Our main objective here at the National Coach Academy is to enable aspiring coaches to reach their full professional potential. One of the most effective ways to educate students about the world of coaching is by offering them a window into the world of real, practicing coaches and showing them all the different ways coaches make a difference in the lives of their clients.
We hope today’s interview adds another insightful glimpse into the dynamic world of coaching.
Today we are interviewing Nichole Carlson. Nichole is a Business and Relationship Coach based in Austin, Texas.
NCA: Can you describe your coaching practice and the kinds of clients you typically work with?
Nichole: I am a mindset and manifest coach. I help creators, visionaries and mission-driven entrepreneurs create more money in their business and manifest their soulmate relationship.
I typically work with clients who have established businesses and who are either having issues increasing their income or manifesting their soulmate relationship.
NCA: What initially got you interested in this career path and what kind of degree or certifications did you need to complete, if any?
Nichole: I started coaching people in weight loss because I love fitness and am very good at helping people with understanding food and fitness. I eventually felt a call to coach in business, money mindset and then in relationships.
I have a degree in Family Science and my NLP certification, but I didn’t need either to start my business and that’s not the knowledge I typically draw from when coaching my clients. What I have learned from and what helps my clients the most is my own past experience. I’ve been where they are. I’ve had a failed marriage. I’ve had money mindset issues and have been homeless. I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression. And I’ve been in a place in my life where I should have been happy and grateful but I wasn’t living a soul-led life.
And I’ve been able to turn ALL of that around. I’ve created a life I love from following my heart. I’ve created a business that is in alignment with me and I’m making money from working with soulmate clients. I’ve manifested my future husband.
NCA: What is the most rewarding part of your career?
Nichole: The most rewarding part of my career is seeing people that have gone through depression or past trauma learn to find that inner peace and truly be happy. For example, I was working with a new client when he messaged me, “Nichole, I’ve been sitting here with a gun on my lap for 15 minutes.” We immediately got on a call and worked through it and within a month or two he was happy and sending me messages about how he deserves good things in his life and how he was saying yes to these things.
NCA: What is the most challenging aspect of the work that you do?
Nichole: The most challenging part has been getting my message out to as many people as possible – the marketing side. And although this has been the most challenging it has also allowed me to develop my message. When we first start marketing, it’s easy to say that we just want it to work, but there is definitely a refinement process that I have learned to appreciate.
NCA: Can you think of mentor who was most vital to your success as a coach? In what ways did this mentor help you to thrive in your career?
Nichole: In 2017 I joined a group coaching program with several other women and during that 6-week course I met 3 women who were also in the course growing their businesses. I created a mastermind group with the 4 of us to hold each other accountable and since that time we’ve talked nearly every day sharing mindset and strategy and really helping each other be the best version of ourselves. Without this peer support group, I would not have come as far as I have in the past 2 years.
A lot of solopreneurs think they are too busy to be in a group like this, but you become like the people you are around the most, so something like this is crucial to your success.
NCA: Finally, what advice would you give someone looking to get started in the career path that you chose?
Nichole: Know that having a successful business is about knowing who you are and following your heart in your business – not about the strategy. Work on your relationship with yourself and your money mindset first and your business will be stronger for it. This is counterintuitive to what we typically think but it’s really the only way that works.