Better Bolder Braver Frances Fogel, Cheerleader-in-Chief

Humans have been "trying to figure it all out" for a while now...



The most important thing about this podcast episode with highly qualified coach and excellent human, Vix Anderton, is that it comes at a time when so many could do with an injection of hope.



The balance of self-work and bigger picture system change are very alive for a lot of us right now.



But how can we mitigate the overwhelm? We are only human. We are but dust.



We recently ran a BBB Tools & Techniques workshop just for coaches (available on demand for BBB members) about 'Cyclical Living' with Vix. This podcast episode is about that subject... and so much more.



Recently, Vix - an ex-military, recovering perfectionist, has been thinking a lot about the importance of PURPOSE... or, indeed, the importance of not necessarily having one.



Her first book, Enough, is "an imperfect antidote to perfectionism". And now she is embarking on a second... listen to this episode to hear all about what she's cooking up. It's going to be another banger, no doubt.



Whilst arguably IMperfect, Vix's writing, which recently has been focused on themes such as "an alternative approach to discipline", NOT reaching your goals and "leaning into mystery" is pretty damn impressive/permissive/refreshing.



Earth yourself in a moment of realistic optimism and consider creating positive change - both individually and collectively - without a rigid plan.



P.S. If you want a pretty good idea of what perfect MIGHT look like, were there such a thing, do check out Vix's website - from the 'look and feel 'of it to the delightfully-to-the-point blog headlines, it's a great example of where coaching and marketing make magic happen.

Are you a coach who is really struggling to "put yourself" out there in the world?Is there a voice in your head (that perhaps harks back to your childhood) that is telling you that everything you need to produce has to be perfect before you share it?Are you convinced people are not interested? Scared of rejection? Worried about what people will think of you? Embarrassed about (being seen to want to be) taking centre stage?If you've read thus far, you are - what we call in the Better Bolder Braver community - "Problem Aware". YOU are not the problem... the problem is the hold up at your end. And the JUDGEMENT about that hold up!Please - give yourself a break. Put your feed up. And have a listen to our resident Mindfulness Coach, Alex "mindfulskills" Irving, sharing and caring all about what you - as a fellow coach - can do to befriend yourself and your relationship with what we are calling here your "Inner Critic".The aim of the BBB game is to provide coaches with a safe and compassionate community within which we can play with, and practice, putting ourselves and our services out there with great clarity, confidence and joy.Alongside technical tools and strategies for doing good, ethical marketing, we hold each other kindly - and to account - for taking our goodness out to the world, so that we - and "Our People" can benefit from this work."We are not for everyone" - says Marketing Godfather, Seth Godin... and that's OK".

So many people that were looking to pivot their career thanks to Lockdown trained to become a coach.



And sadly, a significant number of them then got caught up with some seriously dubious marketing advice and services.



It is totally unsurprising, therefore, that Chelle Douglas (now safely in the BBB community) was one of them.



Having to think creatively about what to do when her previous line of work became unviable in its current format, Chelle trained with one of the most well-known coaching training providers. But when she qualified, she felt lost and unsure as to what she was supposed to do next to get her business and good name out there. A familiar story.



Along came a seemingly reliable marketing outfit that promised to show her how to get loads of clients pretty quickly and - you guessed it - to "10 x her income".



She followed all their (farcical) advice and... Nothing.



So they tried to get her to pay them even more money (her original investment being no less than £5K... she could have been in the BBB community for more than 8 years for that amount of money!)



But she's not bitter. Thankfully Chelle is a brilliant, intelligent, optimistic and resourceful coach and mother of three children. So she picked herself up, dusted herself off and carried on looking for a way to grow her coaching business.



She's very kindly offered up this candid account of what happened so as to help prevent other, newly qualified coaches from being brainwashed and taken advantage of.



Please do have a listen and kindly share this with fellow coaching students, your coaching training providers, accreditation bodies and anyone else that you think needs to steer clear or could do with feeling that they are not alone.



I am incredibly grateful to Chelle for her generosity here, and so happy she is now safely in the BBB community and working with me on a 121 basis.

The BBB Podcast is back!And here's the latest episode, which is all about... PODCASTING!



In this jovial chat - designed for any people-helpers out there looking to do good, ethical marketing - we give you a raw and ready-to-help rundown of how to go about doing podcasting properly, how to repurpose the content and be inspired by ideas about creating conversations with your "low hanging fruit".



BBB "in-house" podcasting and email marketing expert, Mark Steadman, is all about how to organically grow your followers and build great relationships with them across your podcast and/or email platforms.



This is a great episode to listen to if you are thinking about your ideal client and who you want to surround yourself with.Better Bolder Braver Tools & Techniques workshops are open to community members as well as all "people-helpers" more widely who are interested to join BBB and do good ethical marketing.



The corresponding podcast episodes are designed to compliment these workshops - with each host being a guest on the pod.If you are not a member of the BBB community and so missed the workshop, here's your opportunity to not miss out!



Register for our next Tools & Techniques workshop here

Nearly three years ago, BBB Community Mentor, Kieran Morris, joined a fledging community for coaches on a hunch that it might be just what he was looking for.



He'd already spent time and money on many of the magical silver bullet solutions out there – outsourcing his social media to an agency, trying out a 'bulletproof lead gen' strategy, signing up for those seminars that promise to teach you how to win at LinkedIn.



He truly hated them all – the strategies, not the people – and had rarely felt so little alignment with my own values and vision.



Finding Better Bolder Braver made it feel as though a door had been opened to another world for Kieran. He met people he loved, formed deep friendships, collaborated, get clearer on his coaching offering and became less attached to the idea of what it is to market oneself as a coach.



Kieran is now working for that very community as a Mentor, alongside his friend and fellow community old-timer, Ellie Lloyd-Jones.



Both felt that that they wanted to offer their expertise and lived experience back to the others with whom they share this inspriing space.



On this podcast episode, Kieran and Ellie chat about their plans for a new offering in the BBB community.



Their new sessions - 'Know Yourself' and 'Show Yourself' - will run alongside the existing curriculum, and will give space for members to explore the depth and breadth of what it is to put ourselves out there – emotionally and practically.

In this honest conversation, Simon and I tell you why Simon is leaving Better Bolder Braver, and what exciting things are up next for them and also for the BBB community, which continues to thrive. I announce three big bits of news for the future of BBB and, together, Simon and I look back on what has been a remarkable and very rewarding journey having built this community together.

This is an exciting moment for us both, apart and together!