Alumni Spotlight – Connie Holmes

Hello, and thank you for reading this message today. My hope with being featured in this communication is to provide insight, ideas, and motivation to be confident in your business. I completed my LPI certification in May 2018 with Sharon Good. I really enjoyed my time with LPI and am still in contact with several of my former classmates.

I am the owner of BU2BFULL, Inc. and am a certified life and health coach and certified hypnotherapist. I started with life coaching, then became a certified hypnotherapist in December 2018. I added hypnotherapy to my business to offer another resource for my clients. In September 2020 I became a certified health coach. Something to consider: have “a few legs under your stool” so that you have a wider array of resources to offer your clients, as well as multiple streams of income.

My company name came from the desire to also communicate my beliefs and what I want to communicate with the world. That is: be you to be full. I purposely spelled it the way I did (BU2BFULL) so, if read or spoken quickly it could resemble “beautiful.” Choosing a company name is very personal and intentional, and I highly recommend polling people to get feedback and additional input. The deeper message with my company name is to remind people that, even if they are working to change aspects of their life, they are still beautiful as they are right now, just desiring to make their future self even better! Something to consider: when purchasing your website URL and matching email, consider also securing your name. I have noticed that as coaches get more widely known, they may eventually transition their company name to their personal name. Specifically, when I first started I created www.bu2bfull.com and cholmes@bu2bfull.com. When it came time to renew my domain name, I added www.conniejoholmes.com and cholmes@conniejoholmes.com so that when and if I move to my personal, full name in the future, I am ready to go. I still use bu2bfull and it simply redirects to conniejoholmes.

My business philosophy is to work with the whole person (mind, body and spirit) because it is your whole self that shows up in all areas of your life (home, heart and career). As a life and health coach, hypnotherapist, and person with 30 years of management and leadership experience in the corporate world, I am well equipped to support the whole person. Something to consider: having a philosophy is important as it can quickly identify your approach and your offerings. Also, always strive to work with the root issue rather than a band-aid approach. Your client will have a better outcome and you will be more fulfilled as the coach.

My practice includes:

1. One-on-one coaching. I do this in-person, via Zoom or over the phone. Even hypnotherapy can be done via Zoom!
2. Workshops and retreats. I have held these at small hotel banquet rooms, my own home (I am fortunate that I have a private area in my home, with its own entrance door, to hold these), and have rented a large meeting room at a co-op work space location. I have typically held these as full day retreats. Something to consider: NEVER create the program before it is sold! Have a very solid outline of what you will offer and use that to advertise and tell the participant what their outcomes will be, but sell it before you create it.  Simply have a registration cut off date a couple of weeks before the start so you can finalize the program. If you have a solid outline and clear outcomes, you will be able to create the course materials in time.
3. Small business training. I have worked with small businesses (hair salons and a veterinary clinic) to provide a variety of trainings to the employees. These have ranged from how to work with different personalities; mindfulness mastery; goal setting; and budgeting. With one of these businesses I was able to help the owner identify her company values. With values identified, I assisted her with carrying them through everything she does: job postings, interviewing new employees, performance reviews, business advertising, and much more. Something to consider: This is a great example of how you are known for one thing (i.e., your niche) but then you can introduce your other skill sets once they trust you and see your talents.
4. Online classes. I am in the process of promoting one right now to be held as an 8-week course via Zoom. I plan to record parts of the online class and accompanying modules so that I can repackage and promote as a self-learning webinar. This way, I do the work once yet have another offering to clients and source of revenue for my business. When COVID-19 first appeared and our country faced the shelter-in-place, I held a 4-week online course titled, “How to remain positive, productive and empowered during uncertain times” and priced it very reasonable as a way to give-back. From doing that, two of the attendees became clients and one of them introduced me to a friend who also became a client. Something to consider: Always look for ways to repurpose and repackage what you have already created. Also, if your classes are not well-attended at the start, do not give up as it takes time to create awareness, interest and then participation. Trust that it will grow!
5. FREE monthly meet-ups via Zoom. Very similar to the above I desire to find ways to give back. I host these once a month for 90 minutes and don’t prepare too much because they typically turn into an open sharing and Q&A related to my subject matter, which is how to build confidence. I find that in an open sharing environment such as this that people learn from each other with the open dialogue. So far I have gained one paying client from doing this. Although not my original intention for holding them, it is definitely a plus! Something to consider: Always give value to everything you do and give back when you can.

Marketing myself is honestly the area I like the least with my business. I am soon going to hire a virtual assistant to help me with this because I am not very good at it. It is also filled with a lot of “I don’t know what I don’t know” areas, so I guarantee I am missing a lot of opportunities. This is one business tactic that I wish I did much sooner. When you first start off, you do hesitate to spend too much money until you have a regular stream of income coming in. However, you have to spend money to make money. When you hire professionals, they know things you don’t and can get you results. Something to consider: THIS is exactly why people would hire us for coaching, so don’t overthink and question for too long about hiring a professional yourself. Please know that I say this with much love and respect because I wish I took my own advice much sooner!

I think one of the biggest struggles we all have or had is deciding on our pricing. I believe most of us (myself included) started with the belief that we needed to set our prices low enough so we can get clients. Very admirable, but very limiting and putting our mindset into one of lack. A few points to consider when determining your pricing:

1. What is the average rate for your area of the country?
2. What services do you offer, how do you stand out?
3. What is the value and outcome that working with you will provide the client?
4. Do you offer programs and packages?
5. Think in terms of selling the OUTCOME to the client and not in hourly rates.
6. Remember that your clients need to have “skin in the game” and paying a higher price point will help ensure their readiness and desire to change, two things that are imperative for a successful outcome!
7. Lastly, you want to give your all to a client, not only during the session, but in your preparation and follow-up. You are better able to do that when you are seeing 3 clients a day versus 8 and ending up with the same amount of income at the end of the day. So much in life is about energy!

Something to consider: Develop a program that connects to your niche. When you hold free consultations, have three different levels within your program so you can offer different price points. The price is determined by the number of sessions you offer and additional resources you provide for each package level.

Lastly, if you have ever thought about writing a book – do it! There are so many online courses right now that can support you. I just took www.twelveweekbook.com to write and publish my first book and highly recommend it! Writing a book provides another source of income, gives your business even more credibility, and can open doors for you. As an example, in the one month since publishing my book, I have already been offered this opportunity to share my story with all of you, will be on a confidence podcast later this year, have been a guest on a blog talk radio show, and have been asked to be one of eight speakers at a global hypnosis summit next year!  And, believe it or not, this has been with very little outreach on my part so far.

My book is titled, “Be YOU to be Full: Learn the Art of Self-Acceptance for a Life of Confidence and Fulfillment” and can be found on Amazon. I was lucky in that my book title was essentially the same as my company name and is a great reflection of my coaching philosophy, includes a lot of what I have guided my clients through, and a great introduction to who I am as a person and a potential coach for the reader.

If you want to stay in contact, I can be found on my website, Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, and YouTube. I wish all of you the absolute best in your career. There is nothing better in this world than helping and supporting others. Congratulations!