52. Coaching. One Path To Living A Location Independent Lifestyle Full Of Freedom with Carly Hill

When I started my private practice, I was like, this is my therapy practice, right? And I'm doing therapy. But I was working with non clinical problems. My clients were not meeting criteria for a diagnosis. I was helping. I was basically a women empowerment coach. And so when I finally started to educate myself and understand the nuances and the differences, I was like, oh my gosh, like I'm coaching.

Hi, I'm Kim Tolson and I'm the traveling therapist. It's my passion to teach therapists how to navigate online private practices and multiple income streams so they can travel the world. I'm a digital nomad with a virtual insurance based private therapy practice and a multi six figure coaching business. I'm obsessed with entrepreneurship and developing tools that can help therapists live an adventurous lifestyle. In this podcast, I will discuss my journey as a digital nomad. I'll chat with other traveling therapists and help you navigate the complexities of running an online insurance based practice. I'm so glad to have you with me on this journey.

Hi everybody.

Welcome back to another episode of the Traveling Therapist podcast. I'm here with Carly Hill today. I'm really excited to bring her to you guys. She's not my traditional guest, but I actually met with her for meet and greet coffee, virtual coffee the other day and we were talking and thought it'd be great to just have her on the podcast too. So I brought her on. She was a therapist and has totally transitioned to the coaching world. So I think, I think that's fun to bring guests like that sometimes so you guys can see that that type of life is possible too. So, Carly, I'd love if you would introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about yourself and then let's, let's talk about how to help traveling therapists do this other stuff they want to coaching or other income streams and, and go from there.

Totally. Yeah. Thanks for having me. I'm really excited. Yeah. So, gosh, where do I start? Yes, I am a csw and when I started my private practice, I really struggled in the marketing world, niching down a lot of things that can be foreign to us therapist. So, you know, luckily I was full by word of mouth, but I was still on a massive mission to figure it out and crack the code, if you will. So I started investing and I took it programs and marketing and business things and one thing led to another and now I'm in this world of, you know, teaching other therapists and filling in the gaps for them so they can be seen for their gifts and just have the luxury of, of freedom and flexibility and security. So yes, was a therapist now full time business coach. Helping therapists at coaching. Yeah. So they too can, you know, do whatever they want while also transforming lives. So that's kind of my, my story in a nutshell. Yeah. Kind of what I'm doing now. Yeah, I love that.

I love, I love hearing about like entrepreneurial that decide they want to go a different way with it. You know, I think it's amazing. So this is a question I get constantly. So what, like what is the difference in coaching and therapy and what should therapists know if they want to branch out into the coaching world?

Yes. Yeah. It's a question where if you Google it, you're gonna go down a rabbit hole and be even more confused. Because truly there's so many nuances, it is a little bit confusing. So the easiest definition and what I always preach on is coaching is working with non clinical, more situational, less severe problems. And therapy is working with medical necessity. They're meeting DSM criteria. So that's the easiest definition because there is so many nuances like, oh, well, therapy focuses on the past and coaching focuses on the present and the future. And it's just, you know, for many of your listeners, I'm sure maybe they are know both a coach and a therapist. And we just know that's kind of bs like you totally talk about the past and the present and the future in all relationships. So that's the easiest definition I can give is really, is the client meeting criteria for a diagnosis or not? And then there is a lot of things to consider when you are adding coaching to make sure you're protecting your license. So yeah, rule of thumb is keep everything separate. Separate business entities, separate bank accounts. You know, you have to have a coaching contract that has mandated reporting and informed consent. So we're still held to our ethics, separate marketing, so that our clients aren't confused because it can be confusing for us to understand. So we can only imagine how confusing it is for clients. And although the stigma has gotten better, some people can only fathom getting help under the umbrella of coaching when in reality they're meeting DSM criteria and they really need therapy. So I always say too, you know, the client doesn't get to decide that we get to put on our clinical hat and discern are they a fit for our therapy practice or are they a fit for our coaching practice? Or if we just have a coaching practice, do we need to refer out? Right, right.

Absolutely. So how would you help a therapist like me? Let's say I came to you and said, okay, I think I want to do coaching. Like, maybe I'm tired of seeing clients or I just want to branch out. Where do you start with somebody that maybe thinks they want to do this, but they don't even know where to start or what idea to form the coaching around? Do you have any advice around that? Yeah.

Yeah. So I do a lot of education. Like, I go live once a week inside my free Facebook group, the Therapist to Coach Accelerator.

Okay.

And I just provide a lot of education around this because sometimes that's really what it takes to even know that you want to take the first step is like, what does this world actually look like and what are the differences? And if I did want to do this, how hard is it to protect my license? And is it going to be so much work to have two of everything? And, you know, you kind of need the information to even make the decision. So I would say that's typically where I start, is just providing a bunch of free value and encouraging my audience to soak that in so they can make a decision. But if they do want to start, I would recommend they come through my Therapist to Coach accelerator program, which is literally the A to Z from like filing your business license to creating your signature coaching program. So that's my M.O. you can add coaching and you can just see clients one to one. Right. But the point of being a traveling therapist or a coach and having freedom and security and flexibility is like getting to the point where you can leverage your time and get paid for your knowledge. So, like, not only when you're busted in the chair. So we got to create a signature coaching program and tap into the one to many model and make it evergreen, meaning it just lives on forever. And so that's what I help therapists do. So first, usually niching down because it is so hard.

Yeah.

When you want to say your heart wants to save the world. Right. You're afraid it's going to be your niche for forever. Or we're just used to solving every problem under the sun, so we just morph into whoever's in front of us. So niching down can be, you know, difficult. Luckily, it's one of my favorite things to help with. But then creating marketing and selling and doing your signature coaching program, and what does that actually look like? Right. So that's what a lot of my. My program is itself, walking them through that process. Yeah.

Cause I think a lot of people don't realize it can be tough. I mean, it can Be tough to like start a brand, you know, get your name out there, market yourself and then you have to like, keep this momentum going and you have to build a list and it's just, it can be, it's not easy a lot of times. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it can be worth it. You know, that's what I always talk about in this podcast is, you know, I travel, I want to get to these places and maybe do a couple one to ones in the mornings, a couple days a week. But then I want to be able to go out and explore and you know, check out the restaurants and the parks and the beaches and, you know, I don't want to have to worry about this one to one, like 40 clients a week kind of stuff, you know?

Right. Yeah. Leveraged income, it's really what I like to call it instead of just completely passive income because you're putting your work into it, but then it's paying off. It's worth it, like you said, you know.

Yeah.

And it doesn't take a really long time to create a signature coaching program. Like a lot of therapists, they're already doing coaching. Oftentimes they're working with non clinical problems, but they're still limiting themselves, but they're repeating themselves often. So wouldn't it be so cool to just package it into like a PowerPoint side and record yourself teaching it and then get paid to even create that. Like take a couple people through a beta round and then you have this asset in your business that allows you to just travel and explore, like you said. Right? Yeah, yeah. Totally worth it in my opinion.

Yeah. And then, you know, create, you know, multiple various versions of that same stuff and to sell it in different formats, you know, there's, there's so much you can do with that stuff. I don't think people really realize that, you know, therapists, you know, like you said, it's like, oh my God, you know, I see clients with chronic PTSD that had childhood sexual abuse. I literally talk about this exact same bit of content five times a week, you know, so if you find yourself doing that, you know, you've got, you've got a signature course that you can create or a webinar or something that you can create for people.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And just impact more lives too. That was the most agonizing piece for me when I was struggling in my private practice was the itch to impact more lives, like, and not in a cocky way, but I knew that the skills I had were good and if people just knew about Me, I could transform their lives and they didn't know about me because I didn't know how to market myself properly and be seen. Yeah. So, yeah. Ah, I get it. I love that.

Yeah. I hope everybody listening can, can hear that there are ways to go above this one to one model and you don't have to be trapped and you can have location independence and more freedom and you know, the coaching thing. Maybe we could talk about that. Like, what made you go from like no clients to totally coaching like that, that mentality and how you went through that decision process. Because it does, it does give you a little more freedom around, like, you don't have to deal with insurance companies or, you know, licensure restrictions, you know, that sort of thing if you decide to go that way with, with your skills and talents. So I wonder, like, what was that process like for you to decide to leave the therapy type practice altogether?

Yeah. So I was one of the therapists who was doing coaching and didn't realize it sounds like such a silly realization, like, oh my gosh, I'm not doing therapy. But we're so tied to our, our title. I feel like.

Yeah.

And we're therapists by trade. Right. So when I started my private practice, I was like, this is my therapy practice. Right. And I'm doing therapy. But I was working with non clinical problems. My clients were not meeting criteria for a diagnosis. I was helping. I was basically a women empowerment coach, helping them through major transitions in their life. But I was still limiting myself. And so when I finally started to educate myself and understand the nuances and the differences, I'm like, oh my gosh, like, I'm coaching.

Yeah.

So I'm not gonna hold myself, you know, in this box anymore. And at the same time, I was off on this mission to understand marketing and messaging and copywriting and niching and, you know, sales and all of the things that go into being seen for your guests. So it's really kind of the combination that led me to the business coaching piece. So first, you know, doing quote unquote therapy, but I was actually doing women empowerment coaching.

Yeah.

Moved into business coaching because of my own struggles and realizations where a lot of therapists are in this position too. Right. Or maybe they just want to start taking less, you know, severe cases. It's kind of a breath of fresh air sometimes. Right. So most of my clients, they love their private practice and they don't get rid of it, but their goal is to take some more situational, less severe problems and cut down their hours. In their private practice so they can have more free time, but they never really get rid of it.

Mm. Right.

It's possible to just run both and still have the freedom where a lot of people think, oh man, that's too much work, like two of everything. They think it would be the opposite of the path to freedom, but that's typically what I see happening. And then, yeah, signature coaching program kind of becomes their baby, if you will, and they're really leveraging their time and then they still see like the one to one clients in the morning, like you said, or however much they want. Really.

Yeah. And that's exactly what happened with me. You know, it was like I saw all these really intense PTSD EMDR clients, tons of them. And you know, slowly I pared it down. It's like, gosh, I just don't even want an intense caseload like that anymore. Right. I've got five clients. I see. And all the rest is, you know, my coaching and other income streams and all that stuff. But those five, you know, I still like to do that clinical work with them, but they're like easy clients, you know, they're not like these real intense, you know, suicidal ideation type things I need to worry about anymore, you know, so. Yeah, absolutely. Yep. So I hear what you say if.

You'Re traveling a lot. Yeah, Right. Like you're not traditional brick and mortar and it can be a little bit scary to take on those super, you know, high risk clients when you're not in close, you know, proximity to them.

Yep, absolutely. Yep.

Yeah.

So the other thing I hear a lot with coaching or people that want to get into like multiple income streams, they worry about like charging higher tickets, you know, like the higher ticket price versus, you know, why had these pro bono clients and, you know, my Highest rate was 125A session. How in the world am I going to go charge $500 for a course or $2,000 for a course? So how do you help people with that mindset piece? Because I literally hear that all the time. And then as somebody that charges for courses and a membership and all this stuff, at least once a month somebody emails me and says, how dare you charge this? You know, it's like other therapists, how dare you charge therapists for this content? You know, so there is this like, I don't know, mindset out there that you're not supposed to do this, that if you're trying to charge a ton of money to people, it's wrong, it's bad. You're supposed to work for agencies and you know, all this stuff, you know. So I just wonder how you help people like get past that mindset block. Because I see that just all the time. It's like there's no way I'm going to charge this much for a course or a signature course or something, you know.

Yeah.

How do you help people?

It's a loaded question. And I love how you said mindset shift. How do you help them get over this mindset shift? Because that's totally what it is. It really is. And one piece of it is kind of like the guilt like you said, or being wrong for doing this. And then the other piece is this disbelief that people will pay for it. Right. They don't think it's worth it themselves. They're like, there's no way, like they struggle to pay 150 bucks. How are they going to pay $2,000 for this course? So it is multifaceted. I think the first piece of feeling wrong. Right. It's like where taking advantage of someone who needs help. Right. And I just disagree. You're transforming their lives. First off, you can't even put a price tag on that. It's quite literally, you know, you just can't. Like there's. But we live in this 3D world so we have to put a price tag on it. But would it be worth 10 bucks a day for them to finally have X, Y and Z result in their life? Do the math and times it out. So that's a little mindset shift in itself. But the other piece of. I just don't think people are going to pay for it. You know, this comes down to creating a specifically curated bomb signature program. It's best in class. It would be a no brainer offer. You have to create that so the perceived value is high and so they're not going to get sticker shock when you tell them that it's $2,000 because it's bomb. It has everything that they need, all the deliverables, it has bonuses, it has guarantees. Right. So there's no risk for them.

Yeah.

So there's an art and a science to creating a bomb no brainer offer where it is so specifically curated for their population with their specific problem to get them to specific solution. So this is what we need when we're selling at a high ticket price. We can't just create any offer that would be good for anyone. People don't buy from generalists anyways. We know that. Right. I mean sometimes they do. But niching down and getting really Specific. And then the client, it's a win win. Right. Because they could go to therapy for 150 bucks for three years. Even if they're not meeting medical necessity, they could still go to one to one sessions for 150 bucks. And I think it's like $36,000 if you do math for three years. Or they could come into your specifically curated program for their population with their problem getting to solution and has everything they need and these bonuses and these guarantees for $3,000 and it's only three months, you're going to save them essentially three years of their life and thousands of thousands of dollars.

Right.

So it's also helping your clients see this mindset shift. So I guess what I want to say is it's possible people will pay for it. There's 7 billion people in this world. I always tell my clients, like, people are waiting and wishing for you. They're praying for you. People are waking up in the morning urgently and eagerly willing to pay you for your skills.

I love that.

Yeah.

Yeah. Even saying that affirmation to yourself every day. Yeah. Attracts that into your life. Yeah. If you're, if you're walking around saying, you know, nobody's going to want to buy this for me. You, you put that out there into the universe. Yeah.

No one will buy it. Right.

Nobody's going to pay for this. Yeah.

Yeah. Then that is totally what will happen.

That's right. Yeah. I love that.

And I think another thing too is I hear a lot of people, therapists think that coaching is going to be like this salesy thing. Right. And really, like when people say salesy, they mean slimy.

Yeah.

They don't want to be slimy. And I totally get that because we're agents of change. Like, we got this calling to transform people's life. Not everybody gets that. We don't have time to be slimy. And that's not our intention. So I really pride myself in that. Like, I have. I call it like the sacred solo line selling blueprint. And it's really just being seen for your gifts. But staying in integrity and remembering our why.

Yeah.

While we simultaneously close the sale at a high ticket price.

Yeah.

Is important. It can be both. But that's just something that comes up for people sometimes when they think coaching. They think, oh, it's gonna be slimy. Oh, yeah.

Because I don't know about you, but on Facebook at least once a week I get a DM that's like, hey, hey, Kim, how are you? And I'm like, oh, Lord, here We go, you know, they start with this friendly conversation. They try to they friend request you. And then they start with this. You know, there's a whole formula. It's almost like they've got a formula they're cutting and pasting into your inbox and it's just so slimy. And you know, about like three sentences in, they're going to start trying to sell you something or get you to join a group or something, you know, and it's just. Oh my gosh. Yeah. There's so much of that these days and it feels, it feels so slimy, you know?

Yeah, yeah. And there's a way to be genuine in that. Right. So, like, I do teach my clients how to create their money making, client getting Facebook groups, but there, it's a hub of like minded people who opted in to be there to listen to them, to provide value.

Yeah.

So like, even that can be intimidating sometimes for therapists. It's like, oh my gosh, you're asking me to go like live and be seen.

Yeah.

But when you're doing it because you have a Facebook group, right?

I've got three large Facebook groups. Yeah, yeah.

So when you're doing it in a community that you created, where people opted in to be into this world because they like the value that you're providing, it just puts a different spin on it.

Yeah.

You know.

Yes.

It's a community who wants the value from you.

Mm. Absolutely. And you know, if you're creating good engagement in your group, Facebook's going to show it to people that would be interested and that's going to bring more people to you instead of trying to do the slimy inbox invite thing.

Right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's. That's great. Because that slimy stuff just doesn't work anymore. Even though, like, oh, you know, it. You know, you get the sales emails that, the regular sales template that's like, you know, you'll be saving this much money and this much money and they're crossing out the totals and all that stuff. I used to do that too. But even that starts to feel slimy after a while. It's like, you know, sales tactics like that are just, I don't know, I just, I just don't feel like that's the way to, to keep your audience, you know, with that no, like, trust factor kind of thing.

So. Yeah, yeah. Huge on the no, like trust factor. Right. And people buy from people they trust. Right. And having genuine conversations with them, like, that's what equals conversions. Right? Yeah, yep. I get it.

So true. Yes. Well, I feel like I could just talk about this forever. I know, because I love this stuff. I'm obsessed with my business and entrepreneurship and all of that. But let's change the tone just a little bit. So you have. You've built this coaching business, and you have location, independence, and freedom, too. So I wonder, what do you do for travel? Like, how do you spend your time when you're traveling around and. And trying to have fun in life?

Yeah. So I live in South Florida. My husband and I like to go fishing a lot, and we go over to the Bahamas often, so tropical destinations are truly our favorite place. Give me some white sand and some clear water and some palm trees. We've gone to Trinidad and Tobago quite a few times for Carnival, so that's been fun. My friends joke like, you're gone every weekend, Carly. So even if we're just traveling around in Florida, but really, I told my dad was just visiting this past weekend. It's like, how's work going? I was like, I'm living the laptop lifestyle. And he just thought that was so funny because it's. It's a thing, you know, like living the laptop lifestyle. You just bring your work with you and, you know, you have the freedom to shut the laptop when you want, and you're just in this destination that you chose because you can. Yeah. So I love it. I love just being able to pick up and. And go whenever, wherever.

Yes.

And you just schedule your traveling times around your work hours. So you're at your destination when you need to open your laptop. Right?

Exactly. Yeah. As long as you have good WI fi, you're pretty much set.

That's true. Which is sometimes sketchy in the Bahamas.

But, yeah, that's true.

It's worked out. Yeah.

That's funny what you said about your dad, because my dad, like, every time I talk to him on the phone, he's like, where are you now? And I'll tell him. And he's like. I said, still don't understand how you're doing this. You're living in Airbnbs. I'm like, dad, it's not that complicated. We literally rent a place and we, you know, but he's baffled by this. This life we're living. So it's funny.

I know, but it's just. It's the way of our world these days. Right?

Just totally doable.

Yeah.

Yeah. So lucky. I love it. Well, I say luck, but we built this life for ourselves, you know, it's really gratitude.

Yeah. I have A little tarot card right here on my desk says gratitude. Like, I just ground myself in that every day. Yeah. Truly blessed. Yeah.

Well, thank you so much for talking about this topic that we just don't really talk about that much, you know, I really appreciate it.

Yeah.

Is there anything else I didn't ask you about that you think people should know about this, the coaching transition or if they want to do something like this?

I mean, I'm sure this is maybe got some therapist wheels spinning and spinning and they may have more questions. So, I mean, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I'm sure we could go on forever, but for anyone listening, just, you know, let them know that they can reach out to me. You guys can reach out to me. I'm here to answer any questions that you have.

Yeah.

And whether, you know, you're wanting to start your coaching business, you're scared to. You don't know what it's going to look like for you. Maybe you were like, me and you already doing coaching, but you're still limiting yourself. So, you know, I'm available on Instagram. They can find me. It's Carly Hill coaching. Okay. And then that Facebook group that I have where I provide, you know, free trainings once a week, I would say is probably where they would get the most benefit. And that's called therapist to coach accelerator.

Nice.

On Facebook.

Awesome. Thank you so much. So I have one last question.

Okay.

What's the coolest fish you've ever caught? I love to fish, and I've just recently. I've just recently got the fishing license and I've got a fishing pole and I'm going down to the. Because we're living in a beach town every month this winter in Florida. So, like, I've been trying, like, fish off the shore and stuff. So I'm just curious, like, what's the coolest fish you've ever got?

Okay. So I reeled in a 40 pound yellowfin tuna by myself because we were in a. Yeah, we were in a tuna competition. And to. To win the lady angler. I didn't win. I think I should have won. There's no way in hell that little girl, I mean, I'm little too, but reeled in that big tuna by herself because it was hard. Like, I worked out.

I couldn't imagine.

I almost gave up. I was almost like, tapped me out. But I reeled that baby in all by myself and it was, wow, exhilarating. Yeah. So that's the coolest fish I caught. The sharks are coming up, trying to get it right.

Oh, my gosh.

Rev the engine so the sharks would go away because we had to get it up before they take a chunk out of it. And then finally when you, like, gaff it and pull it on the boat and it's just a big celebration.

Oh, my gosh. That is so awesome. Oh, my gosh. How cool is that? That's amazing. Yeah.

Goals.

Life goals. Well, thanks so much, Carly. I hope you guys will go check her out. Of course. Everything will be in the show notes if you want to reach out to her. And thanks a lot, Carly.

Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me. This was fun. Thanks. Okay, bye. Bye.

Thank you so much for listening to the Traveling Therapist Podcast. For show notes, links, and downloads, head over to thetravelingtherapist.com where you'll be able to learn more about my journey, the courses I've created for you, and other exciting resources to make your dreams become a reality. If you've enjoyed this episode, please share with your Traveling Therapist friends. Subscribe to the podcast and if you love this episode, please leave a review.