The next 30 hours flew by. I signed up for the “Practicum” course with Adler which would give me the training hours I needed for the PCC level certification, 10 mentor coaching hours, peer and supervisor feedback on my coaching, and a practical application of coaching principles and skills. There was a requirement to complete 40 coaching hours during Practicum and we would receive feedback on 5 coaching sessions. Excellent! External motivation to complete the 100 hours AND feedback. I would still need another 400 hours of coaching in order to apply for the PCC level certification, but taking Practicum was a great way to continue learning (yay!), hone my coaching skills, and be forced to complete my last 40 coaching hours before I could apply for the ICF ACC certification.

From a business point of view, this was about to get real. Working toward the 100 hours was sort of like having my training wheels on. There were a lot of things that were uncomfortable about it, but I was still ‘in training’ in my mind. It felt like someone was holding my hand and guiding me. In reality though, I was a coach. If I were to reframe it now, I was learning. I was in the learner mindset, as Carol Dweck would say. And that’s really what coaching and building a business is about, even beyond the 100 or 500 or 1500 hours; staying in the learner mindset. As I write this, I’ve completed 100 hours of coaching. Does that mean I’ll shift out of the learner mindset? Absolutely not. Learning is about growing, and I want to keep growing as a coach and to keep growing my business.

The hours that got me to 90 hours will be different for everyone. I really hope they are different for you. These next 30 hours were filled with personal loss and a global pandemic. My father unexpectedly passed away about a month before Canada shut down due to Covid-19. I was (and still am) heartbroken - he was my mentor, my cheerleader, my friend. I was lucky enough to have an amazing coach guide me through the practical elements of letting my clients know that I needed to cancel our appointments during this time. As a coach, life is going to happen. Clients will understand when life happens and a lesson I learned during this time is that in order to support my clients, I had to support myself. I had to build awareness of my state of being before I could help others build awareness and expand their state of being. I had to present. I had to listen unconditionally. I took the time I needed so that I could do all of those things for my clients.

The pandemic also hit around this time, so everyone was trying to figure out how to adapt. I still don’t know the best way to describe this (or if I even need to), but the world got flipped on its head. We’re still living through it, and it’s impacting us in different ways. What did all of this mean for my business? To be honest, I didn’t have a lot of brain space to think about it. I didn’t want to sit back and not ‘do’ anything, but I also had to manage my own mental health. I decided to do three things 1) keep coaching my existing clients 2) keep moving forward with Practicum and 3) put an offer out to coach whoever needed support, on a pay-what-you-can basis. This wasn’t a way for me to build my business, by any means. There was a lot going on personally, for me and for everyone. I got into coaching because I wanted to support people through transitions. I don’t need to tell any of you that the impact of Covid-19 was and still is, a major transition. I wanted to contribute in any small way I could, and this offer was the best way I knew how. I started working with a few new clients based on a pay-what-you-can model. Between the Practicum, working with clients, and working through personal grief, I was keeping myself busy. I didn’t do any of this alone. I am lucky to have an amazing support system of family, friends, colleagues (other coaches!), and my coach. Coaches are people. People need coaches. Coaches need coaches.

I did do a few things to prepare myself for the next stage in my coaching journey. I created artefacts that would support business development. Artefacts like a proposal template and a rate card, so that when I’m discussing my service with individuals and companies, I have everything ready to go. I’m assuming there’s going to be a question about the rate card, so here goes… I continued to adjust my rates to reflect where I was in my journey. At this stage, I adjusted my rates based on the service and value that I was providing my clients. I wanted to be ready to hit 100 hours having spent the time considering 1) what is the value of the service and 2) what would be sustainable for me as a full time coach. One of the bigger lessons I learned up to this point was that coaching isn’t just about the hour we spend with our clients once every two weeks. The real work is done in between the sessions. This applies mostly to the client who is doing the work to attain their coaching goals. It also applies to the coach, who is there supporting their client, checking in on them, creating exercises that will support their growth, finding resources that expand their perspective, and creating that space for them to be who they are. As a coach, don’t underestimate the value you’re providing.

These 30 hours were spent staying inside, washing my hands (obsessively), adding Zoom to my ‘favourites’, continuing to learn how to apply my coaching skills, getting feedback on my sessions, continuing to stay in the learner mindset and getting ready to hit 100!