Quarter One // The Board Exam
The year started out with intensity. I had just wrapped up a whirlwind 50 coaching sessions in 21 days as part of my application to take the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaches exam.
The need to quickly hold so many sessions inspired a new promotional idea: 20-for-20 sessions. These 20-minute sessions were sold for $20 each (about 70% off my usual hourly rate) and, in addition to completing my application, they gave me a big revenue boost at the end of 2022.
I took the exam in March, found out I passed in April, and started exploring what opportunities this new certification could afford me. But the experience I found most useful was the crash course in networking and marketing that was built into applying for the exam!
Since then I've offered promotional rounds of 20-for-20 sessions two more times and learned more about how I can best use this type of marketing to grow my business.
Quarter 2 // Partnerships
In the first half of the year a partnered with a new wellness spa for their grand opening, provided a workshop to an organization that serves women entrepreneurs, and designed a 'speed coaching' event for an apartment community. These were all new types of engagements for me and I hope to continue to grow similar partnerships in the future.
I especially enjoyed the speed coaching event because of the number of people I met and was able to quickly introduce to coaching for greater self-awareness and wellness progression.
My marketing guru and graphic designer Mary Grace (@ofgrace on Instagram) and I had a blast developing content plans and studying the impact of each post. I highly recommend contracting her for your own business needs. I'm spoiled by working with her because she so frequently understands my thoughts and intentions before I finish explaining them. It's easy and uplifting to create alongside Mary Grace!
Quarter 3 // Self-Care
I love to learn, so it's like giving a gift to myself to continue my professional education whenever possible. This time it was by taking an advanced coaching course to sharpen my skills and receive precise feedback from master-level coaches.
The experience was made unforgettable by the relationships forged with classmates over six months of coursework. Since then I've been creating and designing programs with a couple of classmates which we hope will reach underserved groups with the many benefits of wellness coaching.
Ahead of my birthday in August, I made a running plan to celebrate movement and life as I completed my 33rd year. It was very challenging and felt great to accomplish the goal of running 33 miles over 7 days.
Frequent visits to the Art Institute of Chicago and walks with friends were also key to my personal wellness during this season. I was filled up by the creativity of others even as I poured out creative support to my family, friends, and clients.
Quarter 4 // At Capacity
The year wrapped up even more intensely than it began. I've had the privilege of coaching with OpenSeat (openseat.me) which is a new nonprofit organization that partners with schools to bring coaching to young students.
We work to support greater social-emotional wellness alongside school counselors and social workers. It's been an honor to do this work!
I also picked up some business consulting work providing operations and administrative support. This was the type of work I enjoyed doing before I started coaching. It has been fun to revisit it and helpful to round out revenue for the year.
Juggling three areas of work has meant having a very full schedule and it's a true test of our family routines and my own self-care! So far, I think we're managing well and learning to rest even more, trusting that each day's completed work is enough.
Your Turn!
How was your year? Let me know in the comments something you lived or learned in 2023. Or shoot me an email to catch up at rebeccadanaecortes@gmail.com.
Hope to chat soon!
Rebecca Danae 💕