I want to tell you a story of how I got my first client before I even had a business.
It was April 15th, 2002. I was in the middle of taking the year off after leaving the music industry. I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life. It was an exciting, freeing and at the same time scary part of my life.
One thing I loved to do was exploring San Francisco. I was always on the lookout for new things to do, explore and learn. Craigslist turned out to be a great tool to help me with such discoveries.
So that fateful day, I was looking through Craigslist and see a posting from a guy who was looking to trade personal coaching. I had an inkling that I may be good at it, but I had no idea. And since I had nothing to lose, I decided to contact him.
This guy turned out to be Wendell, my first coaching client and now a close friend. After my first session coaching him, I was hooked. And he loved it so much that he decided that I am his coach and he was going to be my legal counsel (don’t get any ideas here… even though I may have a wicked sense of humor, I wasn’t doing anything wickedly criminal).
I coached Wendell for years after that and off and on ever since. I fell head over heels in love with being able to make a big difference in someone’s life. There really is nothing better to me than opening someone up to possibilities previously unimaginable.
I now have no idea what my life would be like had I not answered that posting.
Getting my first client was truly special. And yet, getting every client since then has been special, too. Making a difference never really gets old.
Your turn.
I would love to hear your favorite client story… just leave in the comments below.
Seriously… I’d love to know what made it special for you.
Warmly,
~Bill
(Here’s the actual ad that was run)
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Let’s Be Each Other’s Personal Coach
Reply to: anon-3528741@craigslist.org
Date: Mon Apr 15 09:09:13 2002
Do you know what everybody else should do with their lives, just not your own? Is it clear to you how other people should go about improving their careers, relationships, personal lives, but you just don’t know where to begin with yours? Well then you might be just like me. I’m a young, well-educated professional, ex dot commer with great potential, but just doesn’t know how to fulfill it. I’m sick and tired of underachieving, and it’s time for me to reach my goals. I’m looking for someone in the same positon, with the same attitude, to partner with so we can achieve our goals together.
I’m not talking about starting a business, but rather a success partnership in which we each push the other to achieve our career, relationship, and other goals that we set for ourselves. We will help each outher determine our goals, write them down, and then implement a path to achieving them. Ideally, we will meet once a week to chart our progress. We will be each other’s personal coach but without the $$$ hourly fee.
If this sounds great to you, and you are serious about reaching your goals, and helping someone else reach theirs, then write me back. Please let me know a little about yourself, maybe some of your goals, and what ideas you have about making this work. A few stats about myself: 30yo SWM, law degree, temping.
Success is a journey that should not be taken alone.
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Hey,
This sounds like an incredible idea. I would like a personal coach, but I am also thinking about figuring out if I possibly want to pursue a career in it. I believe that I would be really good at it, but I need to find out for sure. I am confident that I have a lot to offer another person in this capacity, but it is much more difficult to actually coach myself.
I’m 36, well-educated and have a lot of work and personal experiences from which to draw. I have owned businesses and am currently taking a year off before I plan my next career move. I am friendly, very social and tend to be pretty good at most things I set my mind to do. This endeavor should be no exception.
I would love to meet to see if there’s a fit for us in the proposed arena.
Regards,
Bill Baren
“One doesn’t always learn with their mind, one can also learn with their heart.”
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Wow! So many inspiring stories here, thanks for sharing folks!
I am a reproductive acupuncturist and have recently come to realize that I am also a fertility coach and am looking to provide my services to people over the internet (essentially everything except the acupuncture!). However, one of my favorite client stories involved a patient that was in her early 30’s and had polycystic ovarian syndrome. These women don’t ovulate and therefore don’t have regular cycles. Because of this they also usually experience great difficulty conceiving. I told this patient we would need to work together for 6 months to improve her overall and reproductive health, and that after the initial 6 months is when I would expect a pregnancy. There were many ups and downs with her cycle and progress, and there were several times when she just wanted to give up. But through Chinese Medicine and coaching, we were able to keep pushing through to make breakthrough after breakthrough. Not only did the patient go on to conceive naturally, but she had a healthy pregnancy and her child just turned 1 year old. She recently began coming in for treatment again to treat her headaches (which we had previously resolved and had just returned a few weeks prior). After beginning acupuncture and coaching again, she realized a week later that she was pregnant with her 2nd child! I think that’s when she truly realized how much lasting transformation her body had made in the last several years – because she was able to conceive the second time without any treatment at all!
This patient story is one of my favorites because it was when I began to realize that I provide more than just acupuncture and herbal therapy. I provide support to couples going through one of the most difficult experiences of their life, and they come out stronger on the other side.
I was in the legal field for almost 23 years as a legal assist and legal secretary. I worked with the top firms and usually for the managing partners. I have always loved assisting people and knew I was misguided in my career but was making big bucks! I was a psychologist wanna be! A friend told me about a school in San Rafael (I lived in San Francisco at the time) that he had gone to couple of classes and got some benefit for his own personal growth. I had attend a lot of personal group type workshops, forum, etc. I took a chance and paid the fee and decided to just try one weekend workshop (CTI). I ended up falling in love with this work. One of the assignments was to get a client to coach (for free). I coached this person and they ended up hiring me later on and stayed with me a couple of years. Backing up a bit, I was dabbling in coaching while still work with a San Fran lawfirm. I was coaching my clients to follow their passion and yet I was not in integrity, as I was not passionate about my work in the lawfirm. I decided to take the leap of faith and trust, quit my 6 figure job, 5 weeks paid vacation, and comfort zone. It has been 11 years since then, and I have no regrets. It hasn’t always been easy but the learning has been invaluable. I am ready for my next leap, that is why I hired you. I always like to work with the best, you see~! Thanks Bill
Hi
I don’t know where to start really and I have ideas but I’m stuck with those ideas can you please help me but, I think I’m not focus I’m a lecturer full time and I don’t have time to focus in my business because I don’t have any clients. I’m scared of just leaving my full time job
That’s really interesting.
After my first coaching class, I decided to get my first client. I put an add on craiglist. Sure enough, I got a reply. Two nights later, I opened the door to find a street person on my door step. I was taken aback a little bit — he smelled bad, didn’t have chose (it was winter). And still, he wanted a coaching session. My cat wasn’t put off. So that’s what I did. He left with a weekly plan (which he laid out).He paid me 30$.
I’ll never forget him.
Although it all ended up being super fine, I’m now more careful about who I let into my home. It’s also ones of the reasons I prefer to work over the phone.
I love it!
Bill, your story and the others are so refreshing! Am a new coach and am wanting to narrow my niche a bit since realizing I can’t, but want to help everyone, that has a desire to move to the next level in their lives, to facilitate them in achieving their dreams and aspirations. I did many pro bono sessions and each time I felt so exhilarated after the session because I felt the energy produced in our session that began the clients grasping the golden ring. Wow, what a feeling!
I coach heart-centered entrepreneurs/coaches to speak their message in order to heal the world. A few months ago I had just updated my website to really focus in on this better, and got an email from someone who said she loved my message and wanted to talk. We spoke on the phone, and she practically read the copy on my site back to me, saying how it spoke perfectly to her. She had been on a year-long trip to Africa and India and wanted me to help her put a slide presentation together to share her experience with others. It turned out that she didn’t want my help with what to say. Instead, she came several times to my office and showed me the gorgeous photos she had taken so I could help her organize and edit them down to the best ones. I had a blast, she said it was worth every penny, and she’ll be coming back for actual speech coaching in the future.
I’ve been in graphic design and marketing for 25 years but I’ve found my greatest joy in mentoring clients and employees, helping them build their skills and businesses to greater success, not just through my designs but through helping them develop their ideas for internal and external branding. My BA is in Public Relations and I have an MA is in Marketing. I think I would be good at coaching, but I’m not sure how to get started in it.
As an important side note, I have also taken 18 months off my marketing and design business. Not so much to find myself but because of an injury. Having the enforced time off for recovery has brought a lot of time for reflection. And after being told 18 months ago, after coming out of a coma they said I’d never wake up from, that I’d never walk again, I made the decision that I would take that opinion as a challenge. With every step forward, I increased the challenge both in physical therapy for my external health and by getting back into social media and blogging for my brain’s well being. I’ve now been walking on my own for four months and I am ready to get back to work in whatever way I can. I have the skills and ability, but so many just see a disability now so I’m not sure how to proceed and what avenues are available for me. I know that means I need a coach badly, more for confidence, ideas, and ways to stretch myself in new directions. I’ve always focused on small businesses in the past, but now I think I can take all of the lessons I’ve learned as a business person and through this new journey, and really help other people get over their own stumbling blocks. I no longer believe in the words can’t or never. The only time those words apply is when you give up the fight. I’m just starting mine and I’m ready to help others who believe they can’t do it or it will never happen for them. I know they can if they get their mind in the right place. I’m living, breathing, walking proof that you can overcome obstacles. It might not be a straight path, but you can get where you’re going.
So now, I’m at a personal crossroads. I can see the way forward, but not how to get there yet. Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated 🙂
PS Once at a family function she told my mom that I saved her life. xxoo
It was 35 years ago. I was teaching a parenting class at the local JCC. One of the women in the class approached me about doing one on one work together. We began working together, I coached her off and on for years.. Now all these years later, we are BEST FRIENDS. Soul sisters. Do what you love, let your self be transparent…the rest will take care of itself. ~Jan
Hi Bill. My first ever paying client. It was back in early 2004 and I did a clearing session on something that had been deeply bothering her. I never saw her for two years then she appeared at a friend’s party. She rushed up to me and said. ‘I want to thank you properly for what you did for me because it completely changed my life’. I will never forget the joy of knowing that one session had made such a dramatic difference!
Awesome reminder that the effects of what we do create amazing ripple effects that aren’t always evident immediately.
I love your story!…My first client: I had been working with my own coach for 2 or 3 years and had an inkling that I might want to be a coach too. I went to the first training with CTI–purely to check it out and enjoy the personal growth experience. (Needless to say, I fell in love and jumped in feet-first into becoming a coach) I had to line up a “guinea pig” client for the 2nd day of our training and so I worked up the guts to ask a fellow mother at my son’s preschool to be my sample client. She said “yes” on a lark. After the session– she was like, “wow– I loved that! I wish we could do it again.” At which point I fumbled out… “Yes! we can! There’s a format for this!” She has coached on and off with me for over 5 years and in the first few years of my business, referred half of my client roster … And when I showed up at her latest book reading this summer, she raved about me to another friend– who has since hired me too. Definitely the golden client!
I am passionate for others and I have been practicing massage therapy since 2006; and only since attending your “Big Shift” conference this past March, have I realized my journey of becoming a successful wellness coach. My favorite client story is of a gentleman who, in 2008, carried so much stress and tension in his body that he could barely move his arms, shoulders and neck. He received massage therapy numerous times before by other individuals and was quite resolved that it was “not his thing”.
However, I convinced him to give me a try, being determined to contribute to his well-being (I wanted this healing for him so terribly). I guess he must have seen my passion because he agreed to schedule a therapy session with me. Not only did he LOVE my massage, he immediately experienced mobility with very little pain (now subdued to mild soreness). He agreed to continue a few additional therapy sessions with me until his ailments were completely resolved, trusting my instinct; and has been hooked on obtaining regular massage sessions ever since. Very rarely does he encounter any flare-ups today.
This is just one of the many examples for why I love what I do… When I’m contributing to the healing and wellness in another, I feel most connected to my divine purpose; and it blesses me silly!
Beautiful story, Angela!
My story happened before I had even heard about coaching. I was a fitness consultant at a university and had a part-time job to test people’s fitness levels and then co-create a fitness plan with them. I did the tests for this one woman and we were about to create her plan when she started talking about how a friend treated her. So we talked about that and then about her work. Even though we didn’t finish the fitness plan, which she was fine with, she said she felt much better than when she came it. It felt so good to be able to help someone gain a new perspective about themselves and what was possible.
Love how you reacted to the need of the moment instead of forcing an agenda – total flow.
I was training to become a coach, and terrified at the idea of my first “free coaching call,” whenever it might come. I asked a friend if I could practice on her. From my view she was a very together person who “had everything” and I was not thinking of any possibility of her hiring me. However, she agreed to let me practice on her. We talked. I heard some things I was not aware of. Toward the end of the call I began, “You know I wasn’t thinking of coaching you but…” and she interrupted, “Oh, I know, I need a coach and I want to hire you.” So… my first client…
Love how natural this process of landing this client was for you.
Hey Bill, sorry I haven’t been checking in on my emails,as I. Am writing a book…since talking with Scott and connecting with both of you I have been motivated to do something to be able to share with you and your audience…bring my own brand of humor..
Bring it on!
I was taking a yoga class, and was thinking I’d like to take training in being a coach. One day a friend of mine who was also in the same class came to talk with me and I told her of my thoughts. She was exited and said she would be very glad to be coached by me, she always thought I had a lot of wisdom. We started meeting once a week while I was in the process of enrolling in the class. We continued meeting. She was a simple woman, who’s favorite thing to do was cooking. We set her up to start a catering service. she met some doctor who worked long hours and needed someone to cook dinners for her family on a regular basis, so she started cooking for the family who paid her well and loved her cooking. She met people who also loved her cooking and she started catering for parties, special dinners, she also started a recipe book, gave cooking lessons, created special seasonings, sauces, breads, cakes as her products and in a relatively short of time she had a business. When we started these sessions she was having problems with a teenager daughter, her marriage was in danger, her husband had a boat and went every weekend to the Colorado River to take people to run the rapids and she seldom saw him. She now goes with him and provides all the food for the runs, he has doubled his business, she is an expert swimmer and enjoys the river with her family, money concerns are gone. She is at a point where she needs to get employs to continue growing, a special kitchen and equipment but she is enjoying her life as it is and decided it is time to be happy with what she has. We are still friends. It has been a win, win situation.
Love this story, Clea! You’re clearly passionate about helping people. You have found your calling.