I Maxed Out a Card for a Personal Coaching Session, and Only Got 42 Minutes of Her Time…

I was humiliated. And I felt awful about myself. How was I supposed to go back to my boyfriend and tell him that his faith in me, and the investment we made to fly to another state and pay for a hotel on top of the $5,000 we charged on a credit card was all for nothing?

It came to about $7,000 in total for the entire experience. It was supposed to have been an all day one-on-one coaching session with “Kira” (Not her real name). I had never even heard of her until my boyfriend introduced us at an event he spoke at. She and her husband are now extremely well known among business and entrepreneurial communities on a global level. People pay tens of thousands of dollars for time with them or tickets to any of their events, and I have personally experienced being shoulder-slammed by one woman among hundreds who was willing to trample me in order to get just one row closer to stage when she speaks.

But to me, about 8 years ago, she was just a super interesting person I met in the VIP room at an event and had a pleasant conversation with.

“Barb, you and Kira had a great connection. You have to invest in learning from her,” Dave told me later.

In this stage of my professional path I had a full time job and had published two books. My four kids were still young. Financially, I was barely squeezing by. Dave and I had our American Snippets podcast and wanted to build it into something bigger.

Five thousand dollars was a fortune to me. I was still new to the world of entrepreneurship and I had never invested that kind of money into anything. But the taste of possibilities and opportunities I’d never imagined were possible for me was enough to convince me that Dave was right.

Together, we hopped on Kira’s site and punched my credit card numbers in.

It was booked.

We booked our flights and hotel, covered the kids and pets, and off we went.

And from the moment the security guard came out to the parking lot because he’d been watching me on the monitors and could tell I was in need of guidance, I knew I was WAY out of my league.

Kira’s assistant silently confirmed this, looking my jeans, cowboy boots and frizzed out hair up and down with poorly concealed disapproval from the vantage point of her stilettos.

By the time I was face to face with Kira I was already regretting this decision. I had nothing to answer when she asked me what my goals were or my business plan or anything, really.

I had no real idea myself who or what I was, professionally. I had gone to a high level business woman hoping she would come down to my level and help me figure out what I wanted to do with my life. It was like having one shot to train with an Olympic athlete who is now a high performance coach and showing up 200 lbs overweight.

Kira was sweet and kind but I could tell she had no idea what to do with me. She was trying to be polite. It’s just that at her level she expected people to be ready, sharp, and to demonstrate a certain competence and professionalism.

Her eyes occasionally flitted behind me, to the window my back faced. I knew her assistant was checking in on her. Just when I managed to overcome all the nerves and was ready to zero in a bit, I felt the swoosh of air conditioning and heard the click of those stilettos with the assistant’s voice reminding Kira of her next appointment.

I checked my phone - it was exactly 42 minutes since Kira had walked into the room. This could not be it. I was supposed to have the full day! That’s what the website said.

I was speechless and they escorted me out with smiles and best wishes.

Kira offered to give me a ride to my hotel on her way out, but I was so humiliated and confused I wanted to run away from her as fast as I could.

I could not have been more ashamed and disheartened when I made it back to Dave, who was surprised I was back so soon. He masked his disappointment with encouragement and a hug, and we went home to begin making those credit card payments.

That could have been the end of it. But a couple weeks later, Kira texted me. She must have got my number from her assistant. “I’d love your feedback,” she said.

I figured if she was genuine enough to personally text me, she deserved a genuine response. And I gave her one. “I was humiliated,” I replied. “And I though I had more time with you.”

My phone rang a nanosecond later. It was Kira. The conversation we had then, the relationship formed, the opportunities I grabbed from the totality of the experience and investing in learning from her business have repaid that investment multiple times over.

We aren’t besties. We don’t chat regularly. But I can ping her anytime, and she fires right back at me. When I bump into her I get a warm hug. And I can trace where I am now as a professional author, ghostwriter, and co-author right back to those 42 minutes I spent with her.

The lessons didn’t arrive the way I imagined, but they were more powerful because I had to piece them together from my after-action review. The opportunities were not handed to me, but when I did the work and followed my instincts, they poured in.

Some people I share this story with think it was Kira’s responsibility to have screened me before accepting me as a client. I get that. I also understand she was new to coaching, herself, and has made the appropriate adjustments based on my feedback. One hour with her now costs way more than $5,000. Her new fees do the job of screening out clients who are not ready for that level of high performance coaching.

She has offered me insight any time I ask her for it. Sometimes I ping her just to say hello. But mostly I live in my world and she lives in hers.

I can say with certainty that those 42 minutes with her and the interaction with her since then played an enormous role in my new path. Since going all-in on writing last March, I have written three books for clients. I am about to begin work with my fourth client, whom I met as a direct result of Kira’s own business.

I will write at least four books in the span of one year, earning six figures doing what I love and spending time with incredible people in the process. I learn from each client as they trust me with their stories and to convey their expertise. I push myself and discover new strengths. I am in charge of my time, and success is mine to determine.

I get to be a part of amplifying the wisdom, grace, courage, and expertise of my clients as I send their stories out into the world to impact their readers and help them change their lives the way other sotires helped me change mine.

If you’ve read this far, you are the kind of person who commits to whatever you start. That’s half the battle. Maybe you are already super successful and fulfilled. But I guarantee there is something you still want to achieve.

Go do it.

Have a beautiful week,

—
Barb Allen
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