Closed the elevate coach account

We have deflated the Elevate Coach bank account. In other words, it is done. Emptied. Closed. I went to the bank Saturday and put it out of its misery.

Tom and I started the account when we started the business in April of 2015 (I kind of thought it was longer ago than that). Since neither of us has had a paying client since then..... well, you know. The bank started charging a fee for inactivity, and since it doesn't appear there will be any activity in the near future, we just cut our losses and cashed in our chips.

While this doesn't necessarily signal the end to the business, or my "coaching," it is somewhat difficult to end something that never really started. So, such is life.

Coaching makes me better

I know it's on our website, and it probably goes without saying, but I really do believe coaching makes me better. It doesn't seem to matter if I am being coached or doing the coaching. I feel better, am better prepared, and better motivated after coaching.

It makes sense after being coached. If there is something I need to talk through, or a place where I'm just "stuck," it really makes a difference to have a different set of "eyes" to prod me to look at my situation in a new or un-thought-of way. That's basically what coaching is all about.

What surprises me, though, is that even when I coach someone else -- it makes me feel better. I don't know if it's because I feel like I'm 'doing something,' or maybe it's because it reinforces to me that it actually is a useful vehicle for helping people get from where they are to where they want to be.

To be fair, it doesn't work for everything. Sometimes I'm honestly not wanting to be better... I want to wallow in self-pity, or pout, or simply ignore what may be happening. However, when I actually DO want to get better, it almost always helps.

So... that's just a thought I was having yesterday when I started this post. We are actually thinking of changing our "niche" as a business. I've also been thinking about how we schedule/charge clients... perhaps there is a way that better suits us. We'll see. And... I changed my job title & description on Facebook. I changed the title from 'Life Coach' to 'Personal Coach', and added the description: "Life coach, soul strategist, sounding board..."

That's all.

We're in business - elevate coach

Welp, it's official. I am now a business partner. Elevate Coach is registered with the county, we have a Tax ID number, and a checking account so we can take payments. I also have my business cards done (below).

I made the cards on Vistaprint and got 500 for $9.99. It took 8 days to get them, but only because I was cheap and opted for economy shipping. They actually turned out better than I expected.

I went to the County Recorder's office Wednesday and got the Assumed Name Certificate. It only took a couple minutes to fill out on their computer, then they printed it off, took my $11, and handed me a copy. Tom and I signed the Partnership Agreement Thursday morning and dropped it off with Jane at the bank. She found out that we actually did need to get a Tax ID number, but she was able to do that for us online, and then she opened our business account for us.

All we really need to do now is set up a Paypal account and hook it up with our bank account. Oh, and get some clients. I'm sure we will do some tweaking of the website now and then, but I generally like how it looks. Again, we purposely want it to be simple and low-key. We may have to do something to emphasize that we don't only coach Christian leaders though. I've sensed people kind of think that. We are willing to coach anybody for just about anything. So we'll see.

Here we go...

Blood pressure and business progress

I checked my blood pressure last night. It was 107/76. I was happy with that, and I haven't even started running again yet. Hopefully I can stop with the lysinopril again this summer.

As far as the business... We have a partnership agreement, I ordered my business cards last weekend, the website is done "enough" (it has the basics, which is basically all we wanted). Some of the things left to do:

• Get the Assumed Name Certificate at the courthouse
• Open a business account at the bank
• Set up a Paypal account to connect with the bank account
• There are a few more books I would like to read sooner rather than later

There are a few more things we may investigate a little further, but otherwise we are in business. Some of the longer range plans I have are...

• Continue building clientele
• Work towards higher levels of certification
• Look into some further life coach training/certification
• Look into some further spiritual formation training

So... that's kind of where I'm at. My blood pressure is good, my mind is at ease, and I'm okay.

Peace out; and in.

A chess vs checkers leadership approach

I shared in a post a couple weeks ago that I was going to upload a few things I learned from my latest coaching class on managing & leading. One of those things was the difference between leading/managing from a chess perspective vs. a checkers perspective.

Chess and checkers are similar board games - they even share the same board - but the way they are played is very different. The biggest difference is in the game pieces themselves. In checkers all the pieces move the same way and have the same function (they're all alike!). Anyone who wants to win at chess, on the other hand, has to first learn how each piece moves - from the pawn, to the rook, to the knight, to the queen and king. Each piece is unique, and each has different strengths and weaknesses. In order to play chess you need to understand the ability of each piece and what it brings to the table. Bobby Fisher, the great chess champion, once said, "Winning in this game is all a matter of understanding how to capitalize on the strengths of each piece and timing their moves just right." 

This is a picture of good leadership. Great leaders understand that you can't get the best out of people with a "checkers" mindset - treating them all alike, expecting the same things out of each of them, handling them like some generic product on a shelf - you have to discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it.

Each individual person has different strengths and weaknesses, different "triggers" (what motives them), different personalities, and different learning styles. A wise leader/manager will take these things into account; the poor leader/manager will not (and will wonder why they fail to get better results).

I believe this is a very subtle, yet profound, perspective when it comes to leading and/or managing people. Certainly you don't want this to become a way to "use" people, but to not take this approach shows a lack of respect for others and little concern for the organization as a whole.

What is coaching?

I've been having a hard time coming up with an answer for: What do you mean by coaching? The Coaching Agreement is perhaps the best overall description, but I'm not sure how good it is as an "elevator speech." So... I read through 'Coaching For Christian Leaders' again last night and noted these spots...

From the introduction, p. 1:

Life is a story of improvement. The holy Christian writings attest that a central theme of existence is the movement toward better. Genesis starts with God's initial improvement project of order over chaos, with each day unfolding a new and better aspect of God's creation. Revelation and other texts refer to an 'end' that is really a new and better beginning. Between genesis and ultimate renewal, each Christ-follower is striving to live a story of improvement - always moving toward fuller connection with God, better community with others, clearer expression of vocation, healthier habits of the heart, more effective use of time, and even improved performance of hobbies and leisure activities.

The believer's God-ordained improvement story doesn't always go that well. An individual gets lazy, runs up against obstacles, or sometimes becomes confused about which way to go and what to do. To reach full potential, a believer might need some help.

From p. 2:

[Coaching is] An art and science of supporting people's forward movements... and is impacting families, Fortune 500 companies, ministries, organizations, schools, and government agencies.

**From p. 9 (the "original definition"):

A hundred years ago, a coach was a transport vehicle, as commonly remembered in the story of Cinderella. Riding in a coach meant that a person would be moved from one point to another. In Webster's Dictionary the first definition of coach is, 'A large, covered, four-wheeled carriage used as a conveyance, with seats for passengers inside and an open raised seat in front for the driver: stagecoach.'

Today, coaching is similar. Coaching is still about forward movement and action. A coach, however, is no longer a physical vehicle like a car. A coach is a person who facilitates actions that transport people from one place to another, from where they are to a new destination...

...It's about taking intentional action, moving forward, and improving performance. By nature, coaches desire to help people improve, change, recognize and use their strengths and talents, and be successful.

From p. 69 (in regard to requests for information about coaching - be brief and clear):

Coaching is different from consulting or therapy. Coaching starts with where you are and focuses on where you want to go. It is not about the past or what has transpired to this point. It is always focused on taking intentional action.

From p. 94:

Coaching is about caring for a person's future. Counseling looks to the past to find healing. Chaplaincy looks toward heaven to find truth for here and now. Consulting looks to the pastor as an expert to solve problems and answer questions. Coaching is distinctive in that it looks upward (to God), inward (to one's self as impacted by the indwelling of God's Spirit), and forward (to where God is leading) to find direction for tomorrow.

**From p. 111:
I guess I already wrote a post about p. 111 and the idea of a "soul friend" or "spiritual friend." Let me sum up in my own words with this...

Coaching is a lot like being a good friend. A coach is someone who will listen intently to you, ask specific questions of you, help you move forward intentionally, and acknowledge action and next steps.

So... there's some stuff.

Starting the general partnership

The business partner and I have decided to start a 'General Partnership' for the coaching practice. It is the simplest, cheapest and most flexible business form for us to take. We have a web site that is in process (elevatecoach.com). The next thing we need to do is register with the county, create a partnership agreement, and get a bank account. Below are some links to help with those things:

Assumed Name Certificate:

• http://www.allencountyrecorder.us/resources/Downloads.aspx
• http://www.allencountyrecorder.us/resources/Questions.aspx
• http://www.allencountyrecorder.us/Files/2013%20Starting%20a%20FW%20Business%20Pamphlet.pdf

Writing a Partnership Agreement:

• http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/incorporation-and-legal-structures/write-a-partnership-agreement.html
• https://www.rocketlawyer.com/form/partnership-agreement.rl
• http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Partnership-Agreement

We still have some tweaking to do on the web site, then I'd like to get some business cards made. After that, I think we basically just need to get some clients.