Do you want to find a way to free up your time and do more of what you love? Or learn how to improve or grow your business with less pressure and stress?
The solution is simple.
Use virtual business support for the tasks that you hate, don’t have the time or skills for, or would simply love someone else to do better. Leaving you to focus on what you do best – coaching your clients.
- Find out more about how virtual business support can work for you no matter what size your coaching business or how much help you need.
- Hear from two experts who are actively working to support CliftonStrengths® coaches – EtterOps in the USA and Just Ask Jill in the UK.
Together is better
When you run a small coaching business, it can feel like you have to carry it all. You’re the Founder, CEO, Administrator, IT Expert, Finance Manager, and HR all wrapped into one!
But while some of these tasks might fit naturally into your skillset, lots won’t. Instead, they’ll be diverting you away from your core interests. Or potentially holding you back from taking your coaching business to the next level.
So what if you delegated these tasks to a freelance virtual assistant or business support company?
Then you’d be able to:
- Devote much more of your time, energy and focus on coaching and connecting with clients;
- Lean on their expertise, often resulting in a better outcome;
- Share the load by partnering with someone who understands your needs;
- Adjust the scale according to your requirements and budget, enabling your business to expand with minimal overheads.
We’ve chatted to two individuals who are providing exactly this virtual business support for CliftonStrengths® coaches. Their stories – and their client’s testimonials – will give you a glimpse into how it all works, and how you might benefit from a similar set-up too…
Kelly Etter of EtterOps – San Diego, California, USA
“Strengths has changed my life” says Kelly – and she’s right, because it was after working with her sister (a CliftonStrengths® coach), and understanding much more about her own Strengths, that she made the leap to set up her own virtual admin business six years ago. Formerly a teacher, but struggling with burnout due to an overemphasis on her Empathy® and Responsibility® Strengths, she suddenly had the insights she needed to find the right balance in her life.
This experience, and witnessing the positive role coaches have in helping others, has led Kelly to not only infuse a culture of Strengths into her own business – but to actively seek out coaches as clients to help them increase their impact.
“The coaches I speak to often feel like they are reinventing the wheel every time they take on a new client and they’re exhausted by it. Many feel like they are in constant catch-up or survival mode. So I help them see that just because they can do something, doesn’t mean they should. I want them to rediscover their love of coaching and get back to doing what they care most about.”
A team of Virtual Business Partners
Kelly and her team of 10 now work with clients all over the USA and beyond, including many coaches. By describing themselves as Virtual Business Partners, they aim to truly live this out with their clients by seeing the work as “partnering” together rather than just task delegation.
“We focus on building quality, collaborative relationships with our clients, supported by detailed, proactive research into their business, pain points and potential areas of growth. My team is also structured around working to our Strengths, so with every client, we identify the best team member to help them out in the most efficient and effective way. I want everyone – me, our team, and our clients – to be working out of their sweet-spot!”
This understanding also places Kelly and her team in a great position to assist CliftonStrengths® coaches. Already experts in managing the Gallup Access process for clients, they’ve also recently all had training in preparing Cascade reports. “We’re now equipped to help our coaching clients streamline and automate their workshop preparation processes – and we’re thrilled to be able to offer Cascade as a brilliantly powerful tool for this.”
To find out more about the services Kelly and her team offer coaches, check out the EtterOps website
Hear from Caren, one of Kelly’s coach clients:
In 2021, I realized that the things I loved to do, coaching and facilitation, were being overshadowed by the administrative tasks that grew with an increased client base. So I asked myself “who is good at the things you are not?” – and connected with other coaches who were asking the same question. I learned of EtterOps and I now work with this amazing team. Their being good at what they do, has freed me up to do more of what I am good at.
Caren Leaf, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and Founder of Leaf Consulting
Jill Andrews of Just Ask Jill – Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK
Jill works with a range of small-business clients across the UK, providing virtual support for adhoc projects as well as regular tasks each week or month. However, it’s her work with Strengths coaches that holds a special place in her heart:
“It’s an area of work I’m thrilled to be able to support. I feel strongly about people being released to focus on what they’re best at – and being able to do that for coaches is a real privilege.”
“So I’ve helped my coaching clients with projects like website development, social media, copywriting and more. It’s been especially great to work with Richard here at Releasing Strengths, both supporting him with his blogs and newsletters, but also getting trained in Cascade to help clients produce their reports.”
“I’ve also learned much more about myself by working with a number of coaches. I can see how my Relator® Strength helps me establish a great working relationships. My Achiever® and Responsibility® Strengths help me deliver tasks not only on time, but to a high standard. While my Individualization® Strength means I don’t have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach – instead, my client and I figure out together the perfect way of working which plays to both of our skillsets and interests.”
Supporting the Cascade Community
“I’m very grateful for my coaching friend for “gossiping” about me to others in the Cascade network two years ago! It’s a wonderful community to connect into, and I’m excited about helping others get the most out of Cascade. I’ve witnessed how just asking for help, even with a simple task, results in such a positive impact on well-being, as well as business efficiency and reach – and I’d love more coaches to benefit from that.”
To find out more about the range of services Jill provides, check out the Just Ask Jill website
Hear from Richard, one of Jill’s coach clients:
Impressed how other coaches create wonderful newsletters, for me it was a real struggle to find the right words. Seeking help from virtual assistant Jill Andrews at Just Ask Jill, she was able to add her sparkle to my articles, making them more appealing. Now she is the main author for the editorials, including this one, saving me so much time and wasted energy. Her professionalism increases the quality of the newsletters, which I could have not achieved on my own. It was about finding the right trusted partners to help elevate my business for the global audience. Thank you, Jill.
Richard Sterry, Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and Founder of Releasing Strengths
More Information
CliftonStrengths®
After four decades of research, Gallup developed the StrengthsFinder® assessment to identify innate themes of talent. Investing in talents through coaching builds Strengths. Over 26 million people have taken the StrengthsFinder® assessment which is now called CliftonStrengths®. More information about the 34 themes of talent are available from Gallup®
Cascade Strengths reports
The Cascade Strengths reports are the creation of Releasing Strengths to enhance the Gallup reports. Thousands of coaches in over 60 countries benefit from the Cascade tool to deliver Strengths coaching with CliftonStrengths®. Releasing Strengths is based in the UK and was the first Licensed Partner with Gallup for a digital product.
