3 Ways to Have More Fun & Bring More "YOU" to Your Coaching Business! | By Ruby McGuire

Being a business owner can make you feel as though you need to be super serious. You've gone from being a small cog in someone else's business to being top dog! It can feel high-pressure, but only if you let it.

Are you being too serious in your business?

These days everything is much more relaxed. Even CEO's of big companies rock up in jeans sometimes. Everything is much more informal. In the 1980's I'd have been going to work in a 'power suit', but nowadays anything goes - within reason. You can probably guess my age now...

Here are 3 simple ways you can mix things up to bring more creativity, fun and personality into your business

1. Lighten up a little!

If you check out my website you'll see it's not what you might expect from a traditional coach's website. I've brought some of my quirky personality into it - through my chatty copy (copy is the term for the words on your website), graphics and bright colours. People love my website - and it shows you don't need to worry about being different.

I also like to be chatty and fun with the things I share on Social Media, and for my Social Media profiles.

Finally, another place I love to add personality is my 'Out Of Office' reply. Here's what it says:

Oh shucks, you've missed me! I don't usually work Fridays or weekends. I am a Boundaries Queen and only check emails a couple of times a day. I am a workaholic though so I might surprise you and reply, you never know!
If you're getting this reply on Monday afternoon then it probably means I haven't had enough caffeine and forgotten to turn off my 'Out of Office' reply!
Want something to do? Check out my free Visibility Quiz - find out if you're a Visibility Lady, Countess, Princess or Queen (or of course a Lord, Count, Prince or King)! In the meantime, have a FABULOUS day!
PS - If you see me on Facebook or Pinterest that doesn't count so I will reply to you when I'm doing grown up important email stuff again! Wishing you fabulousness! Ruby

I've lost count of the number of lovely messages I've had over the years for doing things a little bit differently. Remember, people buy from YOU because they like YOU - so get creative and bring your personality into what you do. This will help bring in your dreamie clients.

Your Action: Review any content* that you're sharing. Consider your online profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, your website, blog and the social media posts you're sharing. Have you got stuck in the trap of being overly 'professional'? How could you be more creative and lighten up a little?

* Content is a fancy name for the things you share online to help people build a connection with you.

2. Be you! (both online and in person)

Much of our business presence is conveyed through the written word - whether it's your website, social media posts, newsletter or blog articles. It's important that when people work with you - or come across you online - that they get YOU, not a cardboard cutout version of who you think you should be.

One way to do this is to write in the same way as you talk. Having been in an HR role for 11 years prior to coaching and mentoring I have a tendency to get a bit serious, especially with my writing. So one thing I do is go back through my content when I'm finished writing, and 'Ruby-fy' it as one of my friends described it. Essentially I lighten the words up a bit and show the real me.

When I meet people I like to make them smile. I might give them a genuine compliment or drop a little bit of humour into a conversation. In fact I often start funny conversations in lifts (elevators) - my hubby thinks I'm crazy! I'm told my online presence matches my offline or "in-person" one. But it didn't always...

I learned this lesson the hard way in the early days of my business, when one of my mentors referred a client to me. In my head I thought this client would like me to be more professional - like my mentor. So I didn't inject too much fun into my sessions, and afterwards the client was disappointed. She said I was different online to how I was on our call.

Lesson learned: be you!

Action: Where do you need to (your name-fy) your content? Ask your friends to read some of your blog or social media posts. Do your friends think they sound like you? If not, try bringing more of your personality into your business and see what happens. You may be happily surprised at the results.

3. Play with your coaching tools/techniques/modalities

I have trained in a few different modalities over the years. I love some of the tools I've come across, and some not so much. For example, I learned a really lengthy NLP technique which I got amazing results with, but it bored the pants off me! I used to hate doing it, despite the transformation it created.

So, what I've done over the years is play with different techniques. I blend tools and exercises together to create results. I play and then test the outcomes. Now, what took me two and a half hours in a 'traditional' NLP coaching call now only takes me 45-60 minutes, which means I can help more people. More importantly, I love my new techniques and they're fun for me and my clients.

What this 'play' also does is help you stand out from the crowd - because what you're doing is different and unique.

Action: Do an audit of your tools and techniques. Which do you love - and not love so much? Get creative and consider how you could reinvent or blend these to create something unique to you?

Wrap-up

What I've realised is that when I have more fun in my business and stop being so flippin' serious, that's when I do my best work and get the best results. What about you?

So here's a quick recap of the 3 ways you can bring more fun into your business:

  1. Lighten up
  2. Be You - online and offline!
  3. Play with your coaching tools/techniques/modalities

Over to you ... How could you mix things up a bit to make your business feel more fun, for you and your clients?
Maybe this article sparked some other fun ideas for you. Let us know in the comments how you get on.

Finally, check out her Visibility Quiz, where you can find out just how visible you really are!

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Contributing Author:

Ruby McGuire is a Business & Mindset Queen. She's an Accredited Master Coach & Master Mentor with the IAPC&M, Trainer, Inspirational Speaker and Author of multiple books. She loves helping her clients step up and become leaders (aka Queens) of their businesses. She helps her clients develop their leadership and business skills, create a success mindset and attract dreamy clients. She is a Brit on a mission to live a simpler life without marketing on social media so that she can spend more time in her beautiful Scottish surroundings. You can find her at her pretty online home, over on her podcast show, Rock Your Fabulous Biz, and here where she shares her Mini Guide to Marketing Without Social Media. When she’s not working you’ll find her surrounded by books, making hand-made cards, and enjoying life with her hubby, little dog and chickens (usually with a Whittard Vanilla cappuccino in her hand)!

Learn more about Ruby & see all their articles here >>

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