This could be one of those topics, about manifesting the perfect whatever with the right mindset… that’s a huge topic, and I wrote about it years ago.
But, rather than that, I wanted to speak to this strange idea that there are somehow creativity limits on how you design your offers.
I’ve had so many conversations with clients who have said something to the effect of, “Oh, I wish I could just provide my services by email, instead of being on a video call…” or “I wish I didn’t have to create a group with a set schedule, where I show up the same time and day every week…”
Uh… you can just do coaching by email! And you don’t have to provide a group on a set schedule!
The world is full of examples. Whether it’s bats that communicate through sound and not so much through sight, or predators that leave messages for others to pick up much later, or the positively asymmetrical structure of the seasons.
One of our teen boys was complaining about the need to mow the lawn every week. And, you know, we are not sticklers for having a well manicured lawn. I just don’t care about that. However, it is nice to have areas that are mowed so we can enjoy being outside a little more.
I reminded him that it’s just during all the spring rains that the grass grows so quickly, making it really difficult to do the job if you didn’t mow every week.
But later, when the summer is typically drier, and plants have settled in rather than growing with such vigor, you can get away with mowing less frequently. And, of course, there’s no mowing in the winter at all.
Now, it’s true that for the most part, you do have to have some predictability, so your clients can make their own plans. But, that predictability doesn’t have to be an-every-Tuesday-at-2pm kind of schedule.
I had a client who chose to do every day for a week as an intensive, then once every two weeks for six weeks, then once a month… but not the same day every month, it moved around. Truthfully, the monthly call schedule didn’t move around randomly. Rather, it deftly avoided times when my client wanted to travel.
But her clients didn’t have to know that.
Whether it’s hour-long sessions that are too long or too short for how you like to work, asymmetrical scheduling, or communicating in different ways than video conferencing, you can create offers that fit not just your lifestyle, but your strengths. Your gifts. Your desires for your life.
Yes, you do have to pay attention to effectiveness, you do have to care for your clients’ needs, and do your best to support them.
I’m going to guess, however, that if someone is created to match your schedule, your gifts, and your strengths, you will more likely be doing fantastic work for your clients as well.
My recommendation?
- Just quickly, in a minute or three, identify one, two or three “shoulds” that you’ve taken in about how to create offers, and what they need to look like. Appreciate them, and set them aside.
- Similarly, without needing to think deeply about it, consider your strengths, and gifts, about how you work most naturally and most easily. What does that mean for your schedule? For communication? For structure? For anything else?
- Dream about one or two changes (or more!) to a current offer, or one you’re dreaming about that helps your gifts and strengths and passion come out.
I’m asking you to do this a little quickly just to see what’s top of heart, what you’re wishing you could do, what you already know about yourself but maybe haven’t looked at directly because you didn’t know you could.
You don’t have to commit to any changes. Just be with it all. Maybe for a day, for a week. Sit with it. I bet it will grow on you and start to feel more normal and do-able. And I bet you also find examples in the natural world, or even in the world of business, where what you want to do is already successfully happening.
I’d love to hear what you discover about yourself and your offers!
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Openings in small group coaching
When your business is doing decently well… kinda… sorta… but not consistent, and not enough.
When you have a few things in place in your business, but are they really effective? And what else should you really be doing to make it work?
When you refuse to break your heart, or compromise your values… but you still need to depend on your business to support you.
Maybe small group coaching is what would be the most supportive? A combination of two live calls per month, spiritual support, non-social media online private group for in-depth feedback, and a truly small group, no more than 5.
If you’re interested, take the assessment as a good first step.
I’ll read what you submit, and then we’ll figure out together whether small group coaching is a good fit for what you need.
