Helping Life Coaches Overcome the Fear of Failure

The other day I was talking to a life coach who expressed a deep fear of failure. This caused me some concern because I have run across so many life coaches who had the same fear.

Usually a coach has had a lot of experience in some area and has decided to go into business for themselves so they can help others, using their unique gifts and talents. Or they have gone through some difficulty and made a transformation that they want to share with others who may be going through the same difficulty.

Either way, this person has had a good amount of experience in the area in which they coach. When you know how to solve a problem that others need to solve, you are considered to be an expert. So why would an expert fear failure?

In asking this question I have received the same answers:
The life coach is afraid of…
• Failing to deliver results to their client
• Failing in the ability to run a business
• Failing to know what the priorities are in the daily business activities
• Failing to attract enough clients to stay in business

These are all legitimate concerns and I want to address each one.

1) Failing to deliver results to their client
If you have experience in the area in which you coach, your expertise is of value to anyone who wants to know what you know. Sharing your gifts will come naturally. And remember, you are only responsible for delivering your service, not the client’s results. Only THEY are responsible for that.

2) Failing in the ability to run a business
When you start your own business, no matter what it is, you also must become an entrepreneur. That means you need to learn certain business skills for running a business. You can’t do it alone, you need help. The two most important investments you can make in your business is to hire an virtual assistant to do the administration work for you, and a coach to teach you business skills.

You can delegate to a virtual assistant all the actions that don’t need to be done by you, so you have more time to spend doing the activities that are necessary to be done by you. A coach who has learned the business skills necessary for running a business can pass that information on to you and save you a lot of learning curve time. They have experience in small business marketing solutions that can help you grow your business faster.

3) Failing to know what the priorities are in the daily business activities
There is so much to do when you are a solopreneur that many times it’s hard to know what to do first. It’s not always easy to know what business activities are the real income producers, especially when you are just starting out. You need a reference point. One way to get that is to start tracking the results of everything you do. Then you will get to know what activities produce results and which ones don’t.

Another way to know the priorities is to stay out of overwhelm by becoming more organized. This is another area in which a coach can help you, because they can see the big picture for your business.

4) Failing to attract enough clients to stay in business
You have expertise in the area you have decided to serve in. They are many people who are willing to pay for your service because you can solve a problem/problems they have. Understand the great value you are bringing to the table. People pay to solve problems so they can get on with their lives and enjoy life. You can help them do that. Learning mindset skills are an important factor in attracting clients because your energetic vibration is what does the attracting. Once again, hiring a life coach who can help you with your mindset and personal growth is a must as you build our business.

The bottom line for a life coach starting a new business is to get help early on. It will save you thousands of dollars and time in the long run, and a lot of frustration and anxiety in the short run. If you want to stay in business, you need support. There is so much support available that you should easily be able to find it.