WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:05.710 --> 00:00:07.659 Mark Butler: Hey, this is Mark Butler and you are listening 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:09.550 to a podcast for coaches. 00:00:10.509 --> 00:00:13.000 Couple of episodes ago we talked about decreasing. 00:00:13.050 --> 00:00:17.490 Unpredictability in a coaching practice and how it has its unpredictable parts 00:00:17.729 --> 00:00:22.830 and how we have to use our mindset and our care of relationships as a way of 00:00:22.830 --> 00:00:27.659 reducing that unpredictability so that we as coaches are able to sustain ourselves. 00:00:27.765 --> 00:00:31.934 While we're serving our clients today, I wanna come back to this topic, but 00:00:31.934 --> 00:00:35.205 instead of approaching it through the lens of what does my mindset need to 00:00:35.205 --> 00:00:39.764 be and how do I need to approach my relationships such that the practice is 00:00:39.764 --> 00:00:45.555 as predictable as possible, I wanna talk about the actual business model itself and 00:00:45.555 --> 00:00:50.925 how we approach the coaching containers that we create, and how those containers 00:00:51.675 --> 00:00:55.574 could have more unpredictability or less unpredictability in them. 00:00:56.954 --> 00:01:01.095 Now, before I do that, I want to say that I'm looking at this as a coach 00:01:01.095 --> 00:01:06.085 who uses the money in my coaching practice to pay for my family's, life. 00:01:07.085 --> 00:01:10.804 There's another type of coach who gives great service and takes great care 00:01:10.804 --> 00:01:14.134 of their clients, but the money they generate from their coaching practice 00:01:14.134 --> 00:01:18.874 is not necessarily consequential to their household consumption. 00:01:19.175 --> 00:01:20.585 There's nothing at all wrong with this. 00:01:20.615 --> 00:01:21.455 It's a great thing. 00:01:22.145 --> 00:01:26.464 There are people for whom the financial stability in their coaching practice 00:01:26.464 --> 00:01:31.054 is actually rooted in the financial stability of the household because 00:01:31.054 --> 00:01:34.684 either the coach has a day job or a business that they run, and coaching 00:01:34.684 --> 00:01:35.884 is the thing they do on the side. 00:01:36.184 --> 00:01:41.285 Or the coach has a spouse who has a day job or a profession, or a business 00:01:41.494 --> 00:01:46.774 that provides the stability in the day-to-day finances such that the coach. 00:01:47.029 --> 00:01:49.880 doesn't have to be very concerned with the unpredictability of a coaching 00:01:49.880 --> 00:01:54.109 practice because their finances are going to be fine either way. 00:01:55.489 --> 00:01:59.239 This episode and the last one for that matter, are really geared toward those 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:04.579 of us who in order for us to stay happy and healthy in our practices, we want 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:06.049 to have enough financial stability. 00:02:06.785 --> 00:02:08.345 That we can keep doing the work we do. 00:02:08.405 --> 00:02:12.575 Without thinking too much about the money, in my episodes that I've done 00:02:12.575 --> 00:02:16.205 in the past about ethics of coaching, one of the things that can have a 00:02:16.205 --> 00:02:20.285 negative impact on the ethics of our practice is if I'm so consumed, 00:02:20.335 --> 00:02:21.955 With my financial situation 00:02:22.535 --> 00:02:25.894 that my focus is on generating a transaction instead of giving the 00:02:25.894 --> 00:02:29.825 best possible care and service to the prospective client that's in front of 00:02:29.825 --> 00:02:31.714 me, or the client that's in front of me. 00:02:32.614 --> 00:02:36.935 So if we're gonna be pro coaches who actually use our practices as 00:02:36.935 --> 00:02:40.475 our vocation, as our way of making a living, we need to bring enough 00:02:40.475 --> 00:02:44.255 financial stability to our lives that we can keep our focus on 00:02:44.255 --> 00:02:45.935 the client and not on the money. 00:02:47.275 --> 00:02:51.384 So now that I've established who this episode is for, it's really 00:02:51.384 --> 00:02:54.218 for people who are relying on the money they generate through their 00:02:54.376 --> 00:02:58.190 coaching practice to keep their families consumption at normal levels. 00:02:59.270 --> 00:03:04.550 I wanna talk about the different types of coaching there are and how tailoring 00:03:04.550 --> 00:03:06.620 our practices to one or the other. 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:11.560 It could actually increase or decrease the unpredictability in our financial lives. 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:15.700 Now, as I say, types of coaching, I acknowledge that I've done many 00:03:15.700 --> 00:03:18.970 episodes about the difference between training and coaching. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:23.950 What I'm talking about today is different types of coaching within a 00:03:23.950 --> 00:03:26.080 conversation based coaching practice. 00:03:27.010 --> 00:03:30.730 And the two types of coaching that I'm thinking about are number one, 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:34.750 hygiene coaching, or number two. 00:03:35.305 --> 00:03:36.355 Repair coaching. 00:03:36.925 --> 00:03:38.095 Now I just made these up. 00:03:38.335 --> 00:03:42.055 You can decide whether they're useful to you, but I'm describing hygiene 00:03:42.055 --> 00:03:45.685 coaching as the type of coaching that I do with clients who are so 00:03:45.685 --> 00:03:50.735 converted to conversation-based coaching that they always have 00:03:50.735 --> 00:03:52.175 coaching sessions on their calendar. 00:03:52.475 --> 00:03:55.145 They always have a relationship with their coach. 00:03:55.625 --> 00:03:59.435 They view coaching as utility, and I did an episode about that a few months ago. 00:04:00.305 --> 00:04:05.315 They view coaching as a utility where they kind of see it as the brushing 00:04:05.315 --> 00:04:10.085 and flossing of their thoughts, their feelings, and their relationships. 00:04:10.955 --> 00:04:12.605 It's how they stay healthy. 00:04:13.895 --> 00:04:16.025 Hygiene based coaching is what I'm calling it. 00:04:16.835 --> 00:04:19.145 Then we have what I would call repair coaching. 00:04:19.835 --> 00:04:23.675 Repair Coaching is the type of coaching that happens with clients who. 00:04:24.440 --> 00:04:27.350 Don't always have a coaching session on their calendar. 00:04:27.770 --> 00:04:31.490 They view coaching as something they do on an as needed basis. 00:04:32.140 --> 00:04:36.220 They tend to reach out to their coach when they're having an acute experience. 00:04:36.580 --> 00:04:41.170 It could be an acute positive experience, as in I've just realized 00:04:41.170 --> 00:04:44.380 that I have these huge goals and aspirations that I wanna pursue, and 00:04:44.380 --> 00:04:47.140 I really want to get the collaboration of a coach to work on these things. 00:04:47.415 --> 00:04:47.535 I. 00:04:48.325 --> 00:04:51.775 Or they could be having an acute negative emotional experience. 00:04:52.315 --> 00:04:57.385 I have a family member in crisis, or my relationship has really hit a rough patch, 00:04:57.685 --> 00:05:02.155 or I'm really struggling in my confidence or my business isn't working, and it's 00:05:02.155 --> 00:05:03.985 time for me to reach out to a coach. 00:05:04.975 --> 00:05:09.025 If I were to label hygiene coaching and repair coaching in another 00:05:09.025 --> 00:05:14.455 way, I would say hygiene coaching is coming from a place of want. 00:05:15.100 --> 00:05:19.610 And repair coaching is probably coming from a place of need, I'm 00:05:19.610 --> 00:05:22.310 not judging the people who engage in these two different types of 00:05:22.310 --> 00:05:25.165 coaching because I think all of us, I. 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:28.070 Engaging in these different types of coaching at different points in our lives. 00:05:28.610 --> 00:05:33.530 But when people approach a hygiene based coaching, I tend to hear them say things 00:05:33.530 --> 00:05:35.630 like, I just want to have a coach. 00:05:35.690 --> 00:05:37.160 I just love having a coach. 00:05:37.250 --> 00:05:39.980 I never want to be without a coach because it just really 00:05:39.980 --> 00:05:42.260 helps me stay on track in my life. 00:05:43.260 --> 00:05:47.700 Repair type clients or repair type coaching tends to sound like, well, 00:05:47.700 --> 00:05:50.520 I reached out to you because I really need some support right now. 00:05:51.520 --> 00:05:54.610 Or when they're not engaging with coaching, they tend to say, I don't 00:05:54.610 --> 00:05:56.440 really feel like I need it right now. 00:05:56.740 --> 00:06:02.290 So that's why I'm saying hygiene coaching tends to be want based and 00:06:02.290 --> 00:06:04.420 repair coaching tends to be need-based. 00:06:05.320 --> 00:06:11.170 Hygiene coaching tends to lend itself better to stability 00:06:11.170 --> 00:06:12.370 in a coaching practice. 00:06:13.150 --> 00:06:17.350 If I can build enough relationships and serve those relationships well enough 00:06:17.784 --> 00:06:23.796 that I maintain this nice pool of clients who just tend to renew and value our 00:06:23.796 --> 00:06:29.826 time together and want to be present with me in conversation over the long haul. 00:06:31.116 --> 00:06:33.696 I don't need a ton of those in order to have a very. 00:06:34.011 --> 00:06:36.351 Healthy and stable coaching practice. 00:06:37.431 --> 00:06:45.381 The issue is that even the healthiest hygiene based coaching relationships, I. 00:06:45.381 --> 00:06:45.921 Come to a natural conclusion. 00:06:46.701 --> 00:06:47.931 There's nothing wrong with it. 00:06:48.351 --> 00:06:54.501 In fact, when those relationships feel like they are at an end, I think we 00:06:54.501 --> 00:06:58.551 get into ethical trouble if we try to find a reason for them not to end. 00:06:59.121 --> 00:07:03.861 If we go into a persuasive mode, or at worst, a coercive mode 00:07:04.431 --> 00:07:05.821 where instead of having a. 00:07:06.306 --> 00:07:10.086 Healthy long-term hygiene coaching relationship, and we 00:07:10.086 --> 00:07:11.556 try to coerce it into continuing. 00:07:12.456 --> 00:07:13.806 I think we're outta bounds ethically. 00:07:14.966 --> 00:07:17.786 So there's a challenge that can come up in a coaching practice that is 00:07:17.786 --> 00:07:21.396 largely hygiene based, which is. 00:07:22.381 --> 00:07:29.101 What happens if you've got a very small, happy, healthy group of clients who 00:07:29.101 --> 00:07:33.931 renew and renew and renew, and then within a period of just a few months, 00:07:34.501 --> 00:07:38.251 they don't renew the relationships, reach their natural conclusion? 00:07:39.721 --> 00:07:43.171 Well, now I don't have clients and I don't have the money that the clients 00:07:43.171 --> 00:07:47.041 are paying me, and it feels a little bit not quite right to frame it that 00:07:47.041 --> 00:07:49.351 way, but in dollars and cents terms. 00:07:49.876 --> 00:07:51.016 That's what we're facing. 00:07:51.926 --> 00:07:56.266 Also in a practice that's almost exclusively hygiene based. 00:07:57.766 --> 00:08:00.856 Because the relationships tend to last a long time. 00:08:01.126 --> 00:08:05.626 These practices may not start many new relationships in a given year. 00:08:06.676 --> 00:08:10.786 The practice itself can get out of the habit of starting new relationships. 00:08:11.786 --> 00:08:16.676 That are available for invitation into a coaching relationship when the time comes. 00:08:18.056 --> 00:08:21.716 Yes, I talked about that in the previous episode about how to reduce 00:08:21.716 --> 00:08:23.156 unpredictability in a practice. 00:08:23.606 --> 00:08:26.516 But as I sit with that idea myself, I have to acknowledge I. 00:08:27.516 --> 00:08:31.896 When I'm settled into a nice groove with a great group of long-term 00:08:31.896 --> 00:08:36.276 hygiene clients, my mind starts to slip away from the starting and 00:08:36.276 --> 00:08:37.986 the nurturing of new relationships. 00:08:38.436 --> 00:08:44.436 And I have found myself at times with a mostly blank calendar and not quite 00:08:44.436 --> 00:08:46.116 sure who's gonna be my next client. 00:08:47.116 --> 00:08:49.846 And because I count on the money from the practice to make my family's 00:08:49.846 --> 00:08:52.036 life work, that can get stressful. 00:08:53.006 --> 00:08:58.106 So a hygiene client driven coaching practice is very appealing, 00:08:58.826 --> 00:09:02.186 but it's at risk of dry spells. 00:09:03.781 --> 00:09:05.906 Well, let's talk about a repair based practice. 00:09:06.926 --> 00:09:10.796 In a repair based practice, which is one in which the coach tends to 00:09:10.796 --> 00:09:14.726 be very flexible and very open and say, look, I wanna support you in 00:09:14.726 --> 00:09:16.346 whatever way you wanna be supported. 00:09:16.646 --> 00:09:20.156 You reach out to me when you want to do some coaching together. 00:09:21.156 --> 00:09:22.651 Ethically, I think this is. 00:09:23.211 --> 00:09:29.241 Really strong because the coach is saying, not only do I not need you, but 00:09:29.331 --> 00:09:33.921 I'm going to take a role in your life where when you put out the bat signal 00:09:33.921 --> 00:09:35.871 and you need some support, I'll be there. 00:09:37.041 --> 00:09:40.971 I think a repair based practice is especially great for people 00:09:40.971 --> 00:09:41.991 who don't need the money. 00:09:43.521 --> 00:09:48.261 If they can go through their life living the way they want to, functioning 00:09:48.261 --> 00:09:49.551 in the way that they want to. 00:09:50.586 --> 00:09:53.136 And not have to worry about whether the email is gonna land in the 00:09:53.136 --> 00:09:56.226 inbox or whether the phone is gonna ring or the DM is gonna arrive. 00:09:56.766 --> 00:09:57.456 That's great. 00:09:58.456 --> 00:10:02.296 The issue that I think those coaches face is they will tend 00:10:02.296 --> 00:10:05.356 to work with clients in crisis. 00:10:06.856 --> 00:10:09.256 And having worked with clients in crisis, I can tell you that 00:10:09.256 --> 00:10:14.056 mentally and emotionally it is much more demanding than hygiene. 00:10:15.556 --> 00:10:22.066 Now on the financial side, a purely repair based coach is going to have 00:10:22.126 --> 00:10:29.476 a very hard time creating a stable income stream unless they have so many. 00:10:30.496 --> 00:10:35.536 Relationships, so many people who are converted to them and to coaching 00:10:36.446 --> 00:10:41.576 that in any given month, enough of those people will be in crisis, 00:10:42.116 --> 00:10:43.346 which is a slight overstatement. 00:10:43.346 --> 00:10:46.406 I acknowledge they don't have to be in crisis, but enough of those people have 00:10:46.406 --> 00:10:51.146 to get to the activation energy that it takes to send that coach a message 00:10:51.146 --> 00:10:52.466 and say, could we have a session? 00:10:53.651 --> 00:10:58.661 The pool has to be so big and the percentage so stable of that pool that 00:10:58.661 --> 00:11:03.521 reaches out for help that the repair based coach is able to make the living that they 00:11:03.521 --> 00:11:06.311 want to make and feel solid themselves. 00:11:07.811 --> 00:11:11.351 My argument against a purely repair based coaching practice is that 00:11:11.831 --> 00:11:13.391 no one wants to call a plumber. 00:11:14.391 --> 00:11:18.591 I would guess that if a plumber were to have a hygiene business where they 00:11:18.591 --> 00:11:22.791 say, oh yeah, you set up, we'll set you up on a, on a subscription, and we'll 00:11:22.791 --> 00:11:25.581 come clean out your pipes every six months and you'll pay a fee for that. 00:11:25.761 --> 00:11:28.851 It might be a great idea, but I don't know of any plumbers who are doing that. 00:11:29.061 --> 00:11:31.761 As far as I know, plumbers tend to be almost purely repair 00:11:31.761 --> 00:11:34.161 based, purely emergency based. 00:11:35.186 --> 00:11:38.066 So in order for plumbers to have stability in their businesses, I 00:11:38.066 --> 00:11:42.086 think plumbers have to be really good at positioning themselves in the 00:11:42.086 --> 00:11:47.246 places where people go when they have that particular type of emergency. 00:11:48.246 --> 00:11:51.596 When we were kids, that was the phone book, 15 years ago. 00:11:51.596 --> 00:11:53.006 That was search engine optimization. 00:11:53.006 --> 00:11:55.166 Whoever had the best local business listing was gonna 00:11:55.166 --> 00:11:56.246 get the plumbing clients. 00:11:56.426 --> 00:12:01.526 That's probably still true, but in a coaching practice, if I'm gonna 00:12:01.526 --> 00:12:05.126 run a purely repair based business, I've gotta be present in the minds 00:12:05.126 --> 00:12:10.046 of enough people that when they get into crisis, they reach out for help. 00:12:11.046 --> 00:12:12.366 And it's not that, I think that's a. 00:12:12.921 --> 00:12:13.731 Bad thing. 00:12:14.421 --> 00:12:18.021 It's that I think if you were to do that exclusively, there'd be a lot of 00:12:18.021 --> 00:12:21.261 up and down and a lot of volatility in the practice, and I think the work 00:12:21.261 --> 00:12:23.181 you did would be particularly intense. 00:12:24.181 --> 00:12:25.771 So what are we to do as coaches? 00:12:26.341 --> 00:12:31.776 Are we to take a primarily hygiene based approach, long-term relationships, 00:12:33.366 --> 00:12:37.561 accepting the dry spells that can come in that kind of practice. 00:12:37.921 --> 00:12:42.721 When these healthy long-term relationships reach their natural conclusion and we're 00:12:42.721 --> 00:12:47.641 in a little bit of a rebuilding phase, or do we go with the repair based route 00:12:48.091 --> 00:12:51.291 where we build a bunch of relationships and then we wait for some percentage of 00:12:51.291 --> 00:12:54.801 those clients to have a crisis moment in their life and they reach out for help. 00:12:56.301 --> 00:12:58.851 As I've been sitting with this over the last few weeks, 00:12:59.061 --> 00:13:01.791 I think the answer is both. 00:13:02.791 --> 00:13:09.361 If I want to start my month with the highest possible confidence, 00:13:09.691 --> 00:13:13.321 that enough money will come in that month to make my family's life easy. 00:13:14.191 --> 00:13:18.451 Yes, I wanna be nurturing relationships, and I think I want 00:13:18.451 --> 00:13:23.311 to have containers in my practice coaching containers that facilitate. 00:13:24.331 --> 00:13:27.511 Long-term hygiene and short-term repair. 00:13:28.511 --> 00:13:34.121 And it's funny that I use the term hygiene because as I was whiteboarding 00:13:34.121 --> 00:13:40.181 out, this whole concept, it occurred to me that I'm describing a dental practice. 00:13:41.681 --> 00:13:45.521 Now, some of you listening got there way before I did, but 00:13:45.581 --> 00:13:48.311 I realized dental practices. 00:13:49.211 --> 00:13:51.401 Do hygiene and repair. 00:13:52.401 --> 00:13:53.211 They do both. 00:13:54.211 --> 00:13:58.051 Dental practices also deal with the reality that nobody's really 00:13:58.051 --> 00:13:59.821 excited to go to the dentist. 00:14:01.231 --> 00:14:07.741 So dentists are wise to make hygiene as frictionless as possible. 00:14:08.741 --> 00:14:13.961 Which is why usually you're still in your dentist's chair when the hygienist or 00:14:13.961 --> 00:14:16.901 the dental assistant are asking you if we can go ahead and schedule your next 00:14:16.901 --> 00:14:18.341 appointment for six months from now. 00:14:18.641 --> 00:14:22.571 That's the lowest friction moment for them to introduce that idea. 00:14:23.571 --> 00:14:29.121 Because dentists do both hygiene and repair, and because they have extremely 00:14:29.121 --> 00:14:33.021 high overhead in the form of buildings and equipment and staff payroll and 00:14:33.021 --> 00:14:37.731 the whole thing, they have to be really good at creating stability in their 00:14:37.731 --> 00:14:44.211 cash flow such that they don't have to wake up on the first of the month and 00:14:44.211 --> 00:14:45.771 worry about keeping all the bills paid. 00:14:47.151 --> 00:14:49.581 I'm sure this is true in a lot of professional services. 00:14:49.581 --> 00:14:50.061 By the way. 00:14:50.451 --> 00:14:52.911 It just happened that because I was thinking about hygiene and repair, 00:14:52.911 --> 00:14:57.601 suddenly dentistry comes to my mind, and then as I'm thinking about dentistry, 00:14:58.591 --> 00:15:01.741 I start thinking about the dentist I've been seeing for the last, I don't know, 00:15:01.741 --> 00:15:04.381 two, three years, Kate found them. 00:15:04.381 --> 00:15:05.011 A couple years ago. 00:15:05.011 --> 00:15:06.781 We were transitioning away from another dentist. 00:15:06.841 --> 00:15:07.741 We found this dentist. 00:15:09.421 --> 00:15:11.371 And when we got into their practice, we found out they 00:15:11.371 --> 00:15:12.571 do a very interesting thing. 00:15:12.931 --> 00:15:15.301 It's probably getting more and more common in the world of dentistry, 00:15:15.301 --> 00:15:18.691 but this is the first one I've dealt with and this is what they do. 00:15:19.691 --> 00:15:23.561 Kate and I both pay a monthly membership fee to the dentist. 00:15:23.561 --> 00:15:23.591 I. 00:15:24.591 --> 00:15:28.071 It's a small enough amount that I don't really feel it on a month to month 00:15:28.071 --> 00:15:31.731 basis, even though I'm paying it times two, because it's both me and Kate. 00:15:31.971 --> 00:15:34.791 Our kids go to a pediatric dentist, which is somebody else. 00:15:35.791 --> 00:15:41.281 So now I'm paying this monthly fee, and the monthly fee entitles me to two 00:15:41.281 --> 00:15:46.561 cleanings per year at no cost, which has this nice psychological benefit that when 00:15:46.561 --> 00:15:48.361 I go to the dentist now for a cleaning. 00:15:49.066 --> 00:15:53.326 If I don't need any repair, I walk in, I receive service, and I walk 00:15:53.326 --> 00:15:55.036 out and no money changes hands. 00:15:55.156 --> 00:15:59.686 And I have laughed at myself at what a psychological impact that has had. 00:16:00.556 --> 00:16:02.746 I know that I'm paying for those cleanings. 00:16:03.556 --> 00:16:08.786 I might even be paying more for those cleanings than I would if 00:16:08.786 --> 00:16:10.136 I just paid for them one off. 00:16:10.871 --> 00:16:12.461 Although when I do the math, I don't think so. 00:16:12.461 --> 00:16:15.151 I think it's probably about sixes, two cleanings per year for 00:16:15.151 --> 00:16:17.641 the amount I pay in the monthly subscription, and same for Kate. 00:16:18.641 --> 00:16:22.291 But there's such a, psychological win to going and receiving a 00:16:22.291 --> 00:16:25.741 service and feel like you're getting it, quote unquote for free. 00:16:26.581 --> 00:16:27.991 So that's really interesting to me. 00:16:28.261 --> 00:16:32.521 They've really reduced the friction by having to pay that monthly subscription. 00:16:33.521 --> 00:16:33.821 They do. 00:16:33.821 --> 00:16:36.911 Another interesting thing that when there is a repair. 00:16:37.466 --> 00:16:38.156 Required. 00:16:39.146 --> 00:16:41.006 I get 25% off repairs 00:16:42.006 --> 00:16:43.776 early in my relationship with this dentist. 00:16:43.776 --> 00:16:45.186 I think I needed a crown. 00:16:45.266 --> 00:16:47.816 It was probably 1500 bucks or something like that. 00:16:48.146 --> 00:16:49.226 I can't remember the amount. 00:16:50.226 --> 00:16:51.126 Well, that's annoying. 00:16:51.131 --> 00:16:54.421 I never want to spend $1,500 on a dental repair. 00:16:55.421 --> 00:16:59.861 But again, it was fascinating to watch my psychology when they said, oh, but 00:16:59.861 --> 00:17:06.101 you know, as a member you get 25% off that repair and suddenly I felt smart 00:17:06.101 --> 00:17:09.071 and my embarrassment about having to pay for this expensive repair and my 00:17:09.371 --> 00:17:11.591 anxiety about it, suddenly it goes down a little bit just because I. 00:17:12.146 --> 00:17:15.416 They've discounted it by 25% because I'm a member now, I'm 00:17:15.416 --> 00:17:16.826 not in the dentist finances. 00:17:17.066 --> 00:17:19.946 I don't know whether the dentist inflated that price 25% so they 00:17:19.946 --> 00:17:21.656 could drop it right back down 25%. 00:17:21.656 --> 00:17:24.926 I don't think so because I'm a person who's paid a lot of money 00:17:24.926 --> 00:17:29.006 for dental work over the years, and their price for that service was in 00:17:29.006 --> 00:17:30.386 the neighborhood of what I expected. 00:17:30.626 --> 00:17:34.806 So I got to have this nice little emotional bump from the 00:17:34.806 --> 00:17:39.516 fact that because I'm a member, I get this discount on repairs. 00:17:40.516 --> 00:17:42.346 I love that this dentist does that. 00:17:43.246 --> 00:17:45.916 I don't know whether this is true, but I wanna say something 00:17:45.916 --> 00:17:47.416 about the ethics of this. 00:17:48.416 --> 00:17:52.346 There's another thing going on here that relates to the ethics 00:17:52.346 --> 00:17:53.936 of both dentistry and coaching. 00:17:54.716 --> 00:17:59.816 Dentists have a financial incentive to find repairs to do. 00:18:00.816 --> 00:18:02.526 They get paid when they fix teeth. 00:18:03.676 --> 00:18:07.126 That creates an incentive for them to sometimes see repairs that may 00:18:07.126 --> 00:18:12.896 or may not be absolutely necessary, and they have to really check their 00:18:12.896 --> 00:18:16.766 ethics to say, well, we could do this, but we don't really need to. 00:18:17.766 --> 00:18:21.156 For some reason, the fact that I pay a monthly membership for the dentist. 00:18:22.156 --> 00:18:27.136 Increases my confidence that they're doing right by me when I'm in their chair. 00:18:27.856 --> 00:18:28.996 Now, that's emotional. 00:18:29.506 --> 00:18:33.056 I don't know that I could justify it with math, but there's something 00:18:33.056 --> 00:18:38.246 that feels right about it to me where I say, I hope they have thousands 00:18:38.246 --> 00:18:41.486 of people in that dental office who are paying the monthly membership. 00:18:42.896 --> 00:18:44.276 Because if they do. 00:18:45.341 --> 00:18:50.081 The dentists who work there wake up on the first of the month and know 00:18:50.111 --> 00:18:54.491 that it's gonna be a great month, and they never have to be in my mouth 00:18:55.241 --> 00:19:01.641 looking for a way to pay their mortgage or to pay for their kids, whatever. 00:19:02.841 --> 00:19:04.281 Now do I know that's the case? 00:19:04.521 --> 00:19:05.931 I do not know that's the case. 00:19:06.261 --> 00:19:10.311 I'm hypothesizing, but it's one of the reasons I like 00:19:10.311 --> 00:19:11.571 paying that monthly membership. 00:19:13.266 --> 00:19:18.906 I think it aligns my desires with the dentist's desires. 00:19:20.606 --> 00:19:24.186 Okay, what do we do with this dental model? 00:19:25.506 --> 00:19:30.186 Am I proposing that I should charge my coaching clients a monthly membership 00:19:30.786 --> 00:19:36.156 and then add on to that AEs price Maybe. 00:19:36.846 --> 00:19:38.466 I told you I was just thinking out loud. 00:19:38.466 --> 00:19:40.416 I don't really have a solution here. 00:19:41.526 --> 00:19:46.656 What does seem true to me is that I want to be a coach whose 00:19:46.656 --> 00:19:48.936 full-time vocation is coaching. 00:19:50.106 --> 00:19:55.116 I also want to be a provider who sees to his family's wants. 00:19:55.966 --> 00:19:59.431 Many of you would also say needs, that's not the language I typically say with 00:19:59.431 --> 00:20:04.051 finances because what I mean is I want my family's consumption to be smooth and 00:20:04.051 --> 00:20:09.361 normal across the months and years, and I want my attention to be able to stay clean 00:20:09.721 --> 00:20:12.601 around both my family and my clients. 00:20:13.601 --> 00:20:21.281 I also believe that my coaching clients want me to be healthy and happy and clear. 00:20:21.881 --> 00:20:26.771 I think my coaching clients want to know that when the zoom room opens 00:20:27.761 --> 00:20:32.921 and there I am, they want to know that a happy, healthy, clear-headed 00:20:32.921 --> 00:20:34.211 coach is sitting in front of them. 00:20:35.211 --> 00:20:38.871 Somebody who's able to be present and positive and hold clean space. 00:20:40.116 --> 00:20:44.766 Not have his mind on, I don't actually know how we're gonna 00:20:44.766 --> 00:20:45.966 pay the mortgage next month. 00:20:46.966 --> 00:20:51.856 It is not my client's responsibility to keep me happy, healthy, and clearheaded. 00:20:52.066 --> 00:20:53.416 It's my responsibility. 00:20:54.416 --> 00:20:57.686 I think it's my job as a coach to say. 00:20:58.901 --> 00:21:03.431 If you want your coach to be happy, healthy, and clearheaded, we need 00:21:03.431 --> 00:21:07.811 to arrange this relationship in such a way that I don't just disappear 00:21:07.811 --> 00:21:11.711 one day and say, oh, sorry, the coaching thing didn't really pan out. 00:21:12.711 --> 00:21:14.061 I went and got a job. 00:21:14.571 --> 00:21:19.251 I also don't want my clients to have the experience where they 00:21:19.251 --> 00:21:24.201 say, oh, mark used to do one-on-one coaching, but he started to pursue 00:21:24.201 --> 00:21:26.031 other business models that really. 00:21:26.826 --> 00:21:31.026 Set aside one-on-one work because he was trying to create more 00:21:31.026 --> 00:21:32.496 predictability in his income stream. 00:21:33.646 --> 00:21:35.386 Now, my clients might not agree with that. 00:21:36.166 --> 00:21:39.646 They might say, look, dude, really, it's not my problem. 00:21:40.396 --> 00:21:41.236 And they're right. 00:21:42.046 --> 00:21:44.836 So the question becomes, can we as coaches. 00:21:45.616 --> 00:21:51.226 Organize our practices in such a way that we're happy, we're healthy, we're clear. 00:21:51.556 --> 00:21:56.206 Our clients feel like they have access to both hygiene and repair, 00:21:57.206 --> 00:22:01.166 so that all of us are the best that we can possibly be in the relationship. 00:22:02.666 --> 00:22:04.136 I'm gonna keep thinking about this. 00:22:04.901 --> 00:22:10.751 I think there's something here that makes all of us better off. 00:22:12.161 --> 00:22:13.211 Now I wanna be clear. 00:22:13.571 --> 00:22:14.951 I am happy and healthy. 00:22:15.951 --> 00:22:21.231 I'm incredibly grateful and sometimes a little bit shocked that for 00:22:21.231 --> 00:22:28.011 about four years now, session-based coaching has reliably provided a high 00:22:28.011 --> 00:22:29.541 percentage of my family's income. 00:22:30.981 --> 00:22:33.141 That is the coolest thing to me. 00:22:33.816 --> 00:22:34.476 In the world. 00:22:34.576 --> 00:22:35.116 I love it. 00:22:36.116 --> 00:22:41.726 What I'm looking at now is, is there a way for me to evolve 00:22:41.726 --> 00:22:45.476 the practice in a way that I'm delivering higher and better service? 00:22:46.476 --> 00:22:48.546 My clients are the happiest they've ever been, 00:22:49.546 --> 00:22:54.486 and it's financially more level and smooth. 00:22:55.486 --> 00:23:00.046 Maybe then it's been in the past because it does have its natural fluctuations. 00:23:01.786 --> 00:23:02.956 It's just food for thought. 00:23:03.956 --> 00:23:08.576 As coaches, I think we should be trying to innovate and as we try to innovate, 00:23:08.696 --> 00:23:14.036 we want to innovate in ways that make our clients better off and make us better off. 00:23:15.026 --> 00:23:17.486 'cause remember, I believe in session-based work. 00:23:18.761 --> 00:23:22.031 As long as session-based work is a thing that people provide and people 00:23:22.031 --> 00:23:27.281 purchase, I'll be doing it I think for the next 30 or 40 years, well 00:23:27.281 --> 00:23:28.571 into my seventies and eighties. 00:23:29.571 --> 00:23:34.881 If there's a hygiene and repair hybrid approach that can support that 00:23:34.881 --> 00:23:41.781 longevity in my work and my practice, then by all means, let's figure it out. 00:23:42.781 --> 00:23:45.121 And with that, I will talk to you next time.