Lee: Well, hi there. Thank you so much for coming on the Coach with Clarity Podcast. I'm so thrilled to have you today.

Estrella: Thank you. I'm thrilled to be here. 

Lee: Why don't we kick things off by introducing you to everyone who's listening in today. So who are you and what kind of work do you do for the world?

Estrella: Okay, so I am Estrella Rogers. I'm actually born and raised here in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I am a licensed clinical social worker, a registered play therapist, as well as, I provide Christian counseling, but I'm also level two trained and I am in preparing rich, marriage family facilitator. So I'm bringing to the world basically, I just bring myself, I bring my tools, the things that I've learned, and just really trying to help my clients and families around me. And lastly, I am transitioning into relationship coaching. So that I'm really excited about and just kind of ready to get out there.

Lee: I'm excited for you, and not only am I always excited to speak to a fellow licensed clinical social worker, but you are just down the road from me. You're in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I'm in New Bern, North Carolina, we're practically neighbors. 

Estrella: Yes. 

Lee: And it also sounds like you bring a wealth of experience in therapy, and specifically relationship and couples counseling. So I can see how a transition into relationship coaching would be a very appropriate next step. So I'm curious what you would like to explore today during our time together.

Estrella: Okay, so with this transition, first of all, I'm going into full-time private practice now or practice in general. So I'm at a place of trying to figure out who do I need on my team. I don't mind investing, I'm okay with that, but I want to make sure that I invest in the correct people and resources to help me. So my confusion comes in because there is an overwhelming amount of coaches. So you have financial coaches, you have marketing coaches, you have regular business coaches, then their fee to coach coaches. So as I'm trying to really build my brand and really just figure out which way to go, I'm really trying to figure out, who do I need to invest in to be a part of my team?

Lee: Yes. So it really is kind of like, hashtag all the coaches. And it seems like whatever niche is there, there's a coach for it, which is fantastic because it means they're serving people who need help. But as a consumer, it can feel a little overwhelming. So it makes sense that you'd be at a point where you're trying to figure out, who do I need? What do I need? How do I invest? So what would be kind of the ideal outcome for you say, 30 minutes from now, when we're wrapping up our call?

Estrella: The ideal outcome would be to have some clarity on possibly this, who do I actually need to call? Again, where do I need to start?

Lee: Yes. Okay. So having a starting point, and also maybe knowing who if anyone you need to reach out to for support?

Estrella: Yes. 

Lee: Okay, and tell me why this is important to you.

Estrella: So this is very important because I want to be successful, but not only being successful, I want to definitely appear professional. And granted, and I am professional but I don't want to come off to the world as still trying to get myself together, even though I know that a part of the process, but I want to be together, so to speak. I definitely, like I said, want to be successful, if I'm going into this full time, I want to be able to truly give my all and I want to be able to really just help the people that need to be helped. But in order to do that, I feel like I do need to be in a place where I'm sure of myself and again, that the things that need to be in place are in place, even administratively. 

Lee: Yeah. So what I'm hearing in what you shared is that service and serving others is very important to you. And in order to do that, in order to put yourself out there, you want to make sure that you're presenting in a way where it's clear, you know, who you are, who you serve, what you do, there's a polished approach to it. And we want to make sure that we're going about it in a way that's going to lead to your success.

Estrella: Yeah, exactly.

Lee: I'm curious when we think about a successful business for you. What does that look like? What does success mean?

Estrella: So success means for me, one besides the financial piece of it, because I do have to have a financial success because of course, this is how we eat and this is how we live. So yes, that is a part of it but to be honest, I just want to do what I love, and actually be able to see people thrive and people change. When I look at it, there's a host of ideas that I have and things that I want to do. I want to be able to reach my goals and see those things actually happen. And so I mean, do you want to actual visual of what that looks like or just kind of like a…?

Lee: I'm all in, if you want to share your vision with me, I would love to hear it.

Estrella: I mean, so my vision is somewhat private practice, but I want to be, I want coaching, I want workshops, I want seminars, I want book writing, I want the whole, just kind of multiple streams of income. But again, doing what I love, I don't want to punch a clock for anyone. I want to be on a stage and talking to people about their marriages and their relationships and how we actually see those grow.

Lee: Okay, so I realize that the people who are listening right now can't see you, I have the luxury of seeing you because we're doing this on Zoom. I have to reflect back the energy that came to your face and the smile that just lit you up as you were talking about bringing this to life. And that yes, it's anchored in serving individuals, serving couples, talking about marriage, but the way you want to do that can surpass one on one and couples work. It can be writing the book, public speaking, groups, I mean, just scaling it however big you want. And that's really at the core of like your big picture vision. 

Estrella: Yes. 

Lee: Oh, all right. So this is so good. This is so good. And because you have such a clear vision, and it is so dynamic, and it has the capacity to impact so many people. It makes sense, then why now as we're getting going, you want to be intentional and thoughtful about this. So I'm curious, where should we begin with our conversation today? Well, would be the most helpful place to start.

Estrella: Wow. I think the most helpful place to start I guess, for me is really like where do I go from here? I guess that's my really thing. Like, I have been a part of things I know what I want to do. The issue is making sure that I'm on the right journey to get there the right path to get there. And again with the right people.

Lee: Yes. Okay. So let's talk about what it is you want to do, and let's kind of keep it to maybe the next six to twelve months. So if we were to think about where you want to be six to twelve months from now, what does that look like?

Estrella: Six to twelve months I am again, private practice, but relationship coaching. By that time I would have done at least three workshops. I am a seven principles workshop facilitator as well, so three workshops completed. I would like to have actual couples in my practice in regards to the relationship coaching. And really that's it, I just, I don't know, I just want to be working, I want to be doing it full time looking at possibly starting a membership. And actually, my book would be published, I do have a book as well, that is in the works of being published more of a journal, but that's been published. So really just actually doing the work in six to twelve months.

Lee: Yes. So we will have built a foundation for you and some processes so that you can be working with clients doing the workshops and getting your book out there.

Estrella: Yes.

Lee: Excellent. So one of the things that I've learned is that when we invest in people to help us in our business, we get the most bang for our buck when we are delegating tasks to them that are taking up a lot of our time but that aren't necessarily in what Gay Hendricks calls “our zone of genius”, right? Like the things that we are just like excelling at and even more so it really connects with our passion and our purpose. So I think that's where I'd love to start, I'd love to ask you, what are some of the things right now that are taking up a lot of your time, a lot of your energy, and don't fully align with your strengths and your passions? 

Estrella: Okay. Website design is one for sure, marketing, I guess it was a website design, definitely scheduling administrative tasks. And when I think about even like my Facebook presence, in a sense, so things of that nature. Finances, even trying to figure out what that looks like, in regards to finance. And then the last thing that I'm really kind of struggling with, I don't know if this gets delegated, but I definitely can find help, is like content, like so how you actually put this package together for said clients. So those are kind of where I am struggling in a sense or feeling like I'm all over the place.

L Yes. So I'm hearing administrative tasks, and maybe scheduling as a part of that, website design and getting your website up and ready for the world. And then also, maybe some content, I don't know if it's content development, or if it's kind of creating the overarching strategy so that you know what you're creating and when. Tell me a little bit more about that.

Estrella: So I think it's a couple of things. I think it's one when I go to like your, your portal, and I'm like, “oh, my gosh, this is amazing”. And then I go to the portal, and I'm like, “oh, let me see if I can do this”. No, that is not my lane at all. 

Lee: Got it. 

Estrella: So trying to figure out I guess, how to actually get the content physically somewhere if I'm going to put it in one place.

Lee: Yes. So more of a technical piece, then? Not actually creating the content. 

Estrella: Yeah. 

Lee: All right. So that actually could potentially work with the website and the website design, then it may be a separate person or a separate project, it could potentially be connected. So that's good to know. So of those things, which feels like the most pressing topic to explore getting some support around,

Estrella: I think for sure, in this moment, most likely is marketing and website design, because nobody will know that I'm here, if you don't have some sort of presence. 

Lee: That makes sense. That makes sense. And I will share with you my personal philosophy on websites, especially when we are first getting a business up and running. 

Estrella: Okay.

Lee: Well, there's two main reasons we have a website, right? One is to bring people into our business. So it's generating that new traffic generating new leads. But on the flip side, it's also where people go to verify who we are, if they've connected with us in another way. So they've been referred to us by a colleague, they found us on social media, they've listened to a podcast and hear you on it, they're then going to go to your website and verify you are who you say you are. That verification piece is the more common purpose I see for websites in the early stages of business. So we can worry about generating website traffic and bringing new people in down the road. But first, we want to make sure that we create a website, that is a reference point for people who are already starting to connect with you, and want to go deeper. So with that in mind, I'm a big fan of simplifying your website, and then growing it as you grow. So whether that is a simple one-page website, where it's your picture, and your name, and a lot about who you serve. So really making the website about the ideal client, and then letting them know, here's how you work with me, here's how you contact me. A simple one-page website is absolutely a great place to start. And then as you grow, you can add another page about your clients page, about your services, and so forth. We can build it out and I think there are many website designers who can help you do that and can help you scale your website as you grow. How are you feeling about creating the actual content the copy for your website?

Estrella: That is another thing that I struggle with. And I think the struggle from that is coming from my niche, and really having a clear picture. I know that I'm doing relationship coaching, and I know it's couples, but I have yet to pin down my actual, what’s the word I’m looking for? The reason why I'm seeing couples or the couples that I am…

Lee: Oh, like your ideal client, your avatar?

Estrella: Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, I'm still struggling with that, like, I know what I want to do. I know. So I think because of that I'm having difficulty with content that would even go on the website.

Lee: Yes. Okay. And I think you are spot on, I want to just kind of acknowledge your wisdom there, because it is going to be hard to write copy, if we're not clear on who we're writing it to. So step one, then may be getting clear on who your ideal client is. Step two, then may be taking a stab at writing some website copy for them. And, or, this could be a place where you do decide to invest in some support. There are copywriters out there who will do it for you. There are also copywriters out there who will partner with you. And it becomes more a done with you service so that you're almost co-writing the page and co-creating the copy together. So that's certainly something to keep in mind as well. But I do agree that really getting clear on who it is you most want to work with. Definitely step one in that process. Step two is doing the copy. And then step three may be looking at website design. And what I'm hearing from you is that's an area where you would want to bring in some support.

Estrella: Yes, for sure. 

Lee: Okay. How are you feeling about that in terms of a website-specific plan?

Estrella: I do like that. I didn't even know that copywriters existed. Oh, yes.

Lee: Yes, yes, yes.

Estrella: I have no idea. So definitely, I do feel good about that point.

Lee: Excellent. The thing about copywriting to is, again, there's a range of services, there are people who teach courses and sell products to help you write your own copy. So if you want to DIY it, but you want some support around that, that's out there for you. Then, of course, as I mentioned, there's people who will do it with you. And then there's people who will do it for you. And as you can guess, the more work you are doing probably the less of a financial investment, it will be because you're doing a lot of that work, versus if you hand it over to someone that may be more of a financial investment. And so that's something to consider as you're looking at your budget.

Estrella: Okay, thank you.

Lee: You're welcome. Alright, so what I'm thinking to I mean, there's this part of me that wants to just dive right into your ideal client, because I love doing that work. But fortunately, as soon as because you are a Coach with Clarity Member, we will have plenty of time to do that within the membership. I don't want to lose sight of your desired outcome for today, which is knowing kind of next steps and where you might want to invest your time, your energy and your financial resources moving forward. So are you cool if we stay on that track? 

Estrella: Yes.

Lee: Okay. So we've talked about the website, you mentioned marketing, as well tell me a little more about that.

Estrella: So just again, you know, the website is one thing, but I think with marketing, definitely, there are ways when you talk about just therapy, there's definitely ways to market, your practice and things of that nature. But with coaching, definitely not a lot of avenues are really, right now, I believe a lot of it is using social media. So I do want to make sure that when it comes to social media, that it looks professional, and that it looks appealing, I guess really is what it is, I want to make sure that it looks appealing because there are so many coaches out there. And so what makes them want to click on my link, and be a part of what I'm doing. 

Lee: Absolutely. So there are definitely times where it's appropriate to invest financially in your social media presence. Again, that can be on a wide range, there can be some DIY stuff. There's social media memberships out there that can help you create and schedule your content. One that I use and love is Andréa Jones’ Savvy Social School. She has been a past guest expert in the Coach with Clarity Membership. So you can definitely go watch her training in the archives, it's fantastic. But her membership is a fairly low cost investment but provides you not just with the templates and the designs for the actual social media posts, but so much good information and training about the strategy as well. So I will make sure that we have a link to that in the show notes in case anyone's interested in learning more about her approach. But that's more on kind of the DIY with a little bit of support. Then you could also consider the other end of the spectrum which is hiring a social media manager to do it for you and in fact in a couple of weeks on the podcast, we are going to be featuring my social media manager, Keegan Jennings of Collab House Digital, she is fantastic. And she's someone that can definitely help with cultivating and creating that social media, not just the image, but also the copy that goes with it. So again, we have resources on the whole spectrum, it really comes down to how much time you want to invest in creating the images, creating the copy, and all of that. One suggestion I will make, if I may, if that's okay, is, when we're thinking about marketing, it's so tempting to want to be everywhere and do everything. And I'm going to encourage you to just choose one platform to start with. And ideally, it's a platform that you yourself are comfortable with and use. But maybe even more importantly, it's a platform where your ideal clients are going to be regularly. So if you know your people are on Instagram, then let's really look at building out an Instagram strategy for you. If they’re Facebook, let's do it on Facebook, if they're TickTok, we'll do that. But let's really figure out where the best platform is for you to be showing up, and let's go all-in with that for a while. Down the road, if you want to add a second or even a third platform, we can look at repurposing content and how to do that. But as we're just kind of getting things going, let's really invest in one platform. How does that sound to you as we talk through it?

Estrella: That sounds a lot less overwhelming. Yes. 

Lee: Excellent. Excellent. I'm all about streamlining and simplifying when we can. 

Estrella: Yeah. 

Lee: And I suspect too, as you do the work to clarify who your ideal client is, it will also become more apparent which social media platform is going to be a best fit there. So it's okay, if we're not 100% certain on that right now, that will come as we do the work. 

Estrella: Okay. 

Lee: So how are you feeling about the website and the social media marketing piece?

Estrella: I definitely feel that gives me some clarity on, you know, at least a starting place of where I need to start and who I need to start with. And then kind of from there, of course, I make decisions off of that, but at least I have an idea of where I need to start. 

Lee: Excellent. Excellent.

Lee: So we've kind of talked about websites and marketing. I know you had mentioned admin and scheduling as another area. So tell me a little bit more about that.

Estrella: Yes. So with me doing both private practice and coaching, what I do notice is that I am overwhelmed, and will be overwhelmed. If I don't find someone to just number one, answer the phones, but not even answering just phones and scheduling, but more of like, just the tedious administrative things that come along with business. So when I think about even finding a space, that's stuff that takes time to actually go and find spaces to do workshops, or do things like that, and just really, again, the administrative task of it. And then looking at, do you hire a virtual assistant? Do you find someone in your area? Do I need someone locally to help me do this? And is this something that I really need to do right now? Do I do a website scheduler because there are ways that you can you know, just have this website do your scheduling. So I guess really just trying to figure out again, is this something that I need to invest in? Or is this something that I need to figure out and kind of do myself?

Lee: Yes. And the answer to that may reveal itself as you get out there and start doing it. I want to be clear, too, that we are talking about two separate practices here, the therapy practice and the coaching practice. So some of what you need might be more for the therapy practice, you may need someone to do your billing, to do your scheduling, to handle client intakes and the like, which could free up time for you to handle some of the more coaching oriented admin tasks. Or maybe it's vice versa, maybe you're outsourcing some of the coaching tasks so that you can do more of the admin work in your therapy practice. So for everyone who's listening, like we are talking about two businesses here, which in many ways can make it feel even more overwhelming. So that's totally understandable. When you think about how you want to work your schedules, tell me more about that. Like, for example, do you have certain days where you do therapy, certain days, where you do coaching? Is it all blended? What's going to work best for you?

Estrella: So my plan, to be very honest, is to work my way out of therapy into coaching. So my preference most likely is going to be maybe two or three days of therapy, and then starting with two days of coaching and then hopefully, like I said, working my way out of that, maybe my evenings will be more coaching. That's kind of what I'm thinking of, but I guess I feel like because I want to do coaching and coaching seems to be less scheduled, in a sense, where I'm not going to have appointment every I mean, you'll have an appointment, but it won't be like a 9, 10, 11, 12, you know, it won't be in that way. So I guess to start out with probably I would commit to like two days of coaching in regards to sessions. But of course, other work would have to be done probably daily, you know, administrative things and things like that. 

Lee: Yeah, I think you're probably right. I think this is a hypothesis to test. And what I would suggest then is, if you know that, let's just say hypothetically, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays, those are going to be your therapy days, Thursday, Fridays are your coaching days. This is hypothetical, but when we have kind of a time blocked arrangement like that, then on the coaching side of things, it makes it much easier to use a virtual scheduler. So whether it's something like Acuity or Calendly, or if you're using Dubsado, they have a scheduler embedded in there. But then what you can do is have your coaching sessions only available on Thursdays and Fridays, so that, you know, if you're going to do a coaching session, it's not going to interfere with your therapy days, because those days are blocked out on your calendar, they couldn't schedule on them even if they wanted to. That's something that even if you don't do it by day, let's say okay, Tuesday mornings are therapy and Tuesday afternoons are coaching, you could still set up your scheduler so that only Tuesday afternoons are available for coaching. So there's some wiggle room there, but I think for most coaches starting out a virtual schedule or something where your clients can go online and book. It's low cost. I mean, we're talking, I don't know, probably about $12 a month for that, and so it's going to make it more streamlined, you can link it with your payment processor, if you like. And then as we kind of build out, you can also have reminder emails that go out, all sorts of things. So you can really automate it, and it won't take too much time and it also won't take too much money. So I think especially as you're starting out, that kind of program may work well for you, provided that you can kind of time block and have areas that are devoted to your coaching. How does that sit with you?

Estrella: That sounds good. It does sit well, because I like the idea of, I'll say this, the main thing is just making sure that I keep them separate. And then so I really like the idea of doing like a Thursday, Friday or an afternoon or evening. So, one, mentally I can be in that space. So that's like one thing I want to make sure mentally I'm in the right space, but two that gives the opportunity for them to just block on those days or schedule those things so that I yes. 

Lee: Excellent, excellent. In terms of whether or not you need a virtual assistant, or a VA, again, that's something that is probably going to become more apparent as you get in and do the work. So if you're finding that you need support in finding locations for your workshops, or getting them scheduled, and if you're wanting to do workshops in real life versus online, then you may find a virtual assistant in Jacksonville or the surrounding area is important because they can scout locations, they can be the primary contact people with the people on site. So for something like that, if you're really envisioning that the in person approach is going to be what you want to focus on, then I can see how having a local VA would be helpful. And, or, if you're thinking of doing more workshops, webinars online using Zoom or a similar platform, then you may or may not need a local VA, that's someone who may be able to be online and support you in that way. It really depends on the type of business you want to grow and how you want to engage with your clients. So what are your thoughts about that? 

Estrella: It's funny when you say that, because it just kind of put me in this place, again, of remembering that coaching is not just here, where I’m at and location and that it's a lot broader. So you didn't purposely mean to go there but it put me in this place of now realizing that something I have to be comfortable with is actually doing online workshops and providing things online because of the fact that coaching allows you to be worldwide, it allows you to be all over the place and not just in this state, or in this city. 

Lee: It does, and as you are publishing your book, and getting on worldwide, public speaking stages, and so forth, your impact is going to grow, and you are going to be able to serve people worldwide. I like starting as we intend to continue. So knowing that is on the horizon for you, let's help you build an infrastructure now that will support that so that you are getting comfortable with doing things online.

Estrella: Yes, I agree.

Lee: And talk to me about this book. That's the one last piece we haven't quite gotten to yet. Tell me about this book. 

Estrella: Oh my gosh, it's funny because I just got the first edited copy of it. The book is actually a journal. It's called Prayers For My Husband. So it's actually a journal that I can use if I choose to use it in private coaching or just maybe something that people choose to use, but the book basically is a more spiritually based, Christian based book, but it's really just prayers and it guides the individual that's reading it to basically say their own prayers as well but it gives them a guide of how to do that, and how they want their husbands to grow. And you know, with God and things of that nature. So I'm excited.

Lee: I'm excited to and I can see how that would be such a perfect thing to tie into a workshop, or a webinar or a membership. I mean, I can really see how that book could lay the foundation for a lot of other revenue streams as well. So what are your plans for getting it out into the world?

Estrella: So I'm actually in the process of doing a book trailer for it. And so once we're done with that, and then my editor was helping me create some virtual book tours, and locations, and she actually has a podcast as well. So I'll be on her podcast also. So we've got some things lined up. Again, I was a little like, “Oh, my gosh, I can't believe this is happening”, but I did have like I said, I got my first copy of it. And so now just waiting for the book trail and everything to come out and prayerfully at the end of March. 

Lee: Excellent. 

Estrella: Oh, yeah. 

Lee: Well, I hope once you have information about that, you'll share that with me, and we'll make sure that we share it with everyone who's tuning in today, as well.

Estrella: I will, I'm excited. I'm really excited. And I'm just excited to see, you know where it goes. Like I said, it's more of a journal type. People get to kind of use it as they want to, on their own with me guiding. So I'm just really excited about that. 

Lee: I'm excited for you. So Estrella, what are your key takeaways from our time together?

Estrella: So my key takeaways are, number one, I want to figure out who I am going to be seeing. Okay, I think that is important. My ideal client, we'll talk about that later. But the main takeaway that I got, really is, I like the way we process my needs in regards to what I need from other individuals versus the things that I can do for myself. So I think I really just need to take a step back and say, What am I willing to put my time in? And what do I need to delegate? 

Lee: Yes. 

Estrella: Because what you taught me, which again, was something I didn't know, like, I didn't know, there were copywriters, I didn't know there were people I could actually work with, to do certain things. And I have found myself in the past, wasting a lot of time, doing certain things that I'm not the pro in. So just really figuring out what I want to delegate and what I want to spend time in.

Lee: Yes. And that will shift over time, too. I think a lot of coaches when they're first starting out, they are solopreneurs, they are wearing all of the hats and doing a lot of the things themselves. And then once revenue starts coming in, they're better positioned to pay for additional support and to delegate. And so that is something that will continue to expand as your business expands. But it's really good to know at the start, here's what I want to focus my time on, here are the activities that are going to be revenue generating. And then here are the actions and tasks that I can delegate out. So I'm so excited to hear that that was like a big takeaway today.

Estrella: Yeah, that was and then also, the other thing was, I don't have to have a whole complete website. Like I thought that was really helpful for me, because I'm looking at this whole big picture, and it's like, no, you just really need a page. So people know where to find you and that's really it. And so that was also helpful, because it makes it a lot less overwhelming and gives me a starting point.

Lee: Excellent. We're all about reducing overwhelm here, and the thing about the website is it will grow as you grow. And oh my goodness, if you could see some of my early incarnations, my website circa 2016? Oof, I mean, we all got to start somewhere. Bery different than the website I have now, but that's the point. As we grow, and as we get to know our clients better and ourselves better. And the work we want to do, our websites will reflect that. So let's start streamlined, simple, make it possible for your clients to connect with you and then build from there.

Estrella: Yes, I like that.

Lee: Thank you so much for coming on the show today, we covered so much. And I would love to close by inviting you to let the listeners know where they can learn more about you and the work that you do.

Estrella: So you can learn about me at www.withoutlimitscounseling.com, also at Estrella Coppin-Rogers on Facebook, and those are the two places that I am at this present time.

Lee: Excellent. We will have links to that in the show notes. And again, thank you so much for coming on the show this week.

Estrella: Thank you so much for having me.

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