If you build it they will come!

 The last few months have been quite a ride for ICF Chicago. We held our first World Café in December 2012 with 50+ people in attendance and then again in March 2013 in a virtual teleconference format. The rich content and ideas that were harvested by our coaching community have been gathered and can now be accessed on our website from the Coaching Resources page: http://icf-chicago.org/coaching-resources.cfm. 

You’ve heard the phrase “If you build it they will come”? Well we are seeing this happen for ICF Chicago regarding the ideas and hopes for this community…they have been voiced and shared and the opportunities are now opening up to make some of these ideas a reality.

Stay tuned for the upcoming events (only a glimpse of what is coming down the pike):

·        Tonight! ICF MRAC presents FREE Midwest regional event for coaches w/ CCEUs – March 26:

o       Click here for details, to register and get call-in info: http://icfmidwestmarch2013.eventbrite.com

·        ICF Midwest Coach Recognition Awards – nominations due by April 1!

o       Know an exceptional coach? Nominate them! http://icf-midwest.com/nominate

·        Our April 8 Chapter Meeting is on business development with Michael Charest!

o       Register here: http://www.icf-chicago.org/meetings-events.cfm?id=114 

·        International Coaching Week - May 20-26:

o       ICFC will be celebrating this week with some creative opportunities for Chicagoland coaches…details coming soon!

o       In the mean time here is some info from ICF on how you might utilize this week to promote coaching, your coaching practice, and getting the word out about coaching to your community: http://www.coachfederation.org/coachingweek/

·        SHRM Conference and Exposition - June 16-19:

o       Just days after our March World Café 2.0, we were notified that ICF Global will have a booth at this conference at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, and that we were invited to participate…details coming soon!

·        Midwest Regional Conference – June 20-22:

o       Registration opens on April 1! http://icf-midwest.com

Keep checking out our website for more great events and opportunities being added!

Have a wonderful April and hope to see you on the 8^th for our monthly chapter meeting!

With Anticipation,

Wendy Balman, MA, CPCC, ACC

ICF Chicago President

I recently had a big AHA moment as I read ILCT’s March 1^st blog, Opportunity or Distraction, written by Sabrina Schleicher, PhD, PCC, BCC. http://lifecoachtraining.com/index.php/blog/

Working with manufacturing operations consultants over the years, I am very familiar with the using the Ideal Factory strategy, why had I not translated that to my coaching business strategy? In hindsight, it makes perfect sense for me to create my Ideal Client and then build my practice around that, and yet that is not what I have done. “Narrowing my focus and conserving my energy” is a brilliant tactic and one I can actually accomplish if I make my next business decision based on my Ideal Client. Working smarter is what Sabrina is proposing and I am all for that!

Next, I googled ideal client and found a great worksheet to use. http://www.themicronichemethod.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Ideal-Client-Worksheet-4.pdf  [It even includes a bad client checklist.]

If you have an experience with creating the Ideal Client for your coaching practice, please let us know how that is working for or against your own personal opportunities or distractions.

Respectfully,
Marggie Paris, LSW, BCC

Web Watch 7

Navigating Our Social Media World   (March 1, 2013 blog written by Kristen Kelly who handles social media for ICF.)    http://icfheadquarters.blogspot.com/

The more serious I become about my coaching career, the more I realize that I need to completely embrace the new business model that incorporates social media as an important marketing tool. This article is a quick read, covers all the “tools” out there and helped me see where I still have work to do in order to really “nurture” my clients. “Providing quality content on a consistent basis” sounds simple enough, but really requires some “big picture” thinking and planning, planning and executing on a schedule. This really got me thinking about the value of a social media coach and what that investment could add, long-term, to my business.  Kelly also emphasizes the importance of connecting with responders to your sites and tweets. She also provides good, solid statistics that are hard to ignore…social media is a critical business tool that is here to stay.

I am going to spend some time this weekend enhancing my LinkedIn site, doing what Kelly suggests. What struck me was the commitment required to use these tools effectively and that requires a strategy for managing them.  I definitely see how hiring a social media coach would be an excellent next step! 

Respectfully,
Marggie Paris, LSW, BCC