What It’s Really Like to Be a Coach

Freedom

That’s what many coaches say is the reason they want to be a coach.  Additionally, they say they want to help people. Just like anything in life though, you don’t know what it’s really like to be a coach until you become one. Maybe you figure you’ll work from home and be in command of your own time and your destiny.

In the beginning you might feel like you have to show up a certain way. You have to put makeup on, get dressed nicely and be super professional. Then after a while it might get old. I personally tried getting dressed up to go to work at my home office  because it was supposed to make me more productive.  Okay, it was because other people told me it would make me more productive.  It didn’t.

I tried so hard to fit the mold of the perfect coach in my head and what I realized is that I don’t want to be that person. I just want to be me.

Into my pj’s as soon as possible most days

Behind the Paris and Florence photoshoots that I’ve had done by Effie’s Studio, I love my pjs. I don’t really like to get out of my pj’s in the mornings.  If I could wear pj’s all day, I totally would. I’ve worn them to the grocery store under my winter jacket too so I get back in them as soon as I can.  It’s my happy.

Growing up, we had school clothes and home clothes.  I think it got a bit ingrained in me that you can be grubby at home and that’s where you wear your junky casual clothes because your nice clothes stay nice longer if you only wear them out. I always wore a robe if I was cold too. So nowadays, I wear sweats or yoga pants and a t-shirt or hoodie.

Truth be told, livestreams often happen with pj bottoms, sweats or yoga pants, along with a really nice top and great jewelry.  After all, no one is going to see what’s on bottom.

I’ve even have a persona on the weekends where I sometimes do “PJ Coach Day” livestreams. Long live the PJs!

Every day possible is no makeup day

I remember when I was 15, I would sneak makeup and wear it to school because my mother didn’t want me using any. My friend and I would rub it all off on our way home from the bus stop.  When we got to her house, we’d look at each other and say, “Can you see any?” or “Is it all off?” We would check each other and once we knew it was safe, we would go home. That was pretty short lived. I decided putting makeup on took too much time and full makeup with foundation made my face feel like it was suffocating.

Now that I’m getting older, I know that I look better (and less pale) with makeup but it’s not my thing. Of course if I’m going out, going to an event or meeting, I wear it. The problem is that when I want to do a random livestream, I wonder if I should because I don’t have any make up on. Luckily, I can usually get away with just lipstick. Even when I wear makeup, I feel like it gets washed out in the video lighting. I wish there was an app like Perfect 365 that puts make up on you for livestreams like it does for photos.

p.s. if you need a great lighting kit for videos, check out my friend Elizabeth deMoraes’ Video Glam Cam Kit which was recently at the Grammy’s.

No one at home thinks you’re a public figure

My Facebook fan page is categorized under “public figure,” but no one at home thinks of me as anybody other than mom. Once you’re a mom, your identity is always mom. The kids still expect you to pick them up and they still ask when dinner is. Not that it’s a bad thing, just that no one really gets what I’m trying to do. #whatitsreallyliketobeacoach

I used to tell my husband I was more famous each day so every once in a while now he asks, “Are you more famous than you were yesterday?” Answer is always, “Yes!”  Like duh.

I work on my computer in my bed

I know some people are gasping and cringing at this admission but this is what it’s really like to be a coach. The rule is to keep your bed for rest and sleep and I’m a bit of a rebel with rules sometimes. Other times I’m a total rule follower.

I think the idea is that if you work on your computer in bed, then your brain associates it with something.  What that something is, I’m not sure.  Maybe your brain is stimulated to much to sleep. I have flux on my computer so it dims my blue and puts orange in my computer lighting in so my brain knows it’s night time. It’s true though — if I work too late, it does take time for to relax before falling asleep.

I actually love working in the evening. I look forward to and save certain tasks like blogging for evening time. I’m not a morning person (I get up around 8:00 am) and I’m not a night owl. I really need my sleep especially because of my history with Chronic Lyme Disease.

I work more hours than I’d like to admit

When I track my hours, I work less than I did in my corporate job but more than I’d like to some days. I work less than I worked when I started. I waste more time than I’d like to admit too. Today, I have a schedule where I don’t take client calls on Mondays and Fridays.  Mondays are for learning, reading, watching YouTube or going through (even repeating) a course I have.

I’m honestly not sure about that whole 4-hour work week thing …. I work more than 4 hours per day and I actually like it! If I wasn’t working on something I was so passionate about, I would probably try to do that, but I love what I do so much, I’m excited about implementing new things and creating new projects.

My day off is Friday and though I usually find something work related to do, the rule is (like that?) I don’t have to. I used to have a lunch date with my oldest son but he doesn’t have the time anymore.

The difference now between the hours I worked at the beginning versus the hours I work now is my attitude

I used to create projects and make myself frantic finishing them. I still give myself short deadlines and get a lot of stuff done (this is one of the top questions I get from people — how do you accomplish so much?) but instead of approaching them with stress, I approach them with happiness. It might sound a little strange but this is how I give myself options. There is always a choice to do something or not and I can choose “not” so it doesn’t feel so much like a chore.

I’ve learned to save time with automation tools like amplifr, grum (which you can’t sign up for anymore but I hear planoly might be great), ifttt.com, tinytorch, hootsuite and my favorite CRM is ActiveCampaign (you get a 14 day free trial with it too). I use interns from GenM (get a $25 coupon with my link) to help me with things I would give a VA.

Well there you have it

What it’s really like to be a coach from one perspective. Is it perfect? No, but I love it. It does give me the freedom I want. It fulfills my mission of helping people and doing something meaningful.

What I didn’t mention were the two things about it I love the most — meeting other coaches and traveling. Through the programs and certifications I’ve done, I’ve met the most amazing people from around the world which even allowed me to go to NY Fashion Week at the Manhattan Center, work with David Tupaz and put a dress I created out on the runway.

I feel like if I wanted to sell all my things and traipse across the world, I’d always have a friend at every corner with an offer of a place to stay. And if I ever need help with something, I have a network of support which is important when you’re a coach working from home all alone.

It’s definitely a good life.

If you enjoyed this article or have a question, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Vickie Gould is a Law of Attraction business and book coach, best selling author, and speaker. She believes that everyone has a story to share and a journey orchestrated for their positive growth — and that those experiences should be written in a best selling book.

Vickie helps entrepreneurs to write, self-publish and leverage their own business books to share those stories, grow their following, create more impact and turn readers into client through her Easy Writer Program, one-on-one coaching and her free Facebook Group, Write Your Biz Book.

She has written 10 best sellers such as Easy Writer (named after her signature program) and Standing in the Gap, and helped nearly 100 others to become best selling authors as well.

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