Eps 45 - Developing her coaching and mindfulness brand with Lisa Hughes

" I allowed my previous work experience in the corporate world to become a platform, from which I could move into developing my training brand…" Step off slowly Before you ‘jump’ into starting your training business, it’s important to consider the reasons why you want to make this bold and ambitious move. Some people dislike the constraints of a ‘j-o-b’ and feel that taking the leap into starting their own training brand will turn everything around. So, before you feel tempted to ‘dive-in’, here are 6 basic questions to ask yourself: Are there benefits, which you are leaving behind and can you live without them? Do you really have to make a ‘break’ now or could you gently ‘transition’ instead? What would a strategic, clever (slow) exit plan from your corporate role look like? What is the ethical way to leverage your existing job to prepare you for success? What will you do to you keep your current professional relationships intact? Which skills can you ‘take’ with you or leverage to get your first pieces of work?   As Lisa tells us: “I think it’s really important, that if you have spent a long time in a particular field and have been quite successful in that field, that you ‘leverage’ it….” “Don’t just say ‘oh no, I don’t want to do that anymore because I am a coach now or I am a trainer now….”  “Well, actually, you can train in the things that you did really well and this allows people to see you in the same area…”   The key point is to ‘step-off’ on your time and to your agenda… not to ‘jump off’ or to be pushed out on the basis of some one else’s agenda. Make sense? Now listen to the full episode to learn more. Biggest takeaways for you today:  How working in marketing gave Lisa the skills to start her training brand How you can leave your current role in a way that sets you up for success How you can get onto the panel of training providers in corporate Why going to networking events is absolutely essential for you How Lisa has used MBSR in her portfolio of training services Why you need to build a network of other trainers to help you What Lisa learns from going to sales meetings with prospects How Lisa has survived the difficult years of starting her business Now listen to the rest of the episode to get the rest! Some helpful resources:  Lisa Hughes – Lisa’s professional profile on LinkedIN Irish Times Training – Delivering corporate training programmes in Dublin [IRL] CIPD – Chartered Institute of Professional Development [UK] EMCC – European Mentoring and Coaching Council [EU] Give & Take – Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant [Amazon] MBSR – Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction [Wiki] Oxford Mindfulness Centre – Mindfulness Research [UK] Positive Success Group – Executive Coaching provider in Dublin  [IRL]