Today’s Guest – Vanessa Soto from The Side Passion Project
Many new coaches feel like they’re hiding a dirty secret – that they aren’t doing their coaching full time and still have a ‘day job’. Even if you class your emerging coaching business as your side passion initially, it’s hard not to feel like you’re somehow ‘not legit’.
It often feels like fraud – yet for most of us we don’t have the funds, momentum or confidence to take our business full time right from the start.
And, speaking as someone who DID quit their job to launch their coaching business 15 years ago – it doesn’t always end well (don’t worry, the second time I launched by business it went waaaaay better – in no small part because I gave myself the benefit of not relying on my coaching business to pay all of my bills for the first year – in other words, I ran it alongside my day job and gradually reduced my employed days until I could rely on my business income).
I’m a big fan of having a steady form of income when you’re first building your business (or enough in savings to keep you going for a few months). Yet this approach is at odds with the online ‘follow your dreams’, ‘jump and the universe will catch you’ messages.
And then there’s the ‘all or nothing’ mindset where the more traditional models of ‘success’ tend to focus on- whether that be having a six figure business or a fulfilling career in the corporate world.
But what if there was a third way? My guest today is a certified life coach who said ‘no’ to choosing between her successful career in marketing and her love of coaching and so decided she would do both.
In a binary world, Vanessa Soto has not only found her coaching business has thrived but that following her second career as a ‘side passion project’ has enhanced her corporate work, soul and wellbeing, allowing her to express herself in ways she’d never imaged before.
We site down and discuss her new venture – The Side Passion Project, where she interviews other people who’ve also found value in following their passion ‘on the side’. In doing so, she’s paving the way to starting a new conversation around success, and uncovered a world where people are refusing to settle for all or nothing and have grabbed the chance to have both.
This episode will really help you grow your expectations of yourself and create the reality you want.
In this episode with Vanessa Soto we talk about:
- Why there’s so much shame around taking side jobs while building your coaching business
- Why running a coaching business alongside your ‘day job’ can result in some beautiful results
- Why running your own business means you get to run it YOUR way – and choose the best pace and schedule for you.
- Why more and more people are refusing to choose between their ‘day jobs’ and their side passions – and are saying ‘why can’t I have both?’
- Why the binary idea of all or nothing in business is outdated and limiting
- How Vanessa has redefined the all or nothing paradigm for herself – and uncovered a world where others are unabashedly deciding to have both.
- How you can decide whether you want to build your coaching business fast or slow – and let go of any shame you may be carrying if you’re not at the magical ‘six figure dream business’.
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Marketing School community on Facebook
Vanessa’s website.
Vanessa Soto is a life coach and mentor who helps coaches and creative entrepreneurs build a fulfilling side business on top of a full-time life. A digital marketer by trade, Vanessa has worked with major brands and agencies for over 20 years. When she’s not coaching or producing digital ad campaigns, she’s busy blogging for the Huffington Post, solo parenting her teenager, keeping up with her Marketing School community on Facebook and collaborating with some of the most interesting people for The Side Passion Project. Do you or someone you know have a side project or side business story? Share it here. To learn more about mentorship with Vanessa, visit her website.
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