Establishing your business :: Christian Coaching Resources

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Creating Cost-effective Websites

By linda · Comments (1)

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

If you’re a new coach interested in cost-efficient resources, that’s exactly the topic Beth Cole (www.thewebservant.com) and I have been discussing.

Need an affordable website? If you’re new to establishing a web presence, please know that you have many choices. Put time into your research and learn what your choices are even if you’re not a technical person. Don’t go with the first thing that makes sense to you – dig even deeper to best understand your choices and make an informed decision.

My recommendation is that you establish a site that can easily be updated with basic text changes, fresh content and your latest updates. Most coaches aren’t technicians, but you can hire someone create a site that you can maintain by learning to update fairly easily. That creates freedom for you and saves you money that can be invested in hiring technical help for when more major design changes or revisions are in order.

Here is part of an interview with Beth:

Linda: What are the most efficient, cost effective ways to create a great website?

Beth: For efficient and cost effective I’d say WordPress.com, or a WordPress hosting service like Page.ly, or Web Coaching Solutions.

WordPress.com has a limited number of included free design themes.

Page.ly offers free and premium themes with great support for WordPress (like automatic upgrades).

Web Coaching Solutions is plug-n-play with pre-written text and images.

Any of these tools will allow you to manage your own content. The WordPress options will give you more freedom in terms of blogging, audio, and social media, etc.

There are many free website solutions – many that come with a hosting package for instance. Some have mentioned Site Build It as an option. I have not used this tool so I don’t want to give an opinion.

Linda: When I interview you on May 18, can we talk about the pros and cons of the various options?

Beth: Absolutely, Linda, that will be fun! It’s one of my favorite subjects and I will look forward to it.

Linda: I know I’ve been really happy with WordPress at one of my sites. I can see myself converting them all to WordPress.

Beth: Here are couple of articles from my blog that may be helpful for coaches considering WordPress: Is WordPress a Good Fit for You? and Choosing a Free, Premium or Custom Theme for WordPress.

Linda: Thanks for the excellent resources Beth!

OK, everyone! Put this on your calendar now! For more about creating a cost-effective website, join us as I interview Beth live at the next Christian Coaching Resources free monthly “Christian Coaching…Tell Me More” meeting on Tuesday, May 18 at 12 noon Central time. Click here for free and easy registration.

Beth and I invite you to comment on this post with questions you have about setting up a website. That way we’ll be sure to cover your special interests on May 18.

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Categories : Christian Coaching, Establishing your business, Marketing your Business, Starting the Journey

Cost-effective Online Tools for Success

By linda · Comments (2)

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

While putting together a list of free and low-cost tools on the web, I checked in with Beth Cole of www.thewebservant.com to include her expert input. Later this week I’ll be posting a brief interview with Beth about cost-effectively creating websites. In the meantime, we have compiled a list of tools for you to investigate.

Many of these online tools have free trial periods so you can try them first:

To offer group coaching via telephone: For the bridge line, I’ve recently had good connections with www.freeconferencecall.com . Beth says try Whistletree for bride lines also. To help facilitate your groups (up to five for $27 per month with no long term contract) look into www.groupcoachingmanager.com .

For an online scheduling tool: I just started using www.timedriver.com and so far, I’m really impressed. Simple to set up and after the generous 90 day trial the cost is $29.95 for a year. Beth says also check out Genbook, or Acuity Scheduling (allows payment) .

To create surveys: Use www.surveymonkey.com to create surveys to engage your potential clients and invite them for input. The basic account is free.

To covert a document to pdf: Try www.pdfonline.com to convert documents to pdf format. Beth’s additional recommendations include www.freepdfconvert.com and Adobe’s PDF tool (subscription).,

For email marketing and list management: I use www.constantcontact.com . Beth recommends another popular possibility, www.icontact.com . Both offer free trials.

To request money and facilitate client payments: Until you obtain a merchant account and shopping cart which is more costly, www.paypal.com will facilitate invoices and requests for payment. Clients can use their credit cards or bank account to make payments.

More on managing client billing: Beth uses www.freshbooks.com and says other popular solutions are BlinkSale and Harvest.

For delivering ebooks: Beth recommends www.ejunkie.com .

For delivering ecourses: Beth recommends www.icontact.com.

What recommendations for free and low-cost online tools do you have? Let us know! Leave your recommendations in comments below.

Finally, a strong recommendation from me: To contribute to your success, go order Beth Cole’s ebook, Essential Web Marketing. It’s a great investment at only $19.95. Click here to learn more.

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Categories : Christian Coaching, Establishing your business, Marketing your Business, Uncategorized

How Much Does a Coaching Business Cost?

By linda · Comments (0)

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Last week, the topic of our free monthly tele-seminar here at Christian Coaching Resources was “How Much Does a Coaching Business Cost?” Participants received an outline that included the following budget line items. I shared how to determine the priority of each line item and how to avoid the most common mistakes that new coaches make.

As a new coach, it’s important to consider all line items below. Get excellent input from an expert - preferrably a mentor coach who’s been there before you. Your mentor coach helps you maximize your financial investment in your business by helping you determine which of the items below are most important for you and merit your investment. Your mentor coach will help you prioritize and plan each of these items based on your unique vision for your business or ministry. If you are in need of a mentor coach, contact me to learn more.

Initial Start Up Expenses -

Training
Adequate work space
Computer and peripherals to include printer
Security software
Mentor coaching to include business vision and marketing plan
Registering with your state
Branding
Website
Domain registration
Business cards
Other print marketing

On-going Expenses -

Phone service
Internet service
Web hosting
List management service
Office supplies

Other Expenses:

Marketing
Certification
Professional association fees
Training and professional development
Shopping cart
Virtual Assistant
Financial accounting software
Tax Accountant

Return here for more posts this week on maximizing your financial investment in your business or ministry.

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Categories : Establishing your business

An Autumn Wake-Up Call

By linda · Comments (0)

Thursday, October 5th, 2006

Leaves are changing color and shine brightly against blue-sky backdrops. Some are already falling and dance gently in the cool crisp breeze.

Here in Minnesota, we are fully experiencing the beauty of autumn.

Lest you be lulled to sleep by poetic imagery, I must announce a wake-up call.

To all Christian life coaches who plan to do business in 2007, I must remind you that it’s what you do today that brings results three months (and further) down the road.

In just three months, we will be ringing in the New Year. Potential clients will be making resolutions and considering how to make the most of 2007. You can help them “make the most.”

How will they find you?

The time is now – yes, now in October – to create and begin executing a marketing plan designed to support business for 2007.

My blog-tour of the www.christiancoachingresources.com site continues.

Christian Coaching Resources exists to provide valuable resources and information for new and prospective Christian coaches. The following books do not specifically include a Christian perspective. However, they offer great info that can be used by any Christian coach to contribute to an effective marketing plan. Go to the site and find the following:

Get Clients Now! by C. J. Hayden – Focuses on tried and true marketing practices with step-by-step guidlines for a 28-day marketing plan.

Multiple Streams of Coaching Income by Andrea J. Lee -Takes you beyond the pursuit of one-on-one coaching clients and challenges you to consider additional streams of income. Creating multiple streams of income is a great (arguably essential) way to augment your one-on-one coaching practice.

The Insider’s Guide to Web Marketing by Beth Cole – Gives you the info you need to start marketing effectively on the web. It provides great info for non-techie-type coaches who need basic info and then takes you further so you can make the most of your web-based opportunities.

Contact me today, for coaching to develop and implement your marketing plan for 2007. We can work together on it starting in January, but if you begin today you will thank yourself in 2007!

Linda Dallaire can be reached at linda@lifestoriescoaching.com or 763.780.8508.