2 | Running a value-driven coaching and education business
Coaches, mentors, consultants and educators - changing this industry for the better starts with us. And I believe it comes down to two things - why you run your business and how you run your business.
This is a long read but if like me, you’re proud of this industry and ready to make it a regulated, value-driven and ethical space, please lean in.
Starting with the why. Whilst we all have personal reasons (mine are around freedom and challenge) the biggest driving force behind your business should be your desire to help people. We’re service based businesses after all - the value you bring to others should sit at the centre of why you do what you do. If that’s not there, no amount of ‘how’ will help so I suggest you press pause and reassess why you’re in business.
Now, assuming you’re in it for the right reasons, let’s look at the how. First up, it feels important to acknowledge that the solution isn’t as simple as we may want it to be. Whilst for some, one formal qualification can be relevant and provide a stamp of authenticity, for many businesses (including mine) what’s taught comes from a blend of experience, responses to changes in the industry, unaccredited courses and natural skillset.
Phoebe Dodds, a past client, put it better than I could with this:
“I have an MSc in Entrepreneurship incl Marketing and from my personal experience, a lot of people who haven’t got formal education are MUCH better placed to coach in business and marketing than I am. The majority of what I learned at business school isn’t applicable in the ‘real’ world - unless you want to get venture capital / run an organisation. 99% of running a business, I’ve learned from actually running a business”.
It’s also worth noting that someone can have formal education and still run their business in an unethical way. SO, without the ‘easy’ solution of universal qualifications, I believe change comes down to each of us running our businesses in a value-driven way. This is the how.
Running a value-driven business means doing everything with careful thought for who it’ll impact and how that impact lines up with the values you hold.
It’s something that’s been non-negotiable for me since stepping into business 5 years ago and whilst it’s not always been easy, it’s always been worth it.
Values will make your business stronger. They might make growth a little slower, they’ll probably take the shiny-ness out of your marketing and they’ll absolutely stop you from being able to implement many of the ‘strategies’ and ‘hacks’ that are discussed in Clubhouse rooms but ultimately, they’ll build a business which 1) you’re proud to call your own and 2) people want to be a part of.
Running a value-driven business will look different to each of us, but in the context of this conversation - how we regulate an unregulated industry - I have a few thoughts on the areas your values should impact...
1 | Selling to help inform decisions
Value-driven marketing is about helping people to make informed, consensual decisions which I believe comes down to letting the value of what we’re selling lead and keeping it honest, at all times.
Be clear on the value of what you’re selling - is it a skillset, a framework, a result, a journey? Give evidence and backup why you’re the person to bring that.
Clarify who that value is and isn’t for - nothing is for everyone so don’t be afraid to state your case and let the right people come. Saying no to those who aren’t fit is important!
Be careful when selling results - are there other factors involved? Teaching the marketing side to a 10K launch is all well and good but what if they don’t have the offering, systems and processes in place?
Remove fear, shame and guilt from your messaging - must I expand on this one? Allow the value of what you’re selling someones subsequent desire for it to be the core reason people buy.
Keep it honest - whether that means saying no to someone who isn’t a right fit, explaining upfront that your free challenge is related to a launch or telling people that the course will be coming back again. You may feel like you’re missing out on a short term ‘win’ but what’s a win when it asks us to sacrifice our values and the experience of others to get it?
Value-driven marketing will look differently to each of us but put simply, if you’re relying on instilling feelings of fear, pressure and shame to sell your services, you’re not doing it in a value-driven way.
We all want students and clients who are the right fit for what we’re delivering, excited to be learning from us and making an informed decision - the more honest, clear and upfront your marketing is, the more that’s going to happen!
(Read article 3 on making informed decisions as a consumer here)
2 | SELF-regulation
Without the option of universally relevant certifications, it’s important to consider how each of us will regulate what we do. This is about keeping accountable to our values and continually bringing our best to our clients. As service based businesses (CC earlier point about being in it for the right reasons) the idea being the best * insert your title here * you can be should resonate, so here’s some ideas for how you can do that.
Feedback - ask for it, listen to it, action it
The best people to let you know how your business is doing are those on the other side of it - your clients and students. Feedback is a fundamental part of continually monitoring, growing and improving your practice so it’s important to ask for it in the right way, listen to it with open-ness and action it as soon as possible.
Supervision
Supervision (which can be 1:1 or in a group) is a dedicated and confidential space to discuss what’s happening within client work in order to gain insight, support and direction from a higher level professional.
I spoke to Sophie Cliff about how it’s helped her: “Having supervision has been incredibly useful for a number of reasons - it provides a reflective space for me (which is important both for my own wellbeing and my learning and growth as a coach), gives me space to seek support on any ethical issues or challenges that arise and allows me to be supported by a more experienced coach who can offer alternative perspectives and challenge any bias I may bring to my practice.”
Supervision can be organised through an official body like this or arranged independently.
Membership bodies
Whilst they won’t be a fit for everyone, gaining membership to a coaching body, can be beneficial. Jayne Ashby shared more -“I’m a member of the AOC because they provide a code of ethics that I always adhere to and use as a benchmark for my own business alongside continual access to professional development and supervision. They’re not perfect, but I hope that my continued membership provides potential clients with some reassurance that I am a genuine coach.I realise that this isn’t the only level of reassurance that clients need when making the decision to work with me, there are many elements to consider. but I hope the membership is hopefully seen as a positive factor.”
Code of ethics
Being value-driven means considering how your values will influence and be reflected in every aspect of your work and staying accountable to that. Following a code of ethics, like The Global Code of Ethics (carried by a number of coaching bodies) can give you a foundation for what this should look like.
Additional commitments can then be made in response to your unique values, like Jo Hooper does:“My values are based on what I feel strongly about, what I believe in, what’s important to me and how I want to impact others. One of my values is fairness which I action by having pay what you can spaces on my courses. These are open to those who identify as having a protected characteristic under the equality act and means that those who are neurodiverse, are Black, Indigenous or a person of colour, disabled, trans or non-binary and would like to join one of my programmes but can’t afford it, can. Many people who tick these boxes (love a box ticker!) are often excluded from the coaching/mentoring world because of price or because they just don’t feel welcome. I don’t want that for people in my space.”
There’s no one-size-fits-all so it’s important we each consider how we will self-regulate in order to bring our best to our clients and improve our practice over time. Ultimately, defining a clear set of values is going to help you stay accountable in every area of your practice.
3 | Accessibility and inclusion
An inaccessible and exclusive industry is the last thing we want as value-driven business owners, and I’ll be the first to admit that the pricing put next to coaching and courses can be a contributing factor.
As Jayne Ashby put so well “Why should only those in the position of having a healthy disposable income be able to access coaching and consulting? Especially if what we provide is so beneficial? We all need to consider who we’re shutting out and who we’re excluding from potentially accessing our products and services.”
I appreciate that lowering price points isn’t always a sustainable solution so here’s a few suggestions on how you can promote accessibility and therefore, inclusion in your education business:
Offer payment plans which are interest free or close to - let’s be honest, people paying in chunks costs us a few pounds more and there’s no excuse for charging hundreds extra to the person choosing an affordable payment plan.
Consider creating accessible offerings - I know first hand that whilst nothing can replicate 1:1, something brilliant can happen when you notice the key themes showing up and offer that expertise in a more accessible way. Think PDF, course, programme etc.
Give value via free content - one of the easiest ways to show up online with values is to quite literally show up online with value. Be wildly generous in what you’re willing to share online - it’ll build trust with those who can afford you and widen your impact to those who can’t.
Offer scholarship spaces - for the last 6 months I’ve been offering a number of ‘pay what you can’ spaces to every offering and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made, using the same model as Jo Hooper explained above.
Building an inclusive business goes far beyond this and will look different to each of us but it feels an important part of the conversation.
In conclusion, regulating this industry will come from each of us selling in a way that promotes informed decisions, staying accountable to our standards and ultimately, ensuring our values are reflected in everything we do.
What I’ve outlined here isn’t a set of tick boxes, but the start of a conversation to help you consider what this looks like for you.
I know (because I feel it) the fear of ‘getting it wrong’ or ‘being called out’ can be paralysing but as those at the head of this industry, let’s welcome these conversations. Let’s be open with the changes we can make (I know there’s areas I can improve on!). Let’s support each other as we work out what our individual solution looks like. Let’s remember our truth. And let’s remind ourselves what it’s all about.
I truly believe that by each of us stepping into what it means to be a value-driven business, we can raise the standard in this industry. You with me?
Note: Whilst writing this article I’ve realised just how desperately we need a more long term and regulated solution. I am, in partnership with some of those quoted, working to explore what this could look like.