i feel lucky because i not only got to interview life coach laura geduldig, but am also her former (and maybe future) client as well. her work is inspiring because of the passion, commitment, and skill she brings to it. read on to learn on about getting started as a coach, what motivates and inspires her, and how she got thousands of people to ride bicycles from san francisco to los angeles...
image: care of go there! coaching
laura geduldig is a powerhouse of inspiration. i am so excited to share her work with all of you, but i almost wish i had recorded our conversation and podcast it so you can really get a sense of her in action. the next best thing is to check out the sample session she links to on her site. that way you can hear the vibrant voice i enjoyed talking to for the hour we chatted.
laura began her journey towards life coaching as a rider representative for the california AIDS Ride where, much like various fund-raising marathons around the country, people commit to bike 700 miles and raise a minimum of $2500 for AIDS research. as a rider representative, geduldig had hundreds of people assigned to her that she supported as they pursued this enormous, and often transforming goal. she describes watching person after person go from non-athlete status to completing a huge endeavor successfully. "i realized i loved this process...[they were succeeding at] something bigger than they ever thought was possible... [and] i learned how to celebrate with them." geduldig loved the job and stayed five years, eventually becoming associate director. despite her love for the program and the work she was doing, she began to think about what was next.
the challenge was coming up with something that held as much appeal, yet still felt like an evolution to the next step. she began to wonder, "what could be better than this?" then, thinking about how much she loved witnessing the power of human potential for change, geduldig realized that maybe there were even broader avenues to explore change in people's lives that would allow her to take her skills to the next level.
life coaching seemed a natural fit to continue this work, so laura decided to complete training at the coaches' training insitute (cti), which operated under the umbrella of the international coaching federation, which is the organization that grants accreditation. "at this point," she explained, "anyone can call themselves a life coach. it was important to me to get training [and certification]." cti's program is divided into two levels: the first is a series of five three-day workshops taken at the pace of about one a month. after completing this level, laura applied and was accepted to the six month certification program. this level is a rigorous intensive, requiring extensive client work, supervision and culminates in both a written and oral exam, which includes having to conduct a coaching session in front of a board of judges. not everyone passes, but geduldig did and now has moved on to teach with the institute as well.
laura's practice has evolved through many stages in the seven years since. here are her thoughts and insights on coaching, working for herself, building your work and how relationships fit into the picture.
laura says she started working with clients right away when she began training. "I charged very little and was up front about being in training. I thought I could go and do the training, but I wanted to live what I was learning so I took classes and worked with people at the same time." this also helped her as to do the certification training, a minimum of five clients is required. this interaction with people from the beginning also helped to shape her method, which she says evolved out of working with people. she really emphasized to me that this is the heart of coaching work: the relationships you build with people above anything else. "i was talking with one new coach," she said, "who was talking about her database, her new logo and business cards and website. i said all of that is great. but it's background and it doesn't get you clients." her greatest success in connecting with clients has been directly- face to face in a variety of formats- even just regular parties. "i always had business cards at parties. [even though] i tried print ads, i never saw much return from them. i had much more luck at a regular party just talking about what i do [in normal conversation."
coaching is a relationship, and laura believes allowing people to connect with her specifically is what allows them to decide if they will work together. for this reason, she's given free workshops, offered free sample sessions and more recently has gotten involved with the creating a life worth living work as a way to reach out and meet people who want to proceed with coaching.
laura is particularly proud of her connection with carol lloyd, author of creating a life worth living. (one of my personal favorites) she contacted carol to ask her if she could learn more about her method for working with artists and entrepreneurs and to study with her. carol was enthusiastic and said she had been thinking about letting people train in her method. she asked laura to contact her again in six months when she was closer to being able to launch the training. laura waited five months or so and then wrote to lloyd again, just to check in and she where she was. her persistence and enthusiasm paid off : lloyd decided to go ahead and do a training, something she had never done before, and ended up training ten people. lloyd later told geduldig that she had gone ahead because of her continued desire to be a part of the training. laura was delighted with this knowledge, "[i thought to myself] i created that!" now lloyd has asked geduldig to be her co-facilitator and the two run the trainings together.
still, with all the success and excitement, creating a self-employed career from the ground up wasn't always easy. she says it is essential to hold onto the idea of perseverance throughout the process. "there were times where i could either see my practice as a complete failure or a success depending on how i looked at it. i forced myself to choose [success] even if i had only two or three clients to see it as a success- that people were still coming and paying."
in order to get through this phase of beginning any kind of client-based service business laura really recommends having some kind of part-time work in addition to building the practice in order to have some stability and reliable income. laura had a part-time job that included benefits for the first 2 years she began her practice. "it was too stressful to get all my money from coaching. [it helped me] not be so gripped on who came and went [client-wise]."
the other challenge was learning not to take refusals personally. when she began, she says that for every 3-5 sample sessions she did for people, she would get 3 or 4 no's, either because of money or that coaching wasn't what they wanted. she says that for people approaching an entrepreneurial path this can be really scary- the idea of asking for someone's business and having them say no. she has a great suggestion to get over this hurdle, based on an assignment she loved in training: go out with the goal of getting twenty no's from people. she thinks this leads to a lighter, more fun approach. "it's like being out at a bar trying to meet guys and saying to yourself 'i'm going to ask out ten guys and get ten no's as my goal." this makes the whole thing funny and makes the yes less of a need. "if you're going for the no you get to be out there. the further out there you allow [yourself to be] and the freer you are the more you are yourself. [you] can be small and feel you have to present a certain way if you feel dependent on a yes." ironically, it is when you are most openly yourself with people that a relationship that can create a yes happens. try it!
with this new freedom, laura is much less worried about hearing no. "i don't care anymore. it's not going to make or break my ego. if they aren't interested then i'm not the right fit for them. i'd rather they work with someone else [that they connect with better]."
now, after seven years of work and adding teaching, both with carol lloyd and for cti, laura is seeing a return for all her efforts. she has a regular client flow and is filling workshops. how is she feeling about the work at this point?
"it's so much fun!" she says. "[people] come to coaching because they are stuck or frustrated and don't know how to get [to their goals] and through the work they get there. ... i love watching people succeed, be it my parents, friends, clients, or my kid. if i can be part of making it happen, then that's just over the top for me." not only does the love the work itself, but also the fact that she gets to work from home, own her own business, but also to be there for her family by having a flexible schedule. "on every mark it hits my values." she hopes to help clients achieve the same balance and satisfaction in their lives as well. she has more recently been adding wellness as a theme to her work and seeing that healthy activities like exercise, yoga, or drinking more water make it onto the homework list as well. "nearly all clients, when they defined success said 'oh well, i'd be exercising on a regular basis." laura is committed to helping her clients achieve this goal.
when asked what her advice would be to people wishing to pursue a more remabulous life, she was emphatic: "don't give up your dream. definitely not because of money. there is always a way to make money, a way to cut back. there's always a loophole." for artists she is a big supporter of a day job as a transition. she suggests taking a day job to create money and then continuing to do the thing the artist is passionate about, while gradually decreasing the day job as the art begins to be sustainable. "then you can do the thing you are passionate about."
i asked her if there was anything else she could suggest and she said, "they should hire me to help them get there!"
i am convinced of that, too. to learn more about laura and find out how you can work with her, check out her site, gotherecoaching.com
thank you, laura. you're amazing!
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