Grow your Healing or Coaching Business Beyond one-to-one Sessions

An Epistle on Expansion

Or, making the case for growth even if you’re not maxed out on 1x1 services (yet)

Dear Reader:

As a fellow 1x1 service provider for most of my career (Yoga Therapist, Wellness Coach, and Business Coach), I humbly offer the following case for expanding your work beyond the bounds of 1-to-1 or premium services as early in your career as possible.

Indeed, this applies whether you’re building your private client practice or currently maxed out with private clients.

As you read this letter, consider the wonder of these words reaching through the ether to greet your eyes on the magical fantastical creation you now hold.

Through this device and its connection to the internet, you have access to millions of teachings that provide insight into better health, greater well-being, and more purposeful living.

Before the digital age, this type of learning was layered beneath circles of privilege and kept behind ivory towers.

It is a wonder to have access to this once-cloistered information—and all at your fingertips.

Digital courses democratize access (to an extent).

In time, it is my hope, that more healing, helping, and self-development teachings will be shared even more widely for more meaning, engagement, and well-being outside the circles of privilege of higher education, whiteness, able-bodiedness, and neurotypicality.

In my view, sharing the skillset you’ve carefully curated over the duration of your career is an act of social justice: widening and improving access to powerful healing and helping tools the world needs. 

All humans need these tools, not only those who can afford to pay a premium rate for your one-to-one services. Even more so if you serve an underserved community that is hard to reach.

I know you don’t do the Work for fame, money, or bragging rights. 

You do it for the mission 

You do it because it changed your life

You share this Work for a healthier, happier, and kinder world

There are more people who need what you are sharing—and the world needs your insight.

This letter is an invitation, yes, and it’s also a rallying cry.

If you’re a healer, helper, or change-maker and you AREN’T on fire about lighting up (more of) the world with your gifts…maybe there’s a good reason. 

But if that reason is that you don’t know where to begin…

Let’s start together, right now.

In your 1-to-1 services, you provide a safe container for clients to facilitate their own transformation. Your clients come to you with frustrations, pain, suffering, and problems…and your valuable work provides a solution.

There are so many “problems” your work solves.

Think of a few right now. Then:

Pick one and dig deep, and..

Think of the people who need that problem solved …right now.

What do they need to get that problem solved?

How can you provide a solution in the most effective, time-sensitive way—that isn’t 1-to-1?

People have pain that you know how to reduce, symptoms your support helps them in resolving or mental barriers your techniques breakthrough.

You can only reach so many as a 1x1 service provider because your time and energy are finite.

What if…

You create a resource, a guidebook, a mini-class, a workshop, an on-demand training they can access focused on that specific issue? 

You don’t have to deliver a massive group course, create a clunky membership site, or become internet-famous to expand your work in a mindful way.

What if…

You deliver a single, targeted solution in a way that feels aligned with your goals and your values: that specific people will benefit from again and again.

a mini-book

an on-demand guide

a curated course

a private podcast

a signature talk 

a protocol 

a series class

a Retreatshop

Expanding a small portion of your work to a wider audience allows more people to benefit from your gifts while allowing you to honor your commitment to equity, inclusion, and access.

What, then?

Need more ideas? Join us in the Kula for my full idea brain dump today plus a special invitation to a new way to work with me (hint: DIY is soooo last year. DIT is where it’s at!).

Kula Conversations // WHY IT'S TIME TO CREATE YOUR COURSE ALREADY! The ins and outs of course creation, Kula Conversation-style, today at 1 pm Eastern (10 am Pacific).

You'll learn ...

Where to begin (it isn't where you'd expect)

How to structure for maximum results (and client rave reviews)

Why you want to do it now (and your first action to take!)

See y’all there!

xo,

Kellie Adkins, MS, C-IAYT

Business Alignment Coach + Yoga Therapist

Founder | the Wisdom Method

Want more clients as a Coach Healer or Helper? Solve problems

Business is about solving problems.

The more clear you become on the specific problems you solve for particular clients, the more success you’ll have in your business and marketing efforts.

As a coach, your focus is to help your clients achieve their goals. To connect with potential clients, it's essential to identify the specific problems they want to solve. Good businesses solve problems, but not just any problem – a specific, urgent problem that the potential client is actively looking to solve.

By conceptualizing your business's products and services as solutions to specific, urgent problems that your perfect-fit clients want to solve, you've already done half the work of selling your products and services. Besides, when you are able to reframe your marketing efforts from “all about you” to “all about the problems you’ll solve for your clients” it becomes much easier to show up consistently and share your message.

To attract your perfect-fit clients, you need to identify the problem you solve as —and for whom. The specific problem your business services solve might not be the problem other coaches, healers, or holistic practitioners solve: or you might solve the same problem but for different perfect-fit clients.

Before you go any further in planning your programs, services, or packages ensure you are addressing problems worth solving:

Problems your perfect-fit clients know they have

Your potential clients have hidden problems that they may not know how to fix. Or that they don’t even know are the cause of the surface problems they KNOW they have.

Attempting to solve these “unknown” problems will backfire if your potential clients aren't motivated to find and fix the underlying problem.

For example, if you are a Life Coach who helps clients transition to a healthier mindset, you need to target clients who are motivated to improve their outlook on life. The chronic complainers need your services but they don’t know they have a problem (yet).

Problems your customer cares about addressing

Your potential clients must be aware of the problem that needs solving and care about solving the problem.

In fact, these are the most valuable types of problems for you as a coach to solve because your client is motivated to solve them.

For example, if you are a coach who specializes in career transitions, you need to target clients who are motivated to find a new career path, who are on every job search platform, and who are actively seeking support in their career transition.

What problem(s) do you solve?

Identify the higher-order problems your business solves for a particular client.

Once you clarify these problems, you can develop your unique solution (which is the fun part!).

Solving a valuable problem that your perfect-fit client is aware of, in a unique way, while providing excellent service, is a recipe for success.

By identifying and solving specific, urgent problems that your perfect-fit clients want to solve, you can attract more clients to your healing, helping or coaching business.

Kick the Productivity Addiction to Prevent Burnout

Productivity has an essential place in the world.

But in a culture as obsessed with check-offables and massive To-Do lists, productivity is becoming (dare I say) an addiction.

Letting go of the habit of overachieving is (still) my biggest personal and professional challenge. For many years, I wore the cloak of my industrious super power like a mantel of personal protection. Instead of questioning the need to keep going, to work harder, to be the best, I kept going, I worked harder, I pushed myself to be the best. I never stopped long enough to question for whom I was producing, or why I was achieving, or what happened after I achieved it. I became my own worst enemy —and my own nightmarish boss. I have pushed myself to exhaustion, overwhelm and physical breakdown more than once. Chronic conditions — health issues that have plagued me from childhood —crop up when I push past my energy limits. The body always knows when to say no.

Can you relate?

Recovering from burnout is one thing —preventing burnout is another story entirely.

I believe life gives us the lessons we need to learn in order to grow. To prevent burnout, I needed to learn the lesson of efficiency and ease: and to learn that lesson, I had to let go of my productivity addiction.

I had the opportunity to let go of my obsession to productivity when I recently lost a principal member of my team. I took a hard look at the responsibilities now resting squarely in my lap (again). After a year of delegating, streamlining and strategizing in my business(es), I felt like I was back to square one. In reality, the situation wasn’t nearly that dramatic. I was able to outsource some tasks and fit others into my weekly schedule with ease. I did have to revisit my annual intentions, now absent a significant support source.

Two significant revelations came during this process, however: first, many of the things I’d been doing (or outsourcing) no longer served my business but I was sticking with them out of my own un-investigated expectations of “good business.” Next, I was holding on to a belief that my productivity defined my worth.

I re-evaluated my responsibilities then I let some things go (my desire to be part of the conversation on every social platform), pared back on others (newsletter mailings are now less frequent), and streamlined others (grouped writing tasks into one focused day with lots of stretch breaks).

Quitting the productivity addiction looked a lot like pausing to re-envision certain elements of my business in service to continued growth.

So far, so good. The growth process unfolds over time and you may have noticed some of those internal shifts over the last couple months. You will continue to observe blossoming as the transformation unfolds, but it’s my hope that you’ll still be around for the Big Reveal.

In the meantime and as always, I’m committed to elevating, empowering, educating women in bringing more flourishing to business and life. 

Beginning with these powerful questions for times of transition of your own: whether you're quitting the productivity addiction, recovering from burnout or tackling overwhelm through strategic focus.

Answer these for more alignment and ease in business and in life:

:: Is your business reflecting your soul’s work?

My soul’s work is to transform my life experiences into lessons that light the way for other women. Everything that didn’t fit that vision in my own business got sliced.

What is your unique work in the world? Once you find that, everything that can go, does go. If you're still working another job, or building your business on the side, remain hyper-focused on the actions to truly leverage your success. No chasing butterflies —unless you’re also a lepidopterist…in which case, happy chasing! :)

:: How do you want that work to be represented?

I wanted more richness, radiance, and depth in my work with women; more insight and inspiration.

Do you want your work to represent something larger than you? Your work is meaningful —and the world needs it! Identify the shifts —internal and external—that need to accompany growth and long-term expansion. Maybe you need to strengthen your focus in service to long-term success. Perhaps you need an outside eye on your business (and big business vision) and some insight on next steps. Be honest about your needs and find the support necessary to catapult you to the next level.

:: What do you want less of (in life and business)?

This list should come easily!  

:: What do you want more of (in life and business)?

No censoring. Name it to claim it.

:: What elements of business (or life) need to shift for you to do more of your soul’s work?

Here's when the magical meets the practical. Be realistic and radiant.

:: What are you afraid of?

Fear factor dump list. Write them all down. Every fear. Worst-case scenario bonanza.

:: What are you really afraid of?

Deep down, as you wrote that list, you discovered THIS ….This is the root reason behind the above fear(s). Dig deep.

:: What is the antidote to that specific fear?

Is it …courage? connection? self-love? confidence?

How will you need to believe or behave differently to challenge this fear?

This process may lead you to change how you are approaching an aspect of your business: social media, for example. Social media represented a huge challenge for me because it felt misaligned with my yoga ethics; however, when I emphasized a sacred approach to social media emphasizing connection, empowerment and education, I was able to take my marketing (and my business growth) to the next level. Also: engaging on social media became easier and more enjoyable. Sweet bonus!

Need more? Head over to the Kula to get your daily dose of support.

xo,