Kevin Stafford 0:00
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of The now conversations with coaches podcast. I’m your usual host, Kevin and I have been having way too good of a time and had way too many thoughts and musings with Millie Millie Kreisman. Here in the last week we went, I went to hit record like 20 minutes ago, we just got going. So if it sounds like we’re in the middle of a conversation, it’s because we are. But welcome to the middle of this conversation. Millie, if you don’t remember was on an episode a little over a year ago at this point. As a coach Millie exists to help people make the changes they want to see in themselves, so that they can ultimately pivot their lives with confidence, power and poise, which are I just love the way that rolls off the tongue rolls off my heart, quite frankly, for practice focuses on identifying strengths and leveraging them to result in desired change. It’s positivity based and very grounded in today’s reality. And that is exactly what makes it achievable. Billy, I’m obviously extremely pleased to have you back on the podcast just to have you back in the Zoom Room chatting with you. Thank you again for being here.
Milly Christmann 1:02
Kevin, it’s been great to reconnect with you again, I can’t believe it’s been that long. And yeah, we did kind of go off on a few tangents. So I’m excited that we’re actually recording something that somebody might listen to you today.
Kevin Stafford 1:15
Yeah, and I gotta say, this is this is a this is my favorite problem that I have all the time with coaches, especially like yourself, you’re too dang interesting to talk to. And fun and insightful and thought provoking. And so I’ve gotten professionally good at watching the clock, and just sometimes ignoring it. Because it’s just too good to talk. So let’s talk and start wherever you’d like dive in wherever you’d like. But let’s talk about the last 18 months or so, of your full time solopreneur coaching business, what’s been what’s been going on what’s changed what’s evolved, what’s emerged.
Milly Christmann 1:49
Lots learning, learning, learning, learning, learning, frustration, elation, learning, repeat, rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat. So
Kevin Stafford 1:58
I like frustration, elation. That’s it, that’s great. All the nations
Milly Christmann 2:01
a lot of Asians in there and libations to at the end of everything as well. The thing that I, the thing that surprised me the most was that I thought I really had a very, very clear plan laid out exactly what I was going to do my offering my everything. And when I got into it, I realized that I was evolving. And what I liked to do wasn’t necessarily my primary offering, I made some assumptions that I think were not really correct about what the market truly needed out there. And I was sort of going off the premise that, hey, this is what I think the market needs. And I’m going to offer that. And honestly, what you really should do is figure out what it is that you like to do best and most and understand that market and who’s in that market. So go go start from yourself first. And I wish I had done that. But I quickly learned because I got clients, which was great. But the work I was doing was too transactional. For my taste. I didn’t like it. I started thinking about, you know, gosh, I’ve got such a broad network of little bit more junior human resources, folks, maybe I can start out with sourcing some of the work and monetize it, monetizing it just by virtue of markup, and still be profitable. But I thought okay, boy, that’s yes, it’s a functionally sound business. But is it fun? Does it put wind in my sails? Yeah, probably not so much. And then I started doing less advisory work for smaller businesses, and more coaching actually, not less I just got more coaching clients so my portfolio became a little bit of a more of a balance between working with individuals one on one versus small business owners setting up and doing some foundational things. And I loved the coaching that coaching is what really put the wind in my sails not that the other stuff isn’t important because it absolutely is but remember the The goal here is to put yourself first and there’s no shame in that put yourself first be selfish. What do I like? What do I feel good at? What about what what have others told me that I’m pretty good at doing for my career? Listen to yourself a little bit. And I did just that and I’m I’m still getting referrals. So I haven’t quite quite quite reached that referral plateau where then you struggle with how to find business. So I’m not quite there. But one of the learnings I saw as my coaching side expanded was wow, there’s a lot of different lanes. In which you can coach, I mean, there are just so many different lanes that I don’t, I definitely do not call myself a Human Resources coach, I call myself a business coach, because I’ve got clients who use me to help them grow their business. So it’s really a revenue operations kind of a model. I’ve got clients who are in very large career transitions, starting the executive level roles for the first time and they want to be successful. So that’s more about leadership, and assessments that go into how do you really shift from middle management to executive level management, I’ve got those kinds of people, I’ve got folks who want to do career pivots up out of industry into something completely different. And then I’ve got folks who have not been in the market for a new role in quite a while and just don’t know how to make a change that’s going to make them happy yet, they want to take advantage of what they’re understanding as this fabulous labor market, and everybody has the dream job. And I want to play there too. But oh, gosh, I don’t know how to do it. So big huge learning was that there’s 86 and 4000 different ways you can coach and sort of narrowing down where you think you can help people in the best way becomes the challenge for the coach, you know, for me. So that’s been a fabulous learning, and I’ve just been blessed with getting referrals. You know, I used to be a unit University Adjunct Professor years ago. So I’ve got some former students from a lot very long time ago, who have floated My name around now that I’m doing this, and that’s generated some some great business. So I’m, I’m somewhat of a known commodity, and in that world, which is really, really helpful. And so now I’m thinking about, okay, how do you sort of keep your, yourself front and center? How do you keep yourself current, and as you and I were chatting before you, you hit the button, this idea around keynote, speaking, and doing talks, whether it’s a TEDx, or something in a local chapter of a group that makes sense for you, and industry group. You know, those are those are really good, good venues. And it’s a good way to just continue to sort of stretch your mind and do something that you haven’t really done before. Or maybe you haven’t done since you’ve been in your corporate role, and a lot of us have transitioned from corporate roles. And so I’m going on and on and on. But I’ve had so many learnings in the last year and a half. And you know, the other piece of is, how much do you want to work? What do you want your life to look like? When you set up a calendar like Kevin tactical things, there are certain days or parts of days that I just regularly blocked out, either because I want those for my own personal use, or it’s, it’s a season of the year where, you know, pheasant hunting is starting, and I gotta block these out or what, whatever, but whatever your personal priority is, it’s so wonderful that as a solopreneur, you can do those things mindfully. They’re certainly not public, but you have control. And the idea that you are in control, you’re the captain of your own ship, which was a title of a book I read years ago that I just absolutely loved. And the idea of being the captain of your own ship is so powerful, that honestly, it’s worth it’s worth everything to continue to hold that and to hold that power by deep learning continually evolving and, and all those things. So I mean, those are some of the sort of psychological roller coasters I’ve been riding around on.
Kevin Stafford 9:06
On your own fun roller coasters are scary and fun.
Milly Christmann 9:09
Yeah. deflation, elation. I know you like those Asian words.
Kevin Stafford 9:15
I do especially that libation one. I’m looking forward to that later this evening. I just love the way you the way you sort of spoke or the way you did directly speak about how powerful that constant learning I think that is curiosity because curiosity is such a core value. As a coach and coaching it’s just as you want to, you understand there’s always more and you want some of it, maybe all of it, but you just you’re just curious, it’s not necessarily a hunger although sometimes it does manifest as like a real hunger like, I need to find out about this or you know, my I’m just gonna start grumbling. My Tommy my my cores because they’re grumbling about it, and also that control, or I like to see that like curiosity and control but maybe that autonomy is a little bit and More accurate because that ability to say, you know, I’m looking at my calendar, I know what I love, I know what I’m good at, I know what I want my life to look like, I know what I want it to feel like, I know what I want my life to feel like to my family, I always I want to be available to them in ways that they feel way down deep in their heart. They know I’m here for them, even as I’m thriving in this business. And so I’m gonna look at my calendar, and I’m going to make some intentional decisions. I’m going to say, You know what this I love, I love doing this, make sure I only do it for this amount of time. So I let this get too big, it’s gonna start swallowing up other things that I know are important, that maybe don’t put as much wind in my sails, but you know, they they’re necessary, or I’m going to block this time off. Because you know, it really puts wind in my sails time with my family. And if I start neglecting that, because I’m too excited about something in my coaching business, I’m going to get out of balance. And I know what’s going to happen down the road. And there’s really no other way to learn these things. Well, there’s not really any other way to learn them well to be doing. And you’ve gotten out in the last, you know, 18 months, which is so strange to think about how long it’s been and how short of a time that is. But you have learned so much in so relatively short of a time. And it’s just it’s the right way to do it. You follow your curiosity you followed, found your wind, as I like to think of it sometimes. And as it’s beautiful to see it’s why I was I kept you kept saying things that were like very, like insightful and I wanted to speak on but I was just like, No, just she’s got her when let her go let her talk about all these things. She’s learned. It’s lovely. I love it.
Milly Christmann 11:24
Well, and what’s what’s on tap is the next learning segment, personal learning segment is how do you expand that? And you and I had a brief chat around scaling earlier? And and how do you go from the one on one experience, which I absolutely love and adore? And it’s so fulfilling? How do you go from one on one to five on one to 10 on one so that you can really help more people, you can start creating networks for other people with other people. That’s power. I mean, that is true power and goodness, all over the place. And as a solopreneur you know, how do you do that? You get that client? Number one, what do you say, Oh, you got to wait and be on hold until we get four more of you that are interested. And then we start a cohort. So, you know, it’s the mechanics around that I think is is my, my next My next phase of evolution and learning so I don’t have those answers. I’m just sharing, I guess, a challenge moment
Kevin Stafford 12:24
question. I love it. But I’ll have to be part three here and answer so maybe we’ll have we’ll have some we’ll have some fresh answers and some fresh questions. Zack Millia. I could I could do this all day. Obviously, since we chatted for so long before I even hit record. Thank you for being on with me today. Thank you for chatting with me today. And I’m looking forward to seeing what you do in the next 18 months.
Milly Christmann 12:46
Yeah. Thanks, Kevin. Thanks for having me back. It’s great to see you again. chat with you again to my pleasure.
