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Free Agents and Entrepreneurs

 

Life as a free agent offers the thrilling experience of self-determination, making a difference and personal freedom. Yet, it comes with the challenge of not only doing the work, but marketing ones' services. Further, maintaining a sense of boundaries between work and personal life becomes more challenging and critical, particularly for people working in home-based businesses.

 

Leap Advocates offers one-on-one career coaching to help free agents and entrepreneurs achieve success in their businesses and balance between their professional and personal lives.

 

Challenges

Many free agents are faced with a number of challenges including:

  • Lacking the time and energy in order to focus on key priorities.

  • Neglecting marketing until they finish with client projects, resulting in a revenue swing and cash shortage.

  • Lack of clarity about their longer-term direction.

  • Working with clients they do not enjoy.

  • Limited or no time for their own self-renewal and recreation.

  • Lack of clarity about their business model in terms of rates and strategies.

  • Having too many good ideas for new businesses or services but not being able to focus and prioritize.

 

 

Our Approach

Our approach to coaching includes the following key components:

  • Accountability, support and challenge where we hold our clients accountable for their commitments and support them as they navigate a career change.

  • Goal focus whereby we work with career changers to develop a clear list of coaching goals as a means for evaluating the success of the coaching engagement.

  • Whole-life perspective where we help free agents plan their business goals with awareness of goals in other domains of their lives.

  • Targeting to help them identify their perfect client.

  • Time management strategies to ensure they spend their day focused on important activities that will help them achieve success.

  • Strategizing to help identify suitable advocates, mentors and supporters in their professional networks which will enable them to focus on the work itself.

  • Envisioning and strategizing to clarify marketing approaches and goals.

  • Identify opportunities for professional growth and development.

 

Benefits and Outcomes

While the results of each coaching engagement differs, there are some consistencies in the results that our clients achieve. These include:

  • Clarity about their short and long-term business goals visions.

  • Improved sense of balance between work and their personal lives.

  • Greater sense of control of their calendar.

  • Working with clients who are a great fit for their businesses.

  • Enhanced confidence and enjoyment by having a clearer perspective on the longer-term direction for their business

 

 

Illustrative Client Vignette*

Background

Peter left his job as a IT manager at a telecommunications company to start a technology consulting business. He was excited about the work but overwhelmed at the prospect of marketing and working in isolation. While he had one major client win, he was beginning to worry about where his next client would come from.

Approach

I began the coaching process with Peter by helping him clarify what made him unique - in essence, his brand. Next, we identified his perfect client targets based on his past successes. We then explore marketing strategies and channels, including helping him develop his "2 minute pitch" to communicate his brand to others. We partnered to design his "perfect day" in terms of activities and tasks so as to help him focus on core strategic issues. Finally, we identified necessary support he needed to avoid isolation and self-care practices to maintain his energy and focus.

Results

Peter is thriving in his new business and is actively taking focused actions to attract new clients.


* The facts of this case have been generalized from several clients in order to maintain confidentiality.


Relevant Qualifications

Our coaches bring a variety of educational and organizational coaching experience that make us well suited to coach leaders in organizations. In particular, Kevin Nourse brings the following qualifications to his work as a coach:

  • Nearly 6 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur.

  • MA degree in Human Resource Development; MA degree in Human and Organization Systems.

  • Currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the Fielding Graduate Institute in Human and Organization Development.

  • Certification by the International Coach Federation as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC).

  • Training with the Coaches Training Institute and Coach University.

  • Experience working with new free agents.

  • Founded a networking and support group for free agents in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, DC.