1872 – The Power of One-on-One Coaching and Masterminds with Geoff Welch

Josh (00:00:05) - Hey there, thoughtful listener. Would you like consistent and predictable sales activity with no spam and no ads? I'll teach you step by step how to do this, particularly if you're an agency owner, consultant, coach, or B2B service provider. What I teach has worked for me for more than 15 years and has helped me create more than $10 million in revenue. Just head to up my influence. Com and watch my free class on how to create endless high ticket sales appointments. You can even chat with me live and I'll see and reply to your messages. Also, don't forget the thoughtful entrepreneur is always looking for guests. Go to up my influence. Com and click on podcast. We'd love to have you. With us right now. Geoff Welch Geoff, you are consultant and you are the owner of Geoff Welch Consulting. Your website is Geoff welch.com. That's Geoff with a G, by the way. Geoff, thank you so much for joining us.

Geoff (00:01:12) - Thank you. It's great to be here. Yeah that Geoff with a G is always a little bit tricky for folks.

Geoff (00:01:17) - So thank.

Josh (00:01:18) - You. So I should also point out that you are conversing and you are in Fairbanks Alaska. And to our audio listeners, Geoff's a drummer and he's got a mean drum kit behind him right now. So we were kind of we're late to getting on the interview because we started geeking out on all things music. But Geoff, I'd listen. I'd love to learn a bit more about your impact in the world, who you serve and what you do.

Geoff (00:01:41) - Yeah, yeah. So I work with small business owners, and I guess the cheeky answer to that is I help small business owners start treating their business like an employee. I don't really work with people who are at the startup phase, who are just starting out, or who are at the exit stage. I'm like a midlife small business owners, right? People who have have a business that works, but maybe starting to put them in a position where they work for their business more than their business works for them. And like when you think of an employee you think of, you would never hire someone to make your life more difficult, right? You you hire them to solve a problem for you.

Geoff (00:02:16) - And I think that when when we think about our business in a similar way, when we think about what is this supposed to be doing for me, what is it supposed to provide me? What am I getting out of this transaction? It helps to change and reshape the way that we feel about the overwhelm. So that's the cheeky way of looking at it. The brass tacks are I help small business owners who feel overwhelmed. I help them clarify what they really want from their business, and then we can work on developing the systems and the documentation and the the the delegation practices to help them get what they want from their business, as opposed to feeling like it's, you know, Boston them around.

Josh (00:02:53) - Care a little bit about kind of the typical cycle of how a founder or visionary starts a business, and how that business may or may not be giving them what they want, even if there are a few years into their journey. what's typically going on there? Yeah.

Geoff (00:03:11) - Yeah. So what I experience is there are a lot of people who are very focused on the building part, right? They like the idea of making something, or maybe there's some part of their business that they really love.

Geoff (00:03:21) - So I'm generally working with owner operators, people that want to have a relationship with their business. They're not just starting a business so that it can make money for them, and they go off and do something else. They want to participate. Right. And so what that looks like very often is they have these, these great ideas of how they're going to fit into their business. And then they realize there are 10,000 other things that go into running a business. employee management, the accounting stuff, like all these other things that creep in and they start kind of punching you in the face and saying, I want your attention. And we don't get to do the thing that we really wanted to do in our business, or we don't get to have the experience with our business that we hope for. And so what is generally happening is over a few years that creeps in, and all of a sudden you look up one day and you're like, I think I work for this place, like, I don't.

Geoff (00:04:11) - I had a job before or I didn't want to have a job, and now that's exactly what I feel like I do. I'm working for this entity as opposed to saying, this thing works for me. This is this. We talked about Rage Against the Machine and the preshow and and like that attitude of like, no, no, no, no, no, no, you work for me. I don't work for you. I think having a little bit of that swagger really helps to, to reframe what in the world this business is supposed to be doing for us.

Josh (00:04:42) - Yeah, that really is interesting. And I think, you know, sometimes what we accept just because we think, well, that's just the way the business gets done, maybe or maybe not. And, you know, I find that one of the best things that we can do is surround ourselves with with folks that have been down the path a little bit to help get us perspective, because it is it's very easy to get stuck in a rut, and I'm sure you see a lot of that.

Geoff (00:05:08) - Oh, absolutely. Well, and so and my primary work is with this consultancy, but I have a printing company here in Fairbanks, Alaska that I've owned for 20 years. So I'm also coming at this from not just saying, hey, I noticed this and this is something it's useful. I've been right here, like I have experienced all of these things. And and so I definitely recognize how easy it is to if you are not clearly focused on an outcome. Here is what I want. Right? I believe in another interview you had talked about climbing a mountain like you don't do that on accident. Right. And and if you're going to go climb a mountain, you probably hit the gym and you do all sorts of things to prepare yourself. Or you go on hikes, you're doing work to prepare yourself. And when you have clarity about I know what the goal is, I'm going to climb this mountain that work your relationship with the pain and suffering of that work totally changes when you don't know when it's just I go to the gym because I'm supposed to go to the gym.

Geoff (00:06:03) - That's why people stop going to the gym. And that's why people, you know, they don't do the work that's necessary or in a business context, they feel overwhelmed by the things that are happening in their business because they don't have context for the pain it's going to it's going to be painful. Some days your business is not always just going to be rainbows and butterflies, but when you know what it's doing for you, when you know what that outcome for you is, it changes your context for that suffering completely.

Josh (00:06:28) - Yeah, what a great analogy. You're right. You know, I think, you know, having done a couple of long distance, you know, some marathons. It was not fun at times in training for it. But that's just the reality. Like if you truly want this and you truly want to create this, this is part of the journey. And I think sometimes, you know, we look at some of, you know, the stress or the disappointments, you know, maybe with some negative experiences, maybe we lose a high value team member, maybe we have a bad situation with an employee or, you know, employee or a client or something like that, or just something doesn't go, well, all part of the journey.

Josh (00:07:06) - And it's I know it's going to be said than done. Right? I know what that raw emotion feels like. but every time Geoff, I get punched in the face, like you were complimenting some of our systems, you know, in our podcast, set up. Listen, there's a trail of blood mile long of mistakes that we've made in order to fine tune. And hopefully, I think as long as we have this attitude of, you know, all these things will strengthen me, all of these things make me smarter and wiser so that I can, you know, truly make the impact in the world as I desire to do.

Geoff (00:07:40) - Yeah. And when you when you have that clarity, it's easier to iterate, right? It's easier to look at that trail of blood and say, that was for something. And it's not just like, oh my goodness, I'm bleeding everywhere, right? You have a a direction. Focus that makes all of the rest of it make sense. And so, so part of what we do is building structures and really documenting processes so that you don't have to be in the middle of some of the things that like, I have clients who the number one thing is just like, I hate this part of my job, I don't want to do this anymore.

Geoff (00:08:12) - And one, they're looking for permission. Can I not do this anymore? Right. And the other thing is like, how in the world what do I need to do in order to enable that? Right. And so once we get them keyed into the idea that there are things that they can let go if they have the right systems and documentation in place like that documentation is an iterative process. And then it feels like overwhelming, like, oh, I have to know exactly how to document everything in my business. Clearly. No, you've got to put something down on paper or in a Google doc or whatever. Right. And we're moving them through this process of saying, when you know what the outcome is, you can iterate on all the things in between, right? You can try something and then when that works or doesn't work, you try something else. But knowing what you want, it is amazing to me how many people I work with that they're coming in saying, I'm not sure what I'm even allowed to want for my business, right? Money is the obvious thing, and I think, I mean, if we had another half an hour, 45 minutes, we could talk about why I think that money is not the end point, that money is a tool that gets us something beyond it.

Geoff (00:09:18) - If money is your answer, there's something beyond that. That's the real answer, right? That's a that's a step along the path. But, it's it's almost like they've never even thought to consider, wait, I get to get something very specific out of this. That's for me, as opposed to just starting a business and hoping that it works because we're so focused on viability. Right. Will the business even work? I'm working with people who are at a point where it's like, yes, it works now how do I make it work for me?

Josh (00:09:49) - Yes, yes, I love that. You know, one thing I'm sure that you encounter as well, I've been kind of thinking about this a bit is, you know, especially those of us who are visionaries and those of us who are pretty highly motivated and driven, like we have very high expectations for ourselves. And I wonder, I mean, I can speak for myself sometimes. I'm certainly way more forgiving of other people than I am of myself.

Josh (00:10:15) - Right? Even just like I had a call that went over and there was no way for me to get out like this just happened, right? And it was just really no good way for me to get off the call early. And I needed to be there for a client. And that bumped up against another call. I tried to message it, you know, just simple stuff. Like I tried to message them. They didn't get my message. So then they were disappointed that I didn't show up for their call. And it's like, you know, and it was so hard for me, not hard for me, but like my emotional what was bubbling up was disappointment in myself. Oh, if I had only dot dot dot dot if I had done this. And so it's like, I'm not giving myself the grace that I probably should be giving myself. I'm sure you encounter this from time to time.

Geoff (00:11:02) - Oh, 100%. And as an extension of that. So one working with lots of different clients, part of the beauty is that you get to hear the same stories over and over again, right? Everybody thinks that they're special, but it's like the same three themes for everybody.

Geoff (00:11:15) - It's like all the same kind of stuff, you know? But we it feels different for us because it's ours. Right. And so to be able to recognize. Yeah. No, I know for other people that are dealing with exactly what you're dealing with, to be able to communicate that to someone is really beneficial. But I also think for high performers and people who expect a lot out of themselves like I do, therefore I am good, right I do. Therefore, everything is okay to get to a point of saying, man, what if I don't want to do this or do this as much? I just want to do part of it. Is it okay to do less and still, you know, be okay, right? like, I'm not a therapist, so I'm not here for, like, counseling specifically, but working with someone as they're navigating the idea of your relationship with your business, assuming your business is viable. And there there are ways to make these things work, right.

Geoff (00:12:10) - You don't get to just get to not do what parts of your business and just cross your fingers and hope that it still works. You got to have things in place, right? But to let go of some of those things, that can be really challenging for people because the accomplishment, the doing part of it can be such a big marker for how we feel about ourselves. And there comes a time in life when you're like, but there's other stuff. There's other stuff. I want to not do that so I can do something else, or I want to be able to just be, that's a gift. We got to give it to ourselves, though, sometimes.

Josh (00:12:44) - Yeah. Geoff, tell me about how you work with your clients, what that looks like. And again, I want to share. so your website is Geoff. Welcome to our friend. That's listening. Just kind of click around in the show notes. You can find Geoff's direct link there and you can join us and follow along.

Josh (00:12:58) - But tell me a bit about your engagement with your clients.

Geoff (00:13:02) - Yeah. So it's primarily one on one phone. Coaching phone is my favorite way to go. I think that there is enough connection, that there is some real depth, but enough separation as well that people don't feel intimidated by this person staring at them while they're, you know, working on some of these things. So it is 1 to 1 coaching almost exclusively. I've got a mastermind that is launching, next month. It's like a group based thing, but my favorite. And I feel like the most effective work that I do is 1 to 1 with clients over the phone, where we are really identifying what is it that they want from their business, what systems do we need to help them build in order for that to materialize? How can they document those systems? And what about the delegation? Part of it is accessible to them. Maybe it's challenging to them. Some people are. They don't have the systems to delegate and some people don't have the will to delegate.

Geoff (00:13:54) - And so we're working on like, how do they let go? How do they find the ability to say, I can let someone else take on this part of my business so that I don't have to? So yeah, it's 1 to 1 coaching. It's really simple, really accessible and very conversational. I mean, it's very much like this kind of thing. We're going to have a conversation about where they're at and what they need.

Josh (00:14:16) - Yeah. You also have a podcast and is it called Your Business is Not Your boss. Yes, sir. I love it. So you could to our friends, you can kind of search around in your podcast app and find lots of great episodes. There's one in particular that I can't wait to listen to. Your employees can't read your mind? Yeah, I know, sometimes I know I can't be alone on this, right? Visionaries, you know, or people that are just constantly like, they see it, they've got a vision, they've got ideas, you know, and it's got to be quite something for a team to keep up with me.

Josh (00:14:52) - For example. Oh yeah. But sometimes, you know, I would say not sometimes, quite often. You know, I know I really struggle with really explaining all of the minutia. And I think that, you know, it can be really easy for a team or a culture, someone to say, well, I'm just going to check the boxes here, and I don't want to, you know, it's like, I don't want to upset them. Like I'm thinking of a conversation I want to have right now, you know, with someone on my team. And I know that I'm dropping the ball on being fully explicit and and they likely don't want to make decisions that are going to be contrary to what I ask. So they're just trying to be safe, I think, on fulfillment. But oftentimes the stress for me is I look at the finished product and they go, oh, that is like you should, you know, in my mind I'm like thinking like, that's not right. Right.

Josh (00:15:43) - You know that that's not right. Like, you know, so like and again, you know, I think that that can be solved a couple of different ways. Number one, me being more explicit, number two, me just communicating better. Hey, when something doesn't add up to you, like.

Speaker 3 (00:15:58) - Please.

Josh (00:15:59) - Push back on that or ask a question rather than just, you know, guess at that. Because then I look at it and I'm like, oh boy, they that's

Geoff (00:16:10) - Yeah. What I encounter very often is as a business owner, like, this brain doesn't shut off. It's not always the best brain, but it never turns off. So by the time I'm presenting something to my team, I've thought about it for days or weeks. I said, yeah, now I'm they're just getting it, like barfed out on them, you know? And it's like to be able to recognize, okay, they don't know anything about this. How do I communicate clearly where I'm at, what my expectations are, because I'm distilling two weeks of thought into this meeting here.

Josh (00:16:39) - Oh, always. Always. Yeah. I've been processing this for a long time. Yeah, yeah, I totally get it. And I could, I could think of some analogies to I think that would be relevant. So so Geoff Welch, listen, what a great conversation your website is. Geoff, welcome to a friend that's listening. And they've also enjoyed this conversation. What would you recommend they do next.

Geoff (00:17:00) - Yeah. So if they just go to Geoff Welch. Com and again that's g o f welch.com/playbook I have an anti overwhelm playbook. That is a great way to get started really changing your relationship with your business today. It's short it's simple. It's not the whole thing. But it will get you started. And it's a great way for them to connect and maybe learn a little more about how I could help them as well.

Josh (00:17:26) - I love it. Geoff Welch, again, thank you so much for joining us. again, you're the owner of Geoff Welch Consulting, and your website once again is Geoff welch.com.

Josh (00:17:35) - Geoff thank you.

Geoff (00:17:36) - Thank you Josh have a great day.

Josh (00:17:43) - Thanks for listening to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit up my influence. Comment. Guest. If you're a listener, I'd love to shout out your business to our whole audience for free. You can do that by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or join our Listener Facebook group. Just search for the Thoughtful Entrepreneur and Facebook. I'd love, even if you just stop by to say hi, I'd love to meet you. We believe that every person has a message that can positively impact the world. We love our community who listens and shares our program every day. Together, we are empowering one another as thoughtful entrepreneurs. Hit subscribe so that tomorrow morning. That's right. Seven days a week you are going to be inspired and motivated to succeed. I promise to bring positivity and inspiration to you for around 15 minutes each day. Thanks for listening and thank you for being a part of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur movement.