Should You Quit Coaching?

BY

Share On

I’m regularly asked by coaches who are struggling what they should do next. Should they quit coaching profession?

Often their partner (husband, wife, etc) is telling them to quit coaching.

Here’s an email I just received, with my reply below…

Q: Is It A Fantasy?

Rich, I was talking to my wife last night about different coaching programs I would like to sign up for this year. Her first question was about time for them as we have a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, and I have a full-time job.

I explained these would help me become a better coach and help me grow my practice. I’d be able to gradually shift from my full-time job which is supporting us to coaching full time. I’d help more people have more flexibility, doing something I love to do.

She said when will it be enough? When will I start applying what I already know? When will I realize “coaching” isn’t really a profession it is a hobby for me, an escape, a self-help addiction?

Then she said it is worse than a hobby for me because it takes me away from my present job and responsibilities to live in a dream/fantasy. She says I did this last year and the year before, especially when the winter blues set in, dream of being a coach full time, but never applying what I already know to my own life, or getting any clients.

I know she loves and supports me if I follow through on it, do the work, and not just talk about it. How do you make that shift, Rich? How do you apply all you’ve learned, instead of looking for the next guru, or course, or book, when you already have the answers inside of you?

Please help me.

A: Coaching Is Not For Everyone

Hey ______ – my message to you is provocative. Because being a Professional Coach isn’t for everyone.

And especially as you have 2 little babies (congrats by the way!) I know personally just how exhausting that is.

Are you open to considering that in some ways your wife may be right?

Some people are amazing coaches. But they are not cut out for the BUSINESS of coaching.

That doesn’t have to be disheartening.

The Prosperous Coach Approach is a LONG-TERM game.

It’s not for everyone.

If you don’t have the resources of time or money – or even energy – behind you, sometimes the very best thing you can do is go back into full-time employment.

That’s not a bad thing. It’s a strategic decision.

A coach I know recently signed her first $30K private client.

She sent me a note where she said: “I’m working my butt off. I’m on calls most days from 9 am until 7 pm. Sometimes later. I have worked every weekend since September pretty much. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving because I’ll FINALLY have one day with no calls.”

Not every coach is able to master the Business of Coaching.

Those who do are in it for the long haul.

They sometimes use their savings or have a job on the side to sustain them in quiet times.

And they constantly invest in themselves and commit to the deepest levels of learning.

There’s a myth that people have bought into around “Never-Ending-Success As A Coach“. It doesn’t work that way.

I wish you all the best whether you become a Professional Coach or whether you remain a Part-Time Coach. No shame in the latter.

Great coaching skills can help you be a better leader, manager, partner, and parent.

And as a Part-Time Coach, you can finally let go of the need to master the world of business that has been eluding you.

About The Author

Rich Litvin

There is no any social links to show

Rich runs a leadership consultancy for world leaders, based in Los Angeles and London. The methodology is deep coaching. Bespoke. Not time-based. He is the author of a best-selling book on coaching and he runs a program for 40 of the world’s most successful consultants and coaches.

Related Articles

By: Ajit Nawalkha
By: Ajit Nawalkha
By: Ajit Nawalkha