April wrapped up my time with my first client ever. She had been a client of mine since August and now our client-coach relationship is most certainly a friendship.
Jolyn and I connected on Instagram last summer and I believe our first DM conversation may have been about the high cost of rental cars last summer haha. See, Jolyn was a travel/mom blogger without her own business when we first started to chat. She was burnt out from her full time job (working 80hr weeks) when we first connected.
I posted a Reel that called out the fact that, “a blog is not a business” and it resonated with her. She had quit her full time program director job and wanted something different, something that was her own. But she didn’t quite know what that looked like at the time.
Related: A Blog is Not a Business: Learning the Hard Truth
She took a chance on me and hired me as her coach. She trusted in herself and my expertise. She knew I was new to coaching, but she valued my insight and was ready to make a change. And I was honored she had chosen me.
I was sweating bullets before our first call! I had notes ready and was fully prepared but also nervous AF that we would have nothing to talk about. What if we ran out of things to say?! What if we sat awkwardly for 60 minutes on a Zoom call staring blankly at each other with nothing to talk about. Before the call, I cleaned my entire apartment and washed the dish. You know, in case Jolyn could magically see the dirty dishes in my kitchen sink, through the computer screen.
I Superman-posed for a good five minutes before logging into our first call because posing like Superman when you need a quick boost of confidence, is said to help. So I always make sure to do this pose before important things.
But within minutes of logging into the call, all was well! We were chatting like it was no big deal and hit it off immediately. I couldn’t tell you what was said on that call now, but I know we connected instantly. I remember jumping up out of my seat with excitement after we hung out. Shit! That was awesome! And THAT is my new job! THIS is my business! I loved every second!
The only photo of Jolyn and I together; Photo Courtesy of Ashley Cambron Photography
Jolyn was my idealist of ideal clients. She was ready for change and wanted something different. She didn’t know exactly what that was but she was prepared to do the work in order to find out. Soon, she uncovered her story and found her business! We had brainstormed a few different ideas but I remember getting chills when Loss Matters was born. It’s Jolyn’s calling! It’s what she’s meant to do!
Three contracts later and Jolyn is coaching her own clients in loss, building a second consulting business and we just attended our first business retreat together! She’s a mom of three, ran a marathon, got two new dogs, shares her story beautifully online, and is crushing the life, business and content game.
Related: Always Be in the Room!
It has been an honor to watch Jolyn transform before my eyes. She accomplished more in nine months, than some people accomplish in years.
I am incredibly grateful to her for trusting in me, my expertise and my growing business. She believed in herself and had faith that I could give her the assist that she needed. And I believed in her and never had any doubt that her hard work, dedication, sarcasm, expertise and storytelling skills would launch her into being an entrepreneur.
While we may have had our last official call together, Jolyn and I are just getting started!
