You know those special offers? The ones that say “just xxx spaces left”.
Sometimes they are true!
So it is with mixed emotions that I provide my (almost) November blog, including the news that I am fully booked with no spaces currently available.
- Becoming fully booked
- More spaces coming soon?
- Marketing strategy insights
- The railways! (yes, it’s relevant!)
- What I’m working on now
- Main takeaway
Quite frankly it is a bit of a babble as I process. But I think on this occasion I’ve earned that right. Good luck if you continue reading 🙂
More than anything though, being a coach is a privilege. I am truly grateful for the trust placed in me by my clients – both long standing and newer – and never take it for granted.
Becoming fully booked
Not going to lie, when an email popped into my inbox, saying that I had a new customer, the second in the space of a week, it was an odd moment and a bit of a surprise. I was full back in June or July time, but that was temporary as I had holidays coming up and a project backlog I needed to get through.
This time was different. My diary tells me I am absolutely full with no space for more coaching clients (currently!).
It is strange. Here I am, having pivoted from database and business process design to coaching, and there’s solid evidence that it’s working. Take that Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria!!!
The emotions… actually they haven’t hit me yet. I suspect I’ll feel them once I’ve got through a week on my new schedule. My body takes time to process things, and quite often I only feel the impact only later on. The brain is made up of multiple different systems talking to one another, so that might explain some of its more interesting behaviours. Communication gaps basically. It’s not just at the office or in home life, with other people, that this happens with!
Sidenote: over the summer I was very frustrated that I didn’t have enough client work. I talked the issue through with friends, got informal coaching to remind myself where the fears were coming from, and put in strategies to assuage some of those issues. Was my confidence not as robust as I would have liked? Yes. But typing this I realise if I had just been confident… that would have been silly. Always look at the evidence as instincts are useful but can be wrong. Plan B’s never do any harm.
More spaces coming soon?
A disclaimer: Coaching typically lasts anything from three months to two years, and everything in between. Nine months is a very rough average. So, if I’m doing my job right, clients will continue to graduate and then space will be created. Some already have, and at least one or two more are likely to do so in the next couple of months.
At some point I’ll probably design a waiting list, but if you do want coaching, then do feel free to still book in that intro call because that will still help you understand the world of coaching, and whether I would be a good match. For the meantime, at least, I’m leaving that open, until I devise a better system!
Marketing strategy insights
What (occult) strategy ended up serving me the best?
So what do you do when you get the good news about being fully booked?
- Go to the pub to celebrate
- Phone friends and family
- Instantly evaluate your marketing strategy?
#3 apparently 🤷🏻 Did I mention brains are weird? At least I know one of my motivations is to look for that problem solving strategy, so it makes sense to me, and that’s what counts!
Anyway, here the takeaways that I thought about before making celebratory phonecalls:
- Research pays off. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without so many chats, those pay-it-forwards calls that other people have generously donated. I heartedly recommend the strategy and it’s part of the reason that I’ve hit the ground running as a successful coach. Always remember when doing something non-typical, and possibly outside your comfort zone, “What’s the worst that can happen?”.
- When I was considering going down the coaching route, I was advised to chop and change my study partners if I felt there wasn’t a connection there (whether they had different objectives, or didn’t have sufficient study time, etc). I did that twice during my course and it’s worked out very well. 18 months after the end of my course, I am still speaking with my study partners from the final module, sharing tips and news with one another and celebrating successes. Or to put it another way: does being conventional and sticking with what you’ve already got really serve you? Sometimes the answer might be “yes”, but on other occasions it will be a firm “no”, especially if you like interesting challenges and are a bit of a problem solver.
- I ignored the lead generation, website improvement and podcast introduction offers. My observation is that if someone is reaching out to you to sell something, especially directly to your inbox, it’s likely that they don’t have a good product, especially when it comes to anything IT/website related!
- AI continues to change everything. My most recent set of enquiries have come from AI suggesting my coaching services to them. AI is based off all the marketing/comms/education that I have done, but it helps that I’m niche, so when people look for IT & AuDHD coaching, I do come up in the AI results for very good reason. That said, will AI eventually eat up the coaching job market? Possibly! But that’s a tomorrow problem.
- My October special offer didn’t lead to any new bookings via that link, but did cause me to revise my website, add some funky cards to make my website more fun, and improve my blog visibility. Which nicely leads me on to…
- 90% of marketing remains wasted, I just don’t know which 90%. Some things even coaching can’t improve! 😂
The Railways
Let’s talk about railways, not that I’m going to pander to stereotypes… Oh, hang on, I’m a certain type of autistic, which can have its uses. But not just any kind, I tick multiple boxes! I also am of the type that doesn’t easily give up, once I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about a perceived injustice.
I recently successfully campaigned for the Disabled Persons Railcard to be updated, because it was based on a handful of physical conditions rather than encompassing mental health or perhaps – whisper it – need or fairness. Basically, it was well meaning but hadn’t been thought through, and had a number of assumptions at the heart of the scheme.
So in March the disabled persons railcard received it’s first significant update in 20 years, and now includes “those that are medically unable to drive”.
It’s a useful thing to remember when campaigning, that sometimes you don’t see the results for a while – although that pains my ADHD urge (or is it a need?) for instant gratification. The results are now in and really brought a smile to my face, as well as an intake of breath.
A 39% increase in card usage in the last six months, with 40,000 extra people having signed up. To be honest the announcement caught me by surprise as I had already sort-of forgotten about it and moved on to the next challenge!
Given that no one else has claimed responsibility for having thought of these changes, I think it’s fair to assume that I kickstarted the other improvements that were rolled out at the same time(!)
What I’m working on now
First of all, the realisation that the blog continues. Even if not enough of you buggers click “like” 😘 (ok, I know some of you don’t because you aren’t public about your ADHD or even sure if you have it, and that’s fine, but for the ones that do click “like” it is truly appreciated)
At a minimum, it does two things: helps me process my thoughts by writing (good), and shows me that part of my ego relies on social media algorithms and click-throughs (not so good). We all want to be validated and I need to be mindful of healthier ways to achieve this. Having a full client book does help as it’s a nice fact to remember!
Then there’s the talks, which I promised myself I would stop, because they are extremely time consuming for me to prepare. That’s why I’ve submitted four sessions for Limmud – the best-in-class Jewish conference – for this year 🤔 Judge a person by what they do, not what they say 🙈
I’m also still planning on going to Polish Dreamin too, to talk about neurodivergency. I’ve heard so many good things about the Salesforce community in Poland that I want to experience it for myself, although it will be a bittersweet experience as I’ll use the opportunity to take myself on a pilgrimage. Humanity, we, need constant vigilance, to stop our worst aspects coming to the fore.
And then, in more cheerful news, there are the side projects, and continued learning. I might even tackle the backlog of ideas for my blog!
And please, feel free to book in random calls. They are always very good fun, whether I know you or you’re interested in my work and my blog, have a question, or my tone calls to you. And also my opportunity to pay it forwards. These calls are part of the reason why I am where I am today.
Side story: In fact, last week I had a delightful catchup call last week with a Salesforce ecosystem friend and I had a glorious epiphany. Some ADHDers don’t actually need a coach, even when going on journeys of self-discovery. It’s fantastic to speak to those who manage to navigate their lives, as much as it is to speak to people and be able to help them by helping them understand themselves better. You do you.
Main takeaways
Throwback to the values discussion from my London’s Calling 2026 talk
I heard a very good phrase whilst listening to a podcast last week. To paraphrase, as it was about being queer, has anyone regretted discovering that they are autistic or ADHD and living a full life with that new knowledge? I genuinely don’t think so.
In a similar vein, my main takeaway from being fully booked as a coach is that I can continue to be who I am, which is nice as the flip side is that people still occasionally tell me that I’m difficult. It’s a badge of honor – as in difficult to ignore 😁 🥳
Roll on the campaigning work!
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