CLIENT STORY:
Tapping Your Strengths

Meet Linda Formichelli,
Freelance Writer and Author:

Q: Why did you hire a coach? What did you want to see happen in your life at that time?

A: I was looking for ways to boost my income to $100,000 per year, but wasn't sure where to start. I was making a good living as a writer, but seemed to have hit a ceiling in terms of income. I was so close to my financial goal and really wanted to push through it somehow.

My main goal was to:

• Increase my income and break the $100,000 wall I was facing.

Q: How did you hear about Kristin and why did you hire her specifically?

A: I interviewed Kristin for an article, and we decided to trade services; she would coach me, and I would help her get published in magazines. (Note: Linda's helping me with that now.) Kristin coached me over the phone 2 times, and offered additional support via e-mail coaching for several weeks. Now, it's my turn to help her with her writing goals.

Q: What was memorable or meaningful about your coaching experience with Kristin? Would you change anything?

A: Kristin is a very successful self-employed businessperson, so she really knew how to motivate me. Her attitude is upbeat, and she believes her clients can do anything they set their minds to (and she's right!). I wouldn't change a thing.

Q: Why do you think coaching works? What about it worked for you?

A: Coaching helps clients look at their situations from a new angle. For example, when I wanted to boost my income, my only idea was to work harder and write more books and articles. Kristin remarked, "You're not selling anything on your Web site," and we brainstormed ways to create income online that used my strengths as a published writer but didn't require me to churn out more books and articles. I would never have thought of that without Kristin's prodding -- I would have worked harder, not smarter.

Q: What are Kristin's strengths as a coach?

A: Kristin doesn't just brainstorm ideas -- she helps you implement them, and she's very good with follow-through. For example, she helped me get started with my own e-course and answered all my subsequent questions about structure, content, pricing, and more. She's always very quick to help, and replies to my questions with impressive speed.

Q: What are the tangible results of your coaching experience?

A: Kristin came up with the idea of teaching an e-course on getting published in magazines. I implemented her idea immediately (http://www.lindaformichelli.com/course/), and in less than a month I ended up with 17 students and nearly $3,500 of extra income. I can't believe it.

Q: What are the intangible results of your coaching experience?

A: I've learned that to be successful in your career, you have to think creatively about how to use your strengths. For example, a writer doesn't have to just write -- she can also teach others how to write.

Also, I was reminded to keep an open mind -- with coaching, you'll discover that the path to success may take you in a different direction than you had imagined!

Coach's Comments

I'm calling this story "tapping your strengths" for 2 reasons.

1. It's important for YOU (yes, you...reading this now) to know what your strengths are so you can maximize them.

2. I know what my strengths are and I know what I want to improve. Whenever I identify an area of personal improvement, I love to hire an expert to help me. Once a year, I offer to trade services with an expert such as Linda. She's top notch and I knew we could help each other grow professionally. I "tap" other people's strengths to learn from them. ADVICE: The world is full of opportunities to learn..seek out the people YOU want to learn from and hire them or find a way to make it happen.

I contacted Linda to discuss my goal of getting published in magazines (with my coaching articles). We chatted about that and she shared her goal of making 100K. Voila. An opportunity was born.

We brainstormed ways for her to EASILY earn extra income. The key is to push past the "work harder" mentality and get creative. We landed on an idea. I suggested she write a program using some of the material from her book, The Renegade Writer. She loved the idea and quickly wrote the program and then promoted it by announcing it to her target audience.

I'll never forget the emails Linda sent..."Kristin, I can't believe it...people are signing up! Oh my, nearly 20 people are on board..etc". She was so EXCITED! Success is exciting. Tapping into a strength is exhilerating and makes life and work a whole lot more fun. In only 2 coaching sessions, Linda created an additional stream of income AND made a personal shift. She now knows to always look for ways to work smarter, not harder. And, anytime you design a business idea around a personal strength, it'll likely resonate with your audience. What's great about Linda's story is that she found a way to reach her goal by helping others. Now that's my favorite kind of story!

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