Ep #215: Creating a VIP Coaching Day with Angela Jowers

Hey, this is Lindsay Dotzlaf and you are listening to Mastering Coaching Skills episode 215.

To really compete in the coaching industry, you have to be great at coaching. That’s why every week, I will be answering your questions, sharing my stories, and offering tips and advice so you can be the best at what you do. Let’s get to work.

Hey coach, I have such a special treat for you today. I am interviewing my client, my friend, such a fun person. Her name is Angela Jowers and she’s going to teach you so much about how she created VIP days for her clients. You’re going to learn how she did it, what she included, what she learned from doing one, and how she used the Summer Project, which is my offer where I walk you through a project, how she used that space to create this amazing experience for her clients.

It’s so great, you’re going to learn a ton. You’re not going to want to miss this because she is so fun. So, no need to wait any longer, here we are, the interview with Angela.

Lindsay: All right, hello. Welcome, I am so happy you’re here today. Tell all the listeners who you are and a little bit about what you do.

Angela: Okay, well my name is Angela Jowers and I am just a general life coach and most of the women that come to me are Christian women. Most of the women that come to me are close to mid-life and I would also say kind of high-achieving, whether they manage a large household or they manage a business or they have a business or they have an executive position or something like that. They’re just out there doing a lot of things and usually a little bit stressed out and overwhelmed. So those are usually the women that I coach.

And I’m also the program manager for a larger coaching program. So this is kind of – And then I have a private practice. I’m also a certification instructor for a life mentoring school certification program where we certify coaches. So I’m all in the coaching areas.

Lindsay: Doing all the things. I love it.

Angela: Doing all the things, yes.

Lindsay: I love it. So you have been a member of The Coach Lab for a while, although unfortunately you can’t, I never see you on live calls. You can’t usually make it. But you signed up for, over the summer I sold something called the Summer Project, which we are going to be selling again coming up here soon.

And so I thought it would be so fun to have you on to talk about your project because it’s something I’ve never talked about on the podcast before. And I think it’ll be so useful for everyone listening that has ever considered doing anything like this. I’ll just give it to you, you can tell them kind of what your project was.

And for maybe clarification, the Summer Project, the program was about three months long. So you had three months. What did you work on?

Angela: I worked on a new offer that I have, which is called a VIP day that I was offering to my clients. And I actually offered it and delivered it while we were in the Summer Project.

Lindsay: Yes.

Angela: It was interesting because it was my very first experience in a group coaching program like that, like where it’s a group container. And I enjoyed it so, so much. Like I just loved it. I love the people that were in there. I love the way that, I don’t know, the space that we had, the way that you learn from other people. I just enjoyed it so much. And I did create my project, which I definitely needed help with.

Lindsay: Yes. And I loved your project because it was so specific and you already knew you were doing it. And I think at that point you knew, like when you signed up you knew you had one scheduled, maybe. So when I found that out, I was like, oh, this is going to be so perfect because you can plan it, actually do it and then evaluate, analyze how it went afterwards, all within those three months. And it was spectacular.

So thank you for being here. And I do agree. I was actually really sad. It was the first time I’ve offered that, and so there’s always a little bit of like trying it out when you have a new offer. I loved it so much that we decided we’re not just doing it in the summer. So now we have to come up with a new name, we’re doing it also in the winter coming up.

But I was so sad for the last call for just that group in general, the offer. I had so much fun working on everyone’s projects, but then that group was like, just really special.

Angela: It was really special. And what you created was an environment that was so conducive to not only being coached around your project, but also you have a really good process put together for it. So that was really helpful. And then you just created a space where it was so easy for us to even add value to one another.

And I don’t know, I think that was really my favorite part. I mean, the coaching was amazing, but it was like everybody’s coaching was amazing. And I learned so much from the questions they would ask. And I had been in that kind of environment before, I wasn’t even being coached and I was writing down all the notes from all their smart questions.

And it was really, really perfect for me as I was trying to create this new offer and think through it and all of that. And you had a Slack channel to go along with it. And so I’d get a little direct message from one of the girls in the Slack channel cheering me on, or offering me some kind of value, or some kind of resource that they have or whatever. And it was just the best thing ever.

Lindsay: I love that. Okay, before we move on from this, I was going to ask you this later, but I think right now before we dig into the VIP day and how you created it, how did you feel about everyone’s project being kind of different?

Because that’s one question I get a lot. Like, okay, wait, so everybody is kind of working on something different? Like everyone has their own project? I love containers like that, where everyone’s not working on the same thing. But I’m curious how that went for you on the client side.

Angela: Yeah, I didn’t know how that would be either when I heard everybody’s going to have a different project, and how would the coaching be? And what was that going to be like? And my experience of it was that I learned so much from the challenges they were having. It opened my eyes to some things maybe I should think about in my own project.

I learned so much from the coaching. I felt like I wasn’t the only one who had certain concerns, certain insecurities, certain things I was dealing with. And so I absolutely loved it. And I found it so interesting also to see how many different ways that we can be coaches and things that we can create as coaches. It really opened up my creativity, I think.

Lindsay: That’s the experience I have in groups like that. My creativity usually feels on fire when I hear – Especially because it’s like, I can’t compare myself really to what other people are doing, because they’re all doing something different. So there’s no real way to measure where I am stacking up compared to other people.

And so it really, for me, lights my creativity up a lot. So I’m so glad you had that experience.

Angela: Yeah, I really enjoyed it. And like I said, it was my first group experience. I’ve been in a larger coaching program before. I’ve been one-on-one coaching before. I am a one-on-one coach. I do coach in the big group in the program that I manage, but it’s like webinar style. And so this was very different for me, and it could not have been a better experience for me. I loved it. I mean, I’m looking like, are there other small groups around? Like, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was very valuable.

Lindsay: Well, you could always come back again. I mean, you could just do it every time.

Angela: I might. You never know, if I can think of a good project.

Lindsay: Well, I’m going to be doing a podcast talking about a lot of the different projects and some ideas that I’ve had that people haven’t done yet, because I’ve gotten, you know, like now that I’ve run it, I’ve gotten a lot more clear, even though I’ve been doing these projects for a while in my advanced certification. But it’s been really fun to just pull it out and just specifically focus on the project.

So let’s dig into what your project was. So you created a VIP day offer.

Angela: Yes. So before you even offered this, I was trying to think of, I’m kind of full and I have a full-time job and I also do my private practice and I’m full. And so I was trying to think of like, how could I serve my clients in a really interesting way? I also have a revenue goal for the year, so how could I meet that revenue goal and serve my clients in a really interesting way? And also I don’t have any more regular time during the week to offer anything.

And so somebody had kind of, I was with a coach one-on-one and we were brainstorming and we decided to do this VIP day. And I was like, that sounds amazing. I’d love to have a VIP day too, but I don’t know anybody who’s doing this. And I don’t really know how to create this.

And lo and behold, it was like Summer Project, let me help you with a project. And I was like, okay, I will let you help me, Lindsay, with a project because I have no idea what I’m doing. So when I came, what I actually said was I’ve already sold one, because I was so excited about it I told the client and she was like, sign me up. I was like, I sold one, but I don’t exactly know what it is yet.

Lindsay: Dream client, by the way. Just like, sure, sign me up. It sounds great.

Angela: I know. And she is a dream client. And I was like, yeah, she was like, sign me up. Where can I sign up? And I was like, well, you know I’ve never done this before. And she was like, I don’t care. Sign me up. I was like, okay.

So what happened was I came into the group and you helped me get really good clarity. So what I actually offer is we do one day, we work on one big dreamy goal. And what I charge, which I don’t care to say, what I charge is 5K, and that includes two nights in a hotel room. So you come in the day before, leave the day after.

And then we just spend the day working on your one big dreamy goal. Because how many times have you said, or I’ve said, if I could just have a minute to think this thing through? Like if I could just have a day, or whatever the time is, like if I could just have a minute to think this through. And then how many times have you said, if I just had somebody to help me?

Lindsay: This is so funny. Hold on, pause. This is literally why I created the project offer, right? Because it’s just like a set aside time, different. It’s a little different, but the same idea, right? Just a set aside time to work through those things that you are like, okay, I’ll get to it. I’ll get to it. Like no, let’s get to it now. Let me help you.

Angela: And you never get to it, right? And so I thought like one day to just think everything through, and that would be such a luxury. I would love it. I can’t find anybody to do it for me. I would love that for me.

And the reason why I loved an in-person VIP day is because I do think sometimes it helps to actually get out of your environment and get away from your regular environment, the interruptions, like get out of yourself. And what I found with my first client that did this was that by the time she got to me, she was totally different.

Just the fact that she had to make the decision, that she had to check out and make the investment. She had to buy a plane ticket, get on a plane, fly across the country. By the time she got there, she had already proven to herself that she was taking this seriously. And so she was already different and ready when she got there.

So I do think there is some value to really getting out of your environment and spending a whole day. And then we do a celebration dinner at the end where we celebrate all the work we did. And I sent her home with an action plan. So that’s kind of the summary of it. So ask me any questions you want to, but that is kind of the summary of it and why I created it and what it looks like.

Lindsay: Yeah, I love that. I used to do VIP days, I shared that with you. I can’t remember, I don’t think I did one day, I think I did like two. When I heard your structure, I was like, this is perfect. Just like one dedicated day, working all day with breaks and whatever, but just focusing all day too.

It’s so interesting how that intense focus will really wear you out. And I think the handful of clients that I did it with, we were both exhausted by the end.

Angela: Yes, and I will say that is one thing that – And I got coaching on this from you in the group. One of the things I’m actually offering it for, I’m going to max it out at five this time. I think it’s going to help. I loved your group dynamic so much that I actually think a group dynamic would kind of make it less intense for me as the coach and for the client.

Lindsay: Oh yeah.

Angela: And so I’m actually offering it kind of to a small group this time and I’m going to try that out. And because, like I said, I loved the group dynamic so much that I think working on anything and focusing for one day is going to require a certain amount of energy from the client and from me as the coach. But I do think having that group dynamic will kind of lessen the intensity of it a little bit.

So that was one thing I learned from your group, is that a group dynamic is really valuable.

Lindsay: Okay, tell me about, so coming in, when you joined the Summer Project, you knew this was happening. What were the things that you were just unclear about or that you knew you needed to figure out in order to make it an amazing day?

Angela: Well, the first thing I came in and said on the very first call was in my head this has to be like a suite. Like we have to have a suite. And I’m really having a hard time figuring out where we should stay, what this is going to look like. Is her bed going to be in there? Like, I don’t think that’s right. But in my head, there’s only one way to do this, it has to be a suite so that we can meet all day. And you were like, no, ma’am, it does not have to be a suite.

It was so funny how I was so kind of tunnel vision on what I thought it had to be. And so that was one thing in the very beginning that was so helpful to have another perspective of a coach. And this happened many, many times during the group where I had it in my head that it had to be one way and that it had to be kind of complicated. And you really helped me get out of my head. So that was one thing.

Lindsay: I love clients that like to overcomplicate things. I’m really good at breaking it down and saying like, wait, hold on, hold on. Why does it have to be that way?

Angela: You are really good at that. And I can really tend to get tunnel vision, ask my husband, like it has to be this way. And so that was one thing I had to figure out.

Another thing was just making the decisions about little things. Like I had this real complicated thing of what had to be in their goody box and like it had to be some certain thing. And I made it this huge, big deal. It was so silly. And you were like, you know she’s coming there to be coached actually, and that is why she’s coming.

And so I don’t know, it was little things like that, that I would get stuck on. And it was really helpful to have a coach to kind of keep me moving. Whereas if I had been on my own, I think I would have gotten stuck. I would have gotten stuck on I can’t find a place for us to stay. And I can’t figure out what to put in the goody box. And I can’t figure out where to have the dinner. And I’m not exactly sure what the process is going to be throughout the day.

Those were the kind of things that it was like you helped me break it down into steps. You kept me moving, which was really important since I already had it sold and we had a date and she bought a plane ticket. So it was really important that I kept moving through the process. And so I loved that you did not allow us to kind of stay stuck. You just kind of kept us moving. So to me, that was so valuable.

So I’m trying to think, like to your question, what was the process? I think for me, it was where do we stay? What decisions do you need to make? What’s the structure of your day going to look like?

Lindsay: I remember that being a big one that we focused on for a while.

Angela: Yes. And one of the questions you asked me that was so helpful was like, how do you want it to feel? You know, how do you want her to feel? And when I really thought about it, I wanted her to feel supported and taken care of. And that when she left, that she left with what she came for.

And so then it was kind of like, okay, well, let’s back up. Have you asked her? What is she coming for? And so then I put into place like a prep call. So, I mean, literally, you helped me break down all the steps that I would need in order to really deliver this at a high level. And so I was able to really create my project.

It was amazing. Like it didn’t exist before. And when I got done with the 12 weeks, we had gone step by step through it and I had delivered it. And it was so – I don’t know what it would have been like. It would have probably been really janky had you not offered that.

Lindsay: No, here’s what I know it would have been. It would have been amazing. And you would have been maybe very stressed the entire time. But I think you would have pulled it off. I think you would have delivered it beautifully. Just maybe it would have been a little over complicated and you would have been stressed and you probably would have spent a lot more money.

Angela: Yeah, I think that’s probably true. I think that is probably true. And I mean, I did feel like going into it that I was really prepared. Like I did not feel super nervous. I felt like I had talked through anything I had gotten nervous about. I had a container where I could come and bring anything I was nervous about, which was really helpful.

One of the things I know we talked about was that she was really nervous to meet me. Like in her head, I was her coach and I was really important. And I was like, I’m so regular. This could be a really big problem. So I was able to say those things out loud to you and I was able to get coached through it.

And I think about even my clients that I’m trying to sell this to right now, one of the things that they say is I should be able to do this on my own. And I think you are right, I probably still would have delivered it on my own. But why not have the support of a coach? I should be able to get to this on my own or I should be able to create this project on my own. I mean, yeah, you probably can. But what if you didn’t have to?

And I feel that way about my VIP day. I feel that way with your winter project.

Lindsay: Right, Winter Project, Summer Project, whatever. We’re not sure. To be determined.

Angela: Yeah, to be determined. But I’m so glad that I didn’t try to do it on my own and that I got myself some support. I’m so, way to go, Angela. I’m so grateful that I did that for myself.

Lindsay: Yeah, this is what I say all the time about coaching, is that it’s not mandatory. You can absolutely do huge things in your life without a coach and accomplish all the things, whatever you want to do. And if you could have support and it’s feasible for you, why not? Why not?

Angela: Yeah, why not? And I will tell you that I think I was a better coach to my client, having been coached. I think my project was much better thought out. I think that I avoided any major pitfalls in it. Like you said, I mean, I made a profit from it.

Lindsay: Which is huge for anyone listening. I shared, I think when we were talking about this in real time, I was like, that is impressive, especially on your first one.

Angela: Yeah, and I made a good profit from it. And I delivered it in a way that I think served my client and took care of her well and still was able to make a profit. So I only made one big mistake.

Lindsay: What was it?

Angela: I was able to talk with you through it, since I delivered it during our time together, which was I didn’t take any time off after.

Lindsay: Oh, right. Yes. So my next question was going to be, now let’s talk about what were the biggest learnings that you had after, right? So you coached through all the things, you made all the decisions, and you delivered the VIP day.

And then you came to coaching the next week. I think the next week? I think you did. And kind of had a breakdown of like, okay, here’s how it went. Here are all the things. That was the main thing that I remember is just that you didn’t schedule any, like a day of rest for yourself. You were surprised by how tired you were.

Was there anything else that came up? I can’t really remember.

Angela: I don’t think so. The only other thing is that, the feedback that I got from my client was that she would have liked an itinerary because she really didn’t know what to expect. I knew exactly what we were going to do, but she didn’t know. But that was some feedback that I got from her, which was really helpful. And I think I really meant to do that, I just never did. So like just to give her an itinerary.

But as far as anything that was really to me like, okay, you have got to adjust this for sure, and that was I did not take any time off. So I just went right back to work. I had no idea what an entire day of coaching was really like. And you just really pour yourself out, and I did not have any plan to recover and to walk back in. And so that was really the biggest mistake that I made.

Lindsay: Have you done another one?

Angela: No.

Lindsay: Okay. But you have one scheduled, I think. Or you’re selling it.

Angela: I am selling it. I do have one scheduled. One of the things that you coached me on as well was, did I want to do another one this year with the schedule that I have? And I was like, oh sure, I will power through it. I will do whatever.

And what I realized, again, I got this valuable wisdom from the group was that maybe I didn’t have to do another one this year. And so I really gave it some thought. And I scheduled it for the first of next year. And I am selling it this year, but I gave myself a longer runway to really plan it, to fill it with more people. And then yes, I am going to plan myself some rest afterwards.

Lindsay: Good. Okay. We have it now recorded, so if I need to play it back to you at some point.

Angela: Yes. I don’t know what it is, and I don’t know if this is a woman thing or if this is just a me thing, but I tend to just think, I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I don’t need to, you know, I can just go back to work. Like, this is not a problem. It was a huge problem. And I’m finding, I don’t know, as I get older, I really do need, physically and mentally and emotionally I need to factor in downtime. I just really do need it. I probably needed it when I was younger. And also, that’s probably why I ended up burned out at certain periods of my life, you know?

Lindsay: Yeah, I can relate to that for sure. Yeah.

Angela: We think we don’t need it and I think we definitely do. And I also think that is a good reason to even do a VIP day or to do a group, like to schedule in this time where you can just think about what is it that you want to do? And what is it that you need in order to do it? I think we just don’t take the time out to figure that out for ourselves.

Lindsay: Yeah, I really always enjoy leaving my house to go and be coached somewhere. And I think it’s because of that, right? It’s like all the other responsibilities that I usually have just day to day that feel fairly easy on the day to day, but you don’t realize really how many there are and that they can add up quickly.

And when you throw something big into your days, into your plan like that, right, where you’re setting aside a few days for something, it is, in my opinion, very useful to just kind of remove yourself from your physical space when possible to create stuff like that. So I love it.

Angela: Yeah, my client had a very different experience. You know, she had the time on the plane coming. She had the time on the plane going. And she texted me and she was like, I feel so refreshed. I feel creative. Of course, it was my job to take care of her, right?

Lindsay: You’re like, I feel so tired.

Angela: I was like, I am so glad she feels refreshed. She said, I feel so creative, like this has been amazing.

Lindsay: I love that.

Angela: And I love that for her. And I thought to myself, how can I give myself that same experience when it’s over?

Lindsay: That’s a great question. Yeah, and even throughout, right? I think as you do more of them, and you get better at running them, first of all, when you do something over and over, I think it requires less kind of mental draining, mental energy each time, just because you’re juggling so many things, and keeping up with the coaching and all the things. But I think the more you do it, the easier they get.

And yeah, I love that question. Like, how can you create that same experience for yourself, even while making sure your clients are super taken care of?

Angela: And I never would have thought to ask myself such a question, had I not been in your group, because these are the things I don’t think. You know, I just think you’re supposed to work hard. And one thing I love about your coaching, even in The Coach Lab, even though I do have to watch the replays, I don’t get to come live. But one thing I love about your coaching is that you really do very simply, very matter of factly encourage us to ask ourselves, what would it be like if we did this differently?

Like, what could it be like if you did this differently? If you thought about this differently? If you decided to take care of yourself? If you decided to create this experience for yourself? And even in the group, when other people were doing their projects, sometimes you would just quietly say, well, does it have to be that? Does it have to look like that? Why does it have to look like that?

And I think that’s one of your gifts, is that you’re able to just kind of quietly dig underneath and help us to think about it in a different way. And that is really a gift, Lindsay, it really is. And you give us enough space and time in order to think about it in a different way. As coaches, I think we need that so bad.

Lindsay: I love that. Thank you so much. Yeah, it’s interesting, I find that coaches are usually great at doing that for others, and not the best at doing it for themselves. But I think I’ve just coached so many people and I’ve seen so many variations of projects, I’m going to say in quotes, because not necessarily in my project container or in my containers, but just coaches working on all different things that I can often pick out when someone is overcomplicating something.

And I don’t usually have an opinion. It’s the ultimate, like, I’m neutral about this, you can definitely do it that way, right? I’m not saying don’t do it. I’m just saying, let’s just examine it.

Let’s look at it just real quick, just to be sure that this is actually the best way to do it for you and for your client.

Angela: And I think your brain, because you have that perspective where you’ve coached a lot of people, and you’ve coached a lot of coaches, like your brain can just see inside our little coach brain where we are so fixated on a result, sometimes that we kind of get – And we stay in our heads.

Lindsay: Of course. Well, most of the time, it’s like, oh, been there, done that, right? Like, oh, I remember when I ran my VIP days, and they were a disaster on my end. The client had a great time, but just the planning of it. And so now, years and years later, being able to coach someone else on planning something like that, it’s like I have the perspective. And I’ve seen a lot of other coaches do similar things and plan certain things.

But it also, I just remember being in the space of like, these little tiny details are the most important, versus no, like how the client feels while they’re there, and the coaching that they get and what they leave with and like all of those are the most important. Everything else is details.

Angela: Yeah, and I think it was kind of a theme in our group. Like a lot of us would get kind of hung up on the small stuff, on those little details. And I think that’s, again, such a benefit of being in a group and doing your project this way with some support. If you see, oh, she’s getting stuck on the little details too.

And I think it was a common thread, like you were able to just keep us moving because I don’t know if it’s just coaches or if it’s people in general, but we do seem to get caught up on the small stuff.

Lindsay: I think it’s why I love this offer so much and why I had so much fun in there. It almost feels like inside my brain it feels like math, like I can just see all the pieces, or like a puzzle maybe, it’s like, how do these fit together most efficiently?

And why I think you loved it, even though your project was so different from everyone else, and everyone’s project is different, why I think it works so well, it’s all the same stuff that actually comes up, right? There’s all these decisions to make about your project and all the little details to decide on and figure out. But all the actual coaching is the same stuff coming up for everyone, even though they’re working on totally different things.

Angela: Yeah, and that’s why it was so, I mean, I still have in my notebook pages and pages of notes from you coaching other people. It definitely applied to me, it definitely applied to my project, it applied to me as a coach and the things that I was going through as a coach. You know, just little insecurities, thoughts we have about ourselves.

We realized that even though our projects were different, and we were all very different in personality, in niche, all of that. But we actually as human beings, and as coaches, were so much alike in the things that we struggled with. And so there’s something safe about that.

There is something safe about being in a group of coaches, I think, and we are able to just talk about like, these are the things that really get us gripped up.

Lindsay: Yeah, I love one-on-one coaching, but one of my favorite things about being in a group, either coaching a group of mine or being coached in a group is seeing things that come up for other people that I’m like, oh, that’s not just me. Right? Like, it’s not just my crazy brain acting like this, other people have this experience too, because I think we tend to believe that we are so individual, right? And like, oh, this is a special thing, special way I personally like to torture myself and make things complicated.

Whereas when you see other people say it, it’s like, somehow seeing it outside of yourself makes it feel a lot less, maybe heavy or complicated.

Angela; Well, and I think if you think about it, most of us are at home by ourselves, in our computer, pouring out to our clients, we might get one on one coached, we might get watching the replays in our little group, in our program that we’re in, like Coach Lab, or maybe we write in to get coached in Coach Lab or something like that. But mostly we are kind of by ourselves here doing our work, as the kids say out here in these streets doing our work, right?

And so it can feel like you’re the only one. It can feel like, too, when you’re working on a project, or you have a big dreamy goal, like, I don’t think I can do this on my own. Like it feels like this is going to be really, really hard.

Lindsay: Or you get through the fun part, and you get to the something that feels hard or sticky and you’re like, okay, let’s just put this to the side for a while when you don’t have, like that’s one of my favorite things is to just have that space where when I know – Because it comes up for everyone when they’re working on a project, there’s always a part that you don’t want to do, or that feels complicated, or that feels too big because of the way you’re thinking about it or whatever.

Or like what you said, right? Like I have this very specific vision of how it has to go and it can’t go any other way. And you don’t have anyone there to question it. I love being in that space where people can come and say, okay, I got here and now I’m super stuck. Help me move forward. That’s like, so fun to me. I could geek out over that all day.

Angela: And I don’t know if you’re going to do it the same way, but I love the 90 days, I love 12 weeks.

Lindsay: Yeah, I think it was really good. I mean, I didn’t want it to end, but everyone had pretty much completed what they wanted to complete while they were there.

Angela: I love a 90 day cycle. That’s kind of how I work with my one-on-one clients, in 90 day cycles anyway. And I do six months, but I kind of break it up into two 90 days. And to me, that was the perfect amount of time. And having to come, or getting to come, I was always so excited.

But getting to come every week, I felt like there was some built in accountability. Like you weren’t going to say, well, why aren’t you this far or whatever. But there was like, hey, this week, we’re going to work on any decisions you need to make or anything you need to put in place for yourself or whatever. And so by that week, I wanted to have some work done.

And so it is again, just those weekly check-ins were such a good way to just keep me moving. And I love that.

Lindsay: You’re a big action taker, and you move pretty fast, I think. But sometimes people would come and say, honestly, I haven’t done anything this week, I feel super stuck, right? I haven’t done any work on this in a week. Or something big in my life was going on and I haven’t really worked on it. But that also was like that’s okay. Let’s figure out, what’s the next step? How do you move forward? It was always like, how do we just keep moving forward to get to the next place?

And I think either end of the spectrum, either action takers who are just going to move forward no matter what, and might be taking action that isn’t necessary, maybe doing too many things, or the people who tend to get stuck and just like freeze there for a while. Either one of those, it’s like what’s just the next step? The next simple step.

Angela: The next simple step, yes ma’am.

Lindsay: Because some people need to go from zero to one step, and some people need to go from the next 20 steps to no, no, no, what’s just the next step right now?

Angela: Absolutely. I am one that I think I need 20. But there were weeks that I was like, I don’t really know what to do now or I don’t know what, you know, again, just a weekly check-in in order to keep me moving forward to completion was so, so helpful.

So yeah, it’s simple. If you want to get your project done, it’s simple, but keeps you moving forward to completion, then definitely join Lindsay’s new group. It’s such a smart idea too.

Lindsay: Thanks, I love it.

Angela: Like there were several of us that were like, oh my gosh, we’re going to work on a project and there you were.

Lindsay: Yeah, I probably got three or four emails that were like, I swear you created – you may have been one of them – I swear you created this just for me. Like I have this thing, I’m a little scared of it or some form of that. And then I got your email with this offer and it is for me, thank you.

Angela: Well, but this is the thing, I think we think that but we always have a thing, right? We always have a little thing that’s in the back of our head that if we had a place where we could work on it, if we had the space to do it, like we always have a thing. And so I think it’s always going to be the right timing if you decide that this is the time to work on it, right?

Lindsay: Definitely. All right. So let’s end with if anyone is listening and they are thinking of doing something like this, creating a VIP day for their clients, what advice would you give them? Like top couple things.

Angela: Top couple things, join Lindsay’s group. That would be the first thing. The second thing is, I really do think it was pivotal for me to do a prep day just to really find out what my client’s expectations were. I sold it a certain way just to find out really what her expectations were. That was really helpful.

Lindsay: And it probably helped you to like structure the day and know kind of how to set it up when you knew, okay, here are the kind of specific things she wants to work through while we’re here.

Angela: Yes, for sure. So having a prep call was, I think, really important and getting some specifics from her that I wasn’t sure about. So that was really important.

I think the other thing was just really deciding, and this was a question that you asked me, how do I want her to feel while she’s there? How do I want this day to feel? Again, I tend to stay up in my head. I wanted to get through the process. I wanted to make sure she got the results. So I do think if you’re like me and you tend to be up in your head, like really asking yourself, how do you want this day to feel for her? And also for you, which I also would not have thought to ask.

And then number three is take a break. Take a day off. You’re going to need a day off. That’s the other thing. You’re going to need a day off and make sure that you take care of yourself. So I think you asked me for one thing, but those are the three.

Lindsay: No, I said a couple, but the first one didn’t count because you just told them to join my thing. So that didn’t count. I mean, it can count, but also I was looking for those last ones you gave. I love them. So good. I completely agree.

Angela: Like you’ve done them before, what would you say that maybe I didn’t say?

Lindsay: Yeah, it’s been a while. I think, well, so much of it probably are things that came up that we’ve already talked about a little bit because some of the things that we coached on were sometimes things I brought up because of the experiences I had of remembering what they were like.

But I think maybe one would be remembering what the day is for, right? So sometimes I would get caught up in things like should I schedule massages and how fancy should the dinner be? And just those, which I know we coached on some stuff like that too, just all of those kinds of extra. And I would get more caught up in that than in the like, what’s the day actually for? And maybe we’ll do some of those things.

And maybe the day is for, because I was a general life coach. Similar to you, not coaching the same types of people necessarily, but just similarly, like they could come for anything. And so most of them were maybe like starting a business or I don’t think any of them, or maybe one or two were coaches, but it was just women kind of coming for all different things.

So for one of them, it was like her goal was to learn how to relax and how to take care of herself. So then it was like, yeah, a massage is on the list. Like things like that were actually more important. But yeah, I would get stuck in those little details instead of remembering the coaching is the most important part of the experience, not all these other things. Probably also why I never made a profit on them.

So that was one. And then yeah, maybe checking in with the client. I think that’s one that you said, but I think it’s just so important to ask, this is something I say all the time in The Coach Lab when coaches are like, and then I don’t really know where to go from here. And I’m like, have you asked the client? Have you gotten any feedback from the client? And I think the same applies here.

Like just really getting clear about, even if you sold it and it’s a really specific thing, I still think there’s always room for what specifically you want to leave with? What are you looking to get out of this day, two days, however long it is, and using that when making your plan.

Angela: I like that. Remember what this is for, because I have a friend that took this idea and ran with it and she does it a little bit differently than I do. And it’s because when she asked what her clients really wanted, they needed some exposure. And so she will book three of her friends as clients to coach, because they’re so brand new that they are afraid to have that first session. So she’ll book a couple of her friends to be their clients or she’ll book them a consult. So what they needed was exposure and more hands on.

Lindsay: Yeah, so different, right?

Angela: Yeah, so varied. And so yes, really finding out what the client wants and remembering what you’re there for. It doesn’t have to be your specific process, you can really individualize it to your client. So I do like that, yeah.

Lindsay: Yeah, I mean, I know some people that do these for like copy days, right? And they will just literally sit with their clients and help them write copy all day. That’s like a really specific experience. I’ve done it with photographers before where it’s like a whole day experience, but we’re doing a bunch of photos and whatever.

So yeah, it can look so different. And I think it really is just asking like, what is it for? What is the client paying you for? What are they going to get out of it? Like, what are they expecting from the day? And starting there.

Angela: Don’t you just love coaching? It just looks like so many different things. Like, I guess I’m two and a half – How long have you been a coach?

Lindsay: About 10 years. Almost 10 years.

Angela: Okay. Two and a half years in and I am still just like enamored by all the different things it can be. I teach some certification classes for coaches getting certified and what they go out and do, I am always just shocked that they had this idea.

Lindsay: Yeah, so fun.

Angela: So yeah, I am always just so blown away by how many different ways it can look.

Lindsay: Yeah, I do think that’s one reason I’ve loved doing the projects in my advanced certification, and then why I decided to make it its own offer, because I love that too. I love watching people do things, even things I’ve never done before or I’ve never even considered doing or thought of. And I’ve had clients that have written books. They don’t usually write books in like three months, but they’ll decide ahead of time, like what do they want to accomplish in those three months?

Or just things that I’m like, I’ve never done that. But I know I can support someone going, you know, making the plan and working through all the things that come up. And yeah, it’s like living vicariously through other people sometimes, just like being so excited for them when they’re working through it. So fun. So fun.

Okay, well, so I was going to ask you, what would you say to someone considering joining? I feel like you’ve said it. They’re going to think I paid you to keep plugging it throughout the episode, you’ve said it so many times. Is there anything we have left out about why they should join, what will we call it? We’re just going to call it the coach project for now.

Angela: I don’t think there’s anything I’ve left out other than just that you do create a really safe space, like parameters. If anybody’s concerned about that, just jumping into a group, I was a little concerned about it because I’d never been in that space before. But you do really create a really safe space for everybody to just be themselves and really be creative and enjoy themselves while they’re working together. And so I think that is something else people should know.

Lindsay: Yeah, I love that. Thank you. So sweet.

All right, anything else at all? Did we miss anything? I feel like we covered a lot of ground in not a lot of time. I think we did good. Is there anything else you were hoping we would talk about?

Angela: No, I don’t think so. Get the support you need, people.

Lindsay: That’s true. Do it.

Angela: That’s the bottom line of it all, is get the support you need.

Lindsay: Totally agree. Okay, well, where can people find you if they’re listening and they’re like, I’ve got to check this out, what she’s doing. Where can they find you? Tell them all the things. And we will link it all also in the show notes, so you don’t necessarily have to spell anything unless you want to, we will make sure it’s all linked up.

Angela: Okay, so you can find me at landofangelacoaching.com. You can also find me on Instagram, it’s land of Angela. And I’m Angela, so if you can remember that you’ll be able to find me and you can find everything you need to know there. And on Facebook too, land of Angela on Facebook.

Lindsay: Okay, one last question. How did you come up with that name?

Angela: Okay, so this is really interesting, actually. So I got divorced.

Lindsay: Okay.

Angela: I’m remarried now, but I got divorced. And one of my friends said, well, you know you can do whatever you want, it’s the land of Angela now.

Lindsay: Oh, that’s so good.

Angela: Yeah, and so I played around with a little blog for a while. And I named that blog the land of Angela. And I coronated myself the queen of the land.

Lindsay: Okay.

Angela: And so that’s how the land of Angela came about. And since I already had the Facebook page, I mean, this is real, real complicated, but since I already had the Facebook page it just turned into land of Angela coaching.

Lindsay: I love it. Okay. I knew there had to be something creative behind it because I’ve seen that now a couple times in I think your email address, maybe, something like that. So I was like, I have to ask her about this. So love it. Love it. Love it.

All right, well, thank you so much for being here today.

Angela: Thank you so much for asking me, it was my pleasure, my honor, and I appreciate it. And I love you so much, Lindsay.

Lindsay: I love you so much. Thank you.

Angela: And great chair, by the way. Put the link for the chair.

Lindsay: Oh, yes. We’ll put the link for – Oh, Angela convinced me to get a new office chair because I was in a lot of pain in my old one and it has changed my entire life. So I will put the link for that in the show notes as well just in case. I know, like always on the hunt for a good office chair. And it’s not even crazy expensive, which I almost didn’t buy it because I was like, I don’t know.

The one I had that was killing my back was way more expensive. And so when I saw the price, I was like, I don’t know. And then someone else in our group got it, Jess, and I was like, okay, how is it? Tell me everything. And she said, Lindsay, don’t hesitate. Order immediately. And so I did.

Angela: Order immediately. The actual story is that one of my clients owns the State Farm office in my town and she was like, oh no, we have great chairs. And I was like, okay, I’m coming to the office and I’m going to sit in that chair. So I test drove this chair before I bought it. And it has been life changing. My hips and my chiropractor are so grateful I got a new chair.

Lindsay: Yes. Oh, it’s so great so we will link that up too. Thank you again. For real this time we’re ending, thank you so much. Lovely having you here today.

Angela: Bye.

Lindsay: Bye.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Mastering Coaching Skills. If you want to learn more about my work, come visit me at lindsaydotzlafcoaching.com. That’s Lindsay with an A, D-O-T-Z-L-A-F.com. See you next week.