Are You an
Emerging Change Catalyst?

As an Emerging Change Catalyst, you are in the process of birthing a new business. This is a journey that takes you from your first glimmer of dreaming about having your own business to reaching the milestone of working with your 10th paying client.

During this time, you’ll be:

• Completing your profession-specific training.

• Learning about what it takes to set up your own business.

• Making decisions about what you want your business focus to be.

• Sorting out your services and pricing.

• Getting all the pieces in place to bring on paying clients.

• Inviting potential clients to work with you.

• Providing your services to paying clients.

Keep in mind, however, that this journey is not a linear, step-by-step process. There will be phases where you focus more on your training and certification process, others when you’ll be doing the inner work to envision your business, figuring out how to share with others what you do, and, finally, the phase when you’ll begin doing your work with clients. Often these phases overlap as you complete some projects and prepare for others.

And then there’s the fact that sometimes, life happens, which means you must pause your efforts to develop your business and then find your way back to reboot your efforts on your business at a future time. I know from personal experience that these unexpected detours are frustrating and derailing. I’ve also seen that sometimes these turns in your path awaken a passion that ultimately contributes to the services you share with your clients.

What Opened My Eyes to Your Unique Journey

Several years ago, I had a heart-breaking conversation with a student in one of my coach training courses. She asked to speak to me privately at the end of class. I could tell she was experiencing some distress. When we connected later she described how frustrated she was by the marketing courses and training modules she had invested in. The constant quest, in every course, for the perfect marketing niche and ideal client avatar was making her crazy! She saw pros and cons for each idea she came up with. She had no internal method for making the right decision for herself, her clients, and her business.

The uncertainty and the pressure to make the “right” decisions were pushing her to the breaking point emotionally. She felt compelled to start making an income from the training she had invested in, but she couldn’t move forward without knowing the answers to these questions, yet she didn’t know how to make those decisions. You no doubt see (and may also be experiencing) the circular nature of her angst.

After she got her story out on the table, I was able to share several key perspectives that shifted her thinking about her next steps. She started breathing a little more easily, her emotions calmed, and she was able to ask some key questions. I showed her how she could move forward without perfecting her niche and client avatar. Her relief was palpable!

Looking back, I realized that I have shared some version of this same response with many Emerging Change Catalysts over the last couple of decades! Although I wasn’t offering business mentoring at that time, students, classmates, and colleagues would often reach out to me for clarity and insight about what they were experiencing.

I remember seeing the disconnect unfolding in every Mainstream workshop and mentoring program I attended. Over the years, I observed the same level of distress, frustration, and angst happening for multiple people in the back of the room during weekend workshops, in hallways during breaks, and in online communities.

This ever-present disconnect frustrated me and made me angry! I remember asking myself…

Why Isn’t there a better way to
bring new Change Catalysts up to speed
on how to create and grow
a viable business?

By the time I talked to the student I described earlier, I already knew that the Mainstream Approach to developing and building a business wasn’t working for me or for a number of my colleagues. Although we each had our own existing business, I noticed we were all trying to bring a new program or model, or framework into form. I realized that the emergent nature of our work meant that we weren’t able to define our niche and name our ideal client on command!

I had falsely assumed that only Seasoned Change Catalysts were impacted by this damaging disconnect that was baked into the Mainstream Approach, but the conversation I had with the student I described above was a wake up call! This dynamic that had stunted the growth of many Seasoned Change Catalysts, was also playing out for new, Emerging Change Catalysts.

In that moment, I could see that I had the skills, experience, and knowledge to help new Change Catalyst avoid this derailing pattern and create their business from a place of confidence!

Where to Go Next:

• Your Journey as an Emerging Change Catalyst (I describe this section on the podcast as well.)

• Blossom Mentoring for Emerging Change Catalysts