Is Coaching Worth the Investment?

When you are considering working with a coach, you may be wondering;

“What can I REALLY gain from this coaching experience? Will it turn out to be a wise, generative investment in my future, or an expense that will leave me feeling financially overwhelmed? I’ve never done something like this before (although, if I’m honest, I’ve also never made as much progress as I would like to, trying to do things on my own).”

Firstly, please give yourself a warm hug for being brave enough to ask this question. When we deeply desire something, it’s amazing how much anxiety and nerves can be triggered in the process.

Please rest assured, those feelings are completely normal when we are looking to be brave, face the unknown and do something beyond the status quo.

The short answer to your question is, I don’t know. No coach can know. Signing up for coaching may turn out to be the best thing you’ve ever done for yourself. Or, it may not be right for you — or right for you at this time.

On this page, I want to offer you some frameworks to help you discern what is best for you, now and into the future.

You Are Investing in Personal Self-Discovery and Growth

When you’re choosing to work with a coach, it’s worth considering the value you’re going to receive.

Coaching is an investment in yourself, your personal and professional development and, if you desire to build a flourishing business, your business’s growth, too. Choosing to invest in coaching can save you years or even decades of trial and error trying to figure things out on your own.

Choose a Coach who has the Relevant Experience

Different coaches have unique selling propositions or unique experiences that are their strengths. For example, I bring to the table a unique blend of creative know-how as a professional artist and writer, combined with online marketing and business savvy. I have two decades experience of successfully running a profitable and sustainable business; a creative business that lights me up doing work I adore and working with clients I love to work with.

I combine this practical knowledge with a mindful, evidence-based approach in the work I do, sharing proven exercises and practices with clients. Often, clients choose to work with me because they see the value in that blend of qualities, rather than choosing a coach without the same breadth of relevant experience.

Coaches vary in their formal qualifications, too. Much like paying a consultant, when you choose the best coach for you, you are investing in their specialised area of expertise. For example, I have a Bachelor of Fine Art from Giffith University, a Diploma of Business Management for Artsworkers and years of professional development completing a wide range of online marketing, mindfulness-based, and personal development programs to further my education.

Instead of investing in years of study, you can short-cut your learning curve by working with a coach who can steer you in the right direction in an industry or avenue that may be new and unfamiliar to you. I love to help my clients navigate the arts industry and/or online marketing realm, as both have pitfalls, myths and esoteric perspectives. I love to draw from my own experience and share how to successfully establish yourself and your business.

Imagine this scenario:

You are feeling unfulfilled in your job or career and you wish you know what you really wanted to do. You’re feeling confused, stagnant and like your heart is losing its inner sparkle. You may be stressed and want to have more time doing things you love, expressing yourself and contributing to your community in wholehearted and uplifting ways. Perhaps the thought of this alerts your inner critic and triggers a range of self-doubts and fears about stepping into the unknown.

You hire a coach to support you through this transition. After your first calls, you have so much clarity around what actions you are going to take, that you naturally build momentum. You feel satisfaction and fulfilment because you are moving towards your dreams. Within four months you’ve found clarity on what you really want to do, you’ve developed your first offerings in your creative business and you’ve had your first sales.

You’re feeling happier and have tools to support you through self-doubts, listen to your own inner wisdom, and build self-trust and confidence as you gain experience pursuing your new direction. You have inspiration and momentum and are excited to develop more income streams from your creative work, doing what you love in the world.

How much would you pay for this amount of transformation in your creative life, work and personal wellbeing?

When you are weighing up a coaching program, be mindful of the value you will receive. It will usually far outweigh the cost of the coaching. You are investing in personal transformation and by choosing the best coach for you, you can shift your life in ways your heart is currently only dreaming about and longing to experience.

Customer Service

When you have a question or a request for feedback from your coach, you will want support.

Different coaches have varying costs associated with running their businesses including systems which, ultimately, offer you greater ease, organisation, access and support. For example, I work with a small team to help deliver my coaching programs, and I invest in systems and platforms so clients can easily stay in contact between sessions, including an app that’s accessible via Android and IOS.

Consider the customer support you receive between sessions with your chosen coach, too. For example, I offer unlimited email support between sessions in my coaching packages. This means you can send in questions or ask for feedback, receive encouragement or have a supportive place to write out your thoughts between calls. When useful, instead of writing an email, I will record a video response between sessions to help clients move toward their desired outcomes.

How Can You Be Certain You’re Making a Wise Investment?

Life is full of uncertainty. Instead of focusing on certainty, I invite you to focus on cultivating curiosity. Curiosity about the you who you will become in pursuit of your creative dream.

Curiosity leads to discoveries, transformations, expansions, and even more creativity.

Choose to focus on curiosity, rather than certainty. When we focus on certainty, it leads to… well, more of what we already know.

What Would You Choose if You Trusted Yourself fully?

The work I do with clients is upheld by a principle I firmly believe in: You are the expert on yourself.

This means, you know yourself, your circumstances and your needs better than anyone else. Instead of turning outwards and looking for validation, direction or permission, I invite you to use this decision to come home to yourself. You can trust yourself – your wisdom, your discernment, your discretion – to guide you towards shaping a creative life that is true, wholehearted, and authentic for you.

If you know that you have limited resources, including financial, emotional or energy, be kind to yourself. Perhaps it would be best for you to hold off on engaging a coach and wait until you have the financial resources to make sure it doesn’t put you under pressure that isn’t good for your wellbeing. In the meantime, you may find great value in gleaning from the coach’s free resources, joining one of their lower-priced group offerings or waiting until you are ready to invest in their personal support.

Tips for Paying for Coaching When You’re Leaving Your Job or in Transition

If you are making the transition out of your job or corporate career and you want to invest in coaching, is there a way you can bring in money using your existing skills while you build a bridge to the life you want? If you don’t have savings or a residual income to cover the costs of coaching, there are options.

Sometimes working part-time or on contracts will take the pressure off and give you the resources and breathing room you need to develop and nurture your new creative direction.

There are often business grants available that will cover mentoring and coaching, too. See if there is something available in your local area or state.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing when we are making a transition. Sometimes the kindest thing we can do for ourselves is to care for our financial needs while also taking the action we can take to build the life we want. Being open to bringing in money through other avenues while we build our business isn’t a failure, it is wise.

Having the support of a coach will likely shorten the time it takes and improve your likelihood of success as you navigate this transition. However, I will say, putting too much pressure on the seedling of your new business to financially support you from the beginning, before it has matured into a full-grown tree, can leave you stressed out and lead to losing hope, or even giving up.

Please don’t give up. Get creative and be open to exploring how you can generate the resources you need to receive the support and build the business you desire.

And when the time is right, working with the best coach for you will help you move into this next chapter of your creative life with more ease, speed and savvy.

3 Tips for Making a Wholehearted Financial Decision

On a practical level, I have three suggestions to help you to navigate this decision.

#1. Consider these five elements

Check-in with yourself first.

Use my favourite financial therapist Bari Tessler’s framework for making conscious money decisions.

The Numbers: Do you have enough money to cover the investment? Is there a way you could generate the money (selling an existing offering, applying for a business grant, simplifying your expenses — it may be easier than you think!)

The Timing: Is this the right time for you to do this? Does pursuing your creative dream feel like something your heart is longing to focus on now, in this season of your life?

The Value: Is prioritising your personal growth something you value? What about sharing your creative work with the world and leaving a creative legacy you’re proud of? Is this something you value? How willing are you to invest in developing your creative dreams?

The Cost: What will it cost you to not do this? What will you miss out on by not choosing this path? We can struggle trying to do things on our own, or, we surround ourselves with support. Getting support can help us to increase our bottom line, and give us the confidence to boldly share our creative work with the world, leading to more sales and money in the bank. It sounds obvious, but we lose money when we aren’t making money. Lacking confidence and clarity to take action is an opportunity lost and in accounting terms, it comes with an opportunity cost.

The Intention: Are you making this decision from a place of love for yourself and care for your wellbeing, both now and in future? What is your intention in making this decision? What is your intention with your work in the world and the creative legacy you are creating? Is this decision intentional and does it come from a place of knowing what you need? Is it full of love and care for your wellbeing, or is it based on fear and self-doubts?

#2. Questions to Explore

Here are some other questions you can explore, to help you clarify what you truly want:

If I say Yes! to cultivating my creative dream and say yes to coaching, who will I be, six months from now?
If I say No, who will I be, six months from now?
How will my creative life and business change, as a result of developing my creative dream? What treasures, blessings and experiences might unfold, through the experience of bringing it to life?
If I trusted myself completely, what would I choose to do now?

When you are clear on these questions, you can be sure all the different elements are aligned for you to experience an excellent return on your investment.

#3. Journal it out

Pull out a pen, or open a new document, and write down all your thoughts, feelings and ideas that come up around saying yes to this program.

So, settle in and take a deep breath.

Check in with yourself. Look at your numbers. Listen to and follow your heart.

Is this your time? You have the information inside you to know.

Most importantly, be an ally for your own creative self. Trust your sense of right timing, and trust that when you follow the call of your heart, you will be supported to bring to life that which you desire.