Do you ever feel like building your life coaching business is like riding an endless colossol wave? (Think Jaws — that famed forty foot tube in Maui.) Yeah, you know what I mean. That monster lurking around waiting to rev up your sympathetic nervous system and give you spaghetti brain That’s overwhelm.

Life coaches notoriously get into overwhelm. But when you’re playing a big game, it’s natural to ride your growing edge. Still you don’t have to go looking for overwhelm around every corner.

The #1 cause of overwhelm is too much information coming in all at once. Information in is like an in breath. For your brain to work well, every in breath should follow with an out breath. So, what are you going to do with the info in that teleseminar you just went to? Feel how that satisfies your brain to integrate and use what you’ve learned. And don’t forget how much you already know. Maybe it’s time to synthesize some of the wisdom in your head into an article, a new product, your own teleseminar.

So, will you put down those four non-fiction books already? And limit your hours of web surfing! How about just one teleseminar this week? And do something with all those pearls of wisdom you picked up. Ahhh! That’s the way.

Designing (and delivering!) your own workshops and teleclasses is a great way to leverage your time, build credibility with your target market and expand into teaching and facilitation — two gateway skills.

If you’ve never designed an educational program before, it may seem like a major undertaking. The truth is — it’s easy! And you can model your program on workshops and teleclass you’ve experienced. Then, put your flair and finesse into it as you go.

What’s the difference between workshops and teleclass?

A workshop is a live event held in person. 
A teleclassis a workshop held on a telephone bridgeline.

One of the downsides to workshops is that the room rental and refreshments can run you several hundred dollars. Also you’ll spend more time delivering the program because of drive time and minor room set up, hello’s and goodbyes. On the other hand, the live meet and greet may help you make a stronger impression, if you’re good at networking.

If you’re just getting started, consider the teleclass option — there’s no overhead and the phone provides a nice buffer between you and your audience, while it also allows people from all over the world to participate. FreeConferencePro.com is a great free telebridge service.

Whether you’re doing a workshop or teleclass, the content can be almost identical with the exception of some tweaks that need to be made for conducting group interaction and exercises over the phone.

Consider building into the price a little one on one time with you. Once your clients have a taste of your expertise and your coaching, they will want more.

Here are Karyn’s expert tips for designing your program:

Tip # 1
Design a topic and key points that help solve your target markets top challenges.

The best way to find out what they need is to ask. Do your research! Without research, you may put in a lot of effort but not attract pre-qualified leads to your event that lead to 1:1 coaching or other sales.

(If this does happen, don’t give up, just tweak the event!)

Tip # 2
Create an extraordinary lesson plan.

Outline what order that you’ll present each key point, exercises and other ways to illustrate and help your audience integrate the learning.

Tip # 3
PRACTICE!!!

Practice running through your program. Allow for Q&A, short side tracks, attendees’ enthusiasm! Be sure you have not planned too much for the time frame you have. Nothing aggravates attendees more that if you start late and end late.

Consider giving a pilot program for free or half price. Be clear with your audience that you’re doing this in order to get their feedback. People love to have an impact on your design. And, if you word it right — “I’m offering my list this special pilot price…” — they’ll feel they got a deal just for knowing you.

Use their feedback to tweak your program for your full price audience.

And here’s Karyn’s bonus tips!

Test your pricing.

The biggest mistake most new facilitators make is pricing their program too low. A higher value is often perceived when the price is higher. Check those scarcity beliefs if you’re undervaluing your expertise!

On the other hand, you must be sure that your topic is something that will draw for the price you set. This all comes back to Tip # 1 and the research you do about your target market’s top challenges and end goals. If you can help them solve problems, make more money, find more time or let go of hassles, they’ll value you and your program.

Handle learning expectations upfront.

Every adult comes with their own educational history, learning style and expectations. Sometimes it’s harder to satisfy adults. Ask them what they are hoping to get out of this class at the start. Then do your best to provide that.

Sometimes, you may need to say that there won’t be time to cover certain topics. That will help them feel heard and you can often guide them to other classes, products or 1:1 coaching to answer their inquiries. You’ll clear what is floating around in their heads so they can truly focus and everyone’s expectations will be met.

Get started now!

It’s too easy to put off starting your own workshop or teleclass month after month and even year after year. You lose out on a great revenue booster and your prospects miss out on a way to build a relationship with you that could lead to long term loyalty and great satisfaction.

This past weekend I was at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado. The headliner was KT Tunstall — one of my faves. This particular lyric of hers came through in a new way for me:

You’ve got me wonderin’ why I am underneath this big ol’ sky stoppin’ the love from gettin’ in.

I got to thinking about coaches — my favorite people. They have so much to give and do so much good in the world. But often they forget to let the love in. Hey, I understand because I forget sometimes too!

So… kings and queens of empowerment, shuck the glass half empty story and get this — you are enough and there is enough! The Universe is pouring it’s abundance out to you. Open up to receive it.