A warm greeting and question from a warmer South Afica

How can a non US based person get involved in your certification program?

As a 48 year old business and IT systems consultant, with a 18 year old son, I am always affected by hearing how some parents push their kids into what they “think is good for them” yet they do not want to listen to what their kids have to say on this - especially when these youngsters are a little unsure. We’ve decied to expose our son to a number of avenues to explore, to see where his creative talents will gel rather than rush into “getting him into university - cause that’s what everyone else is doing”.

this request comes from the drive to become a better prepared “advisor” or “food for thought careers chef” (Now there’s a trading name!!), because I feel a great sense of contribution when these guys listen and consider what I offer to their decision process.

BTW - I have been a newsletter subscriber for some years and have your short story e-book, which I use as a basis for offering thought provoking questions.

Keep up the great work, you are a very inspiring writer, and offer up a unique recipe of topics and lessons(there’s that food link again!)for digestion (and again!).

Rgds,

Matt Ford
Fourways, Johannesburg

But before I head out to a little dinner gathering, let me try to answer at least a few of your burning questions. My writing is a little uneven and I am quite certain there are typos I have not caught but being the weekend and all, I’m hoping you forgive me…

BURNING QUESTION

“I love the idea of helping people in their careers (and would also like to work with other coaching goals as well). What attracted me to your program is the level of support you will provide. What scared me about the form was the specific information you wanted (e.g., number of clients, annual income goals, etc) - I just haven’t gotten that far yet (and feel like I need some help sorting all that out). So the primary question I want to ask you is if this training is geared towards people who are a little farther along in the business development process than I am?” Elizabeth

ANSWER

I amended the Pre-Qualification and Needs Survey to let Elizabeth and all of you know that there are no “right” or “wrong” answers to the survey!

So please don’t stress about questions about whether you already do coaching or currently have a website. You do NOT need either previous coaching/business experience or a website to qualify or to succeed in this program. In fact 90 percent of past program participants had NO previous experience. What they had – and you will need — is a passion for helping, for creative brainstorming, for making a living without a job and for helping others discover how to do the same.

Also don’t get hung up on the questions about how many clients you think you’d like to have in a week… your financial goals… whether you’d like to work with clients over the phone or in person… niche markets you might like to work with… and so on. These are the kinds of questions you’ll get a chance to really hone in on during the Certification program itself.

For now these questions are as much for YOU as they are for me. Part of your work as an Outside the Job Box Career Consultant is encouraging your clients to create work AND a life they love… I’m hoping you will use these questions as an opportunity to start imagining what you would like YOUR future life to look like as well.

Marketing and business building are the two areas I need extreme hand-holding. I need to feel like I offer a credible service without having much experience

BURNING QUESTION

How do you get people to pay for this service?

ANSWER

Honestly, I’m not sure if this is a marketing question –as in “how do you convince someone that your services are worth paying for” – or whether it literally means, “do clients pay by cash, check or credit card, especially considering most of your consults are done over the phone”?

I cover a lot of the marketing tools and handholding in the March 1 Certification Update below so let me come at this question from the nuts and bolts “how do receive payment?” perspective.

As part of the Certification web guru Lisa Tarrant will be on hand to help you set up a merchant account so you can accept credit cards. You will also get an intake script to use when a prospective client calls that explains how and when to ask for and process their credit card payment.

Essentially people give you their credit card information at the time they book an appointment. However, the consulting fee is not charged to the client until after the consulting session. In other words, you would never pre-bill for services that have not yet occurred. Once you process the credit card your consulting fee is automatically deposited into your bank account. (That’s my favorite part!)
BURNING QUESTION
“I have done traditional career counseling in the past and found that I didn’t enjoy working with groups of people. I prefer the one-on-one counseling. To be successful at coaching, however, it seems like a great advantage to work with groups. Is it possible to be successful without doing workshops and training sessions?” Laurie
ANSWER

It is not at all necessary to do group work to be an Outside the Job Box Career Consultant. I do one big workshop a year – all of my other work on this topic is done with individual clients.

While you can apply what you learn to a workshop setting, the Certification is all about working with individual clients. Most people prefer working with someone who offers a one-to-one approach because the time is 100 percent dedicated to them, their passions and goals. Working one-to-one also means you get to work with more people because there is no travel involved for the client.

Since the consultations are conducted over the phone your client can be from anywhere in the country – indeed in the world. Which leads to the next question…

BURNING QUESTION

I’ve already heard from people from as far away as France, England, and the Bahamas. Armelle asks, “Does your program work only for working in the US, or is it global enough for people from Europe to benefit?”

ANSWER

The yearning for freedom, control, and satisfaction are truly universal. Fortunately, not only is this kind of business you can run from anywhere in the world but the tools and techniques you’ll be learning really can work anywhere! I have personally worked with clients from Great Britain, Italy, Pakistan, Spain, and Australia.

If your goal is to reach an international audience, there are lots of sites around the world looking for fresh content. Some in some unexpected places… like Fred Ouma’s article “Are you bored by your work” that appeared at a site called The New Vision which promotes itself as Uganda’s largest website (http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/220/613299). Contributing articles to sites and publications like this is a great way to become internationally known!

How cool would it be for the U.S. and Canadian consultants to team up with the international consultants to offer some kind of “live your dreams” tour and retreat for people who love to travel? With the dollar the way right now this program will be a steal for attendees traveling in from abroad.

BURNING QUESTION

“I am a 69 year old wanna-be. I currently work [at a job] and need to “retire” to my own business. Would you advise someone in my age group to consider the program?” Myra

ANSWER

Age is really not a factor in your ability to do the work or to be successful.

Without knowing you and going “just” on age though I would suggest you consider “riding the horse in the direction the horse is going” and specialize in working with people over 60 who are either retired, semi-retired, or fully retired but need or want to continue to generate an income but are sick and tired of having a traditional job. You would have a lot more credibility in this niche than someone who is 30, 40, 50…

I would offer this same advice to someone in their twenties or thirties. Several people in this year’s Certification program plan to target other young people who want to ditch their job-job for more a more satisfying livelihood and more freedom.

BURNING QUESTION:

“I am interested in how some of the previous graduates of the course are doing with their own businesses.”

ANSWER

People are all over the map…One has written a book, several have launched their own online newsletters, some are leading workshops while others are focusing individual clients. People who are just completing the 2007 program are actively developing their web sites and working with practice clients arranged by Changing Course. Then they are using this experience to establish a track record and the client testimonials to promote their business. Previous attendees who now have web sites are focusing on growing their lists.

A number of people from the class of 2006 and 2007 have approached me asking if they could be on a teleclass in order to share their experience with you personally. I’m in the process of trying to round up some people to do a couple of sessions (day time and evening) sometime next week.