WHAT IF YOUR COACHING DOESN’T WORK FOR ME?

“Will this work for me?”
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“And how is this different?”

Quite often, photographers who have tried other coaching or marketing programmes are always more careful and unsure about signing up for The Marketing Mastermind.

And in all honesty, I love it.

I love being asked the tough, uncomfortable questions.

To me, answering them is part of the coaching just as much as anything after that.

SO HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT?

Finding a meaningful answer to this question it’s been a journey and, in some ways, it still is.

Want to know why?

Because the answer doesn’t lie in marketing.

It’s simple: What makes my coaching different is that I don’t try to hide the fact that growth is messy – as exhilarating and fun as uncomfortable and challenging at times – and I choose to be with you and help you navigate the whole of it.

We cheer and open fancy bottles of wine to celebrate our wins, but we also sit together when things don’t go as planned.

And then we go back and fix it, until the next celebration.

Does it mean I am just winging it and the coaching is a long trial and error process? No, of course not – snd I recommend you have a look at one of our testimonials or some of our reviews if you are wondering whether or not we can get you results, before reading further.

We have our go-to, reliable and tested strategies and tools… but sometimes the path to growth is more tortuous than expected. I acknowledge it so I can prepare for it, and ensure we know what to do in the unlikely event that happens.

So, if there is one question you should ask your next coach or trainer is “what are you going to do when things don’t go as planned?”.

“RUNNING A BUSINESS IS HARD”

There is a popular post that I have recently seen shared often on social media:

Running a business is hard. What they don’t tell you is that i causes severe anxiety, and drains you mentally to the point of depression in even the most laid back people.

[…] Starting up and running a successful business puts incredible strain on personal lives and relationships, many of which fail because there is just no work-life balance when starting a new business. You need to be the director, the worker, the admin, the marketing team, the accountant, the cleaner… All whilst being a parent, a husband or a wife…

There is a reason you don’t see many people succeed in small businesses after 5-10 years. It takes a toll. It’s freaking exhausting…

My take on this?

Running a business is hard, but what makes it unsustainable is the pressure the world around us put on us by trying to sell on the idea that it should be easy.

That being good at it, being successful, means not experiencing the ugly parts.

The doubts, the fears, the f*ck ups and bad days.

And since we would all LOVE to experience “the good” and avoid “the bad and the ugly”, that’s exactly what most courses and programs promise.

The problem with that?

If things were that easy there would not be any need for training and coaching in the first place.

So I expect that if we work together for a year bad days might happen – and if that’s the case we will acknowledge them, acknowledge it’s part of the process, and then move on to our next big achievement.

Running a business is hard, but what makes it unsustainable is the pressure the world around us put on us by trying to sell us on the idea that it should be easy.
That being good at it, being successful, means not experiencing the ugly parts.

OK, SO WHAT IF IT DOESN’T WORK?

Before answering that, let me tell you what I do to prevent you from joining the coaching if this is not the right programme for you:

1 – I offer a free 1-hour coaching call to help me learn more about you and to help you get a “taste” of the coaching.

2 – If, by the end of the call I feel we are not a good fit I will tell you so.

Yes, I am prepared to say “no” to a sale. My business, like yours, is built on my reputation. Long term, saying “yes” to everyone means unhappy clients.

Nobody wants that.

3 – I don’t use the coaching call as a sales call, so I don’t ask you to “buy” or “sign up” during the call.

Sure, the pressure would help me get a few more clients but… see point 2.

4 – I offer a 30 days money-back guarantee. Yes, I mean it, and no, I never had to use it.

Also, let me share with you a few things you might not know about the way I work and how it is different:

1 – We have fortnightly 1-on-1 calls and catch-ups, so there is a very high level of accountability

2 – We are obsessed with tracking results, so we know if our efforts are paying off. For example, we create ads in a way that allows you to see exactly where each booking is coming from and how much it is costing.

3 – We use specialist partners to help you with very specific aspects of digital marketing. For example, hashtag research is done by a specialist… because we don’t believe in “winging it”.

“Ok great, can you just tell me what happens if this doesn’t work?”

Simple: we will fix it.

I will give you a practical example of this.

Some of my clients joined the coaching just before the pandemic hit. Talk about things not going according to plan, eh?

Here is what I did with them:

1 – I did not stop the coaching during the various lockdowns, I thought that support was actually needed then more than ever.

2 – However, I recognised that many things could simply not be done because of the circumstances… so I extended my clients’ agreements free of charge. Crazy? Maybe, but fair on them.

3 – I worked incredibly hard to ensure we could adapt our strategies FAST to how I thought marketing would change after the pandemic.

And boy, has marketing changed.

From advertising to social media and the fears your clients have (more on this here).

ONE LAST THING…

If you have just found this article on social media… welcome to this crazy family.

I am Giulia (weird, uh? It sounds like Julia – but written with a “Gi”) and I am the founder of Grow Your Photography Studio.

I am known for my no-BS, hands-on approach to helping newborn photographers get more clients and grow a business they actually enjoy running. I believe marketing should not be a “necessary evil” and that taking action is the first and most fundamental step toward success.

To see if we can really get you results, read one of our testimonials and a few reviews from our clients

Thinking about our Marketing Mentoring programme? Read this first