing god out”. And many spiritual people have experienced what happens when a leader’s ego starts running the show.  Not pretty!

Another issue that can come with becoming a leader is what the Buddhists call “cycles of praise and blame. ” In other words, your students or clients can cycle from “your work is SO awesome” to “you blew it”.  And back again.  Repeatedly.  It’s not an easily balance to hold ..

Combine the messages spiritual people get about not letting your ego run the show with the intuitive understanding that visibility can bring more praise and blame cycles, and no wonder many spiritual entrepreneurs shrink away from the whole visibility thing.

The problem with avoiding it is that it tends to keep you struggling.  So what can a spiritual entrepreneur that wants to be successful but is concerned about the challenges that come with more business visibility do?

3 Keys to Staying Centered As Your Visibility Increases

You don’t have to get stuck in a push/pull dynamic with visibility.  It’s possible to maintain your integrity while deliberately building your business visibility.  Here are three tips that can help you:

1) Stay human.  Several months ago, I blew it.  I had an interview on a popular radio show.  I put the time wrong in my schedule and at show time, I was in session.  As soon my mistake become clear, I contacted the hosts and apologized.  One of the blessings of the conscious business movement is that it gives us permission to be human.  Don’t let anyone’s perfectionism – especially your own – keep you from this.  It’s a great antidote to unreasonable expectations and ego traps.

2) Create honest connections with other spiritual leaders.  Being a spiritual leader comes with a unique set of challenges.  Find people who are also leaders – preferably at least as visible as you are – and create honest relationships with them.  They can help you be skillful with the issues that come with more business visibility.  Isolated leaders tend to get off center because sorting through growing numbers of expectations becomes too much for one person.

3) Be real in your marketing.  Don’t exaggerate what your business can deliver.  If it takes your clients 6 months to make the desired changes, say so.    At the same time, it’s certainly OK to positively frame the truth.  For example, talk about the incredible support you provide during the change process and how good it feels when your clients pass key milestones.

What’s your experience with staying centered while you increase visibility in your business?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the form of a comment below.