If you're in a helping profession like I am as a Life On Purpose Coach from time to time you may wonder if you're giving too much away and devaluing yourself and your services.

My coach, Mark Silver, recently address this in his article, When Is It Okay to Not Get Paid?

Since I figured there might be several other people who find themselves asking these types of questions, I wanted to point to Mark's article and also share my 'off the cuff' response which is below.

Hi Mark,
Great article and follow up discussion. Two points here:

1- I've moved from 'complimentary coaching sessions' to a 'coaching consultation,' and it's more than the phraseology for me.  the former is more of giving away my services to see if they like what I'm offering.  Free samples can be great but after awhile it begins to feel like everyone is sampling rather than sitting down for the full meal.

The latter is a time to determine if there's a good fit between the client and coach.  For me, that means we need 3 yes's.

1- The first yes is does the client feel that Life On Purpose Coaching is a fit for what they're looking for? How will they know.  I give them a sample of it. (This may be less than in my older days of comp sessions). I think it's because I've gotten better at digging in more deeply sooner.

2- Second yes, does my way and style of coaching a fit. I.E. would I be the best Life On Purpose Coach for them?  Again, they get a sense of that from the above sample.

3- Third, are they a fit for me? Are they the type of client I feel I can really serve and add value to their life.

If all three parts are yes, we almost invariably find a way to work together. If not, we don't and I often can refer them to someone that might be a better fit.

Point #2:  Ann and I have entered into a collaboration with www.trans4mind.com to offer free coaching through their web site. It's a fun experiment so far and I'm thoroughly enjoying it, plus I'm posting some of these on my blog which I feel is offering some value to the general blogosphere.  It feels right to do so at this point, and thanks to your article, I'll keep 'checking in' with my guidance so I'll know if there's a time to make a change with it.