Why I Changed Direction In My Business (And Maybe You Should Too)

courage to change directionDid you feel it? When you told people about your heart-centered plans to create change in the world by becoming a coach…there was hesitation, that moment of “Oh, that sounds lovely” with an undeniable twinge of “Don’t worry, she’ll be back here/in her old job soon enough”?

You want it. You really do. And yet you feel somewhat ridiculous at the same time because ‘you know what they’re thinking’ and quite frankly, you have no idea how you’re going to pull this off.

But then you start getting some clients, money (some) starts to come in, your business starts to look more like a business.

And then it happens…

You gain even more clarity around who you want to serve and how. Your passion has shifted somewhat and it looks different than your current focus. You didn’t see this coming (or maybe you did but were too nervous to follow your instinct at the time) and now you don’t know how to make the transition vis-a-vis your clients, the outside world and you certainly don’t want to lose everything you’ve already built up.

But how do you do this without feeling like an amateur, unprofessional, someone who changes direction swayed by the next best idea…You feel like they’re going to think you’re not serious about your business.

If you don’t change direction in your business now, you’ll hate yourself later

Now I know hate is a big word. But that fact is that if something doesn’t feel in alignment it will affect every area of your life. You will doubt, you will second-guess, it’ll affect your relationship as you feel uneasy within yourself and your activity, you’ll probably start eating less healthily because you just can’t focus, you feel awkward and your hard efforts just won’t pay off. Honestly, you end up in a total state of confusion and can’t figure out how to move forwards in your business. This is not a fun place to be in. This is not the feeling you wanted when you first set out to create your own business, one that lights you up.

You do not have a lifestyle business, a freedom based business, if you don’t feel good about yourself in every area of life on a daily basis (give or take – balance it out over the month is a better way of judging this). Always stay in highest truth to what you to life and business you design for yourself. This is a sign of growth.

You’re not alone: changing and refining your focus in your business is common

This has happened to me and every single colleague/friend of mine with their own coaching/mentoring/consulting business. Levis hit it lucky with the original 501 but most brands bring out a first model and then upgrade from there. For those of you who have known me for a while you’ll know that I started off in natural health for women; then more specifically fertility; then I added in nutrition; then a specific focus on women entrepreneurs; then I brought my business online, became location independent and suddenly I was receiving more requests for business mentoring than I was for natural health.
That’s one way to shift. The decision was made for me which makes it somewhat easier. But then I still needed to find clarity in this area – first it was lifestyle business for mums, giving them flexibility and freedom of time and location and now it’s somewhat broader, for women in general, but still focused around flexibility and freedom of time and location. I’m pretty sure there’ll be another shift (or two) further down the line…

That’s the way it goes.

Here’s how to do it:

  • get comfortable with change, it’s going to be a part of your business future forever more in one shape or form.
  • change as soon as you’re clear about your realisation and change as often and quickly in the beginning of your business as you need to.
  • be open about your new direction. Tell your current community about it. No need to start from scratch, you never know where your next client will come from. When you share this with your community bring in your big why. Your motivation and excitement behind the change and it will totally make sense. This is something I didn’t know to do and the experience felt really awkward for me. I felt like I was hiding something, being dishonest even in a way. Be open, be excited about your greater clarity and what you can offer with it.

Let’s face it, you won’t gain real clarity until you’re out there serving your clients. Light bulb moments and shifts will happen as a result of this. And it’s better to change now, with a smaller list, than when you’ve got a massive following and a name for yourself further down the line. That’s the simple truth of it. Now or never really.

*Oh, and by the way, the reason most coaching businesses don’t make handsome profits? It’s because you change direction too early. You have got to stick with something for long enough to start seeing the momentum. It takes consistency. It takes persistency. Don’t mistake your impatience for a need of a new direction. So, no fanciful off the cuff decisions just because you’re not seeing the results you want after just 5 minutes. What I’m talking about here is deep heartfelt realisation that your passion now lies in a new direction

 

Inspire courage in others to follow their heart and intuition – what’s your story around changing direction in your business?

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Caroline Cain

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