Work, life and things in between – Day 108 – A first!
You think that your first client will be the result of a perfectly orchestrated business development plan where all the necessary tools and accessories are in place and in perfect order. But it seldom works that way. Similar to how as a young girl, you dream that your first kiss will be at candle light, with soft background music, when your boyfriend tells you you are the apple of his eyes. Instead, he kisses you on the back seat of the car while his friends are on the front seat listening to the hockey game on the radio.
Not nearly as romantic, but nevertheless, exciting!
I received an e-mail from a former colleague. She was replying to an earlier offer I made two months ago when I was looking for pro bono coachees.
Since I had not heard from her, I assumed she was not interested and went ahead and booked my time.
She then wanted to engage in this coaching program. We discussed expectations, scope, timeline and quickly I realized that this was too big to be offered on a pro bono basis. At the same time, it was too interesting to pass.
I offered to do the discovery part for free and then told her that a good job would require an additional four to five months and there was the cost.
Had she been able to see me when I explained the scope and cost, she would have seen me close my eyes, tuck my head deep into my shoulders and cringe.
It feels unbelievably odd to be charging for your time when you have been a salaried employee all your life…It just does not feel natural. It is a struggle at first for a lot of people, so I am told.
She agreed with the plan and the cost and proposed that we meet the following week week to finalize it all. We signed off.
Just like that! It was only March. I had not planned to earn any income before September at best…so I was caught without a proper business registration, no business bank account, an unfinished logo and unresolved domain server connection!
But I was one happy Coach! To day 109