EP 16 - 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Starting My Coaching Business 🤔 👩‍💼

Hello, dear shiny minds! Welcome back to the Shiny Minds Show with Dr Shiny Unsal AI. I am going to share 5 game-changing lessons that I wish I knew before starting my own coaching business. If you're ready, let's begin! Are you ready to shine? Come on, it's the shiny one! You got this! If you are somebody who has a dream in your heart that you want to create, your coaching business, you want to scale your coaching business, you want to become an entrepreneur, you want to start your own thing, you want to declare your freedom, you want to step outside of your comfort zone, you are absolutely going to adore today's episode. Because I am not only going to share 5 lessons I wish I knew before starting my own coaching business, But I am also going to share my own story where you can find perhaps little snippets where you can relate with me so that you can take measurable steps before you jump into your own story, your own journey. Alright, let me start by who I am for those of you who don't know me. Today, as of April 2025. I am an ICF Master Certified Coach, which comes with 3,000 hours of coaching experience that I have been collecting since 2010. I'm a licensed NLP trainer, Neuro Linguistic Programming. If you don't know what it is, oh my goodness, shininess, you're missing a lot in your life because that is absolutely going to give you the ultimate toolbox to reprogram your mindset for success. I am also the proud creator of my award-winning Neuroshine technology, which is an accumulation and the powerful blend of 10 powerful disciplines to teach you how to think, communicate, and lead more effectively, truthfully, authentically, and obviously more influentially, so that you can become your best self, tap into your purpose, align with your truth, and make your difference in the world. My Nourish Shine Technology curriculum is an International Coaching Federation accredited Level 1 and Level 2 coaching education program which gives you your own ICF credential. Either it is ACC, Associate Certified Coach, or PCC, Professional Certified Coach, or if you want to go even go galactic in my language, even MCC, Master Certified Coach. So I also have this hat of a coach educator, an international coaching Federation accredited coach educator. Not only accredited, I also actually received an award last year as a distinguished coach educator. So I am a writer, I'm a speaker, I have my digital courses that you can learn from. I am leading the business development for Forbes Coaches Council. I speak on stages. I, I have a mission. Okay? So I think we, we understand that. So this is who I am. And then I have been running my own coaching business since 2011. So I come to you loaded with experience, information, data, knowledge, failures, mistakes, lessons, and two doctorate degrees in metaphysical science and metaphysical psychology. So why are they important? Because I will be able to look at business from very different angles. That way you are not only going to look at your business as a business, you will be able to look at it as your frequency, your color, your tone, your rhythm, your melody in your life. All right, so if you're ready to start this journey with me, let's begin. And hey, if you are a regular, please go ahead and subscribe and like and share this video. I would appreciate that. If you are not, you still want to Go ahead and like and share and subscribe. Why not? Because then you're claiming that you have a shiny mind. A shiny mind is a cosmically brilliant and enlightened and heart and mind coherent beautiful human who understands the importance of spirituality, who understands merging of science and spirituality, who appreciates becoming the new human, who understands and appreciates and invites and accepts and enjoys the fact that we are actually living in a totally new paradigm. And coaching is a tool, coaching is a lifestyle, coaching is a way of life, experiencing who we are where we are going, what we are co-creating magically together with the universe, and how we are shape-shifting what reality is. After I shared all this, I'm gonna start by sharing my first lesson that I wish I knew before starting my own coaching business, which I started on 1/1/11. Literally, that's the date, you guys. Seriously, January 1st, 2011. So when you ask me, Shiny, what is your background? How did you start your business? I'm gonna start there, and then I'm gonna share my lesson with you. All right, so let me start with my story. First of all, I am a Turkish American. I was born and raised in a cute Mediterranean coastal town, and then I went to Ankara to study international relations, and I went to Istanbul to work. Yes, I have a decade of corporate experience before starting my own business. I was in the world of advertising and marketing. I was lucky to have worked with one of the greatest brands of all times, like Coca-Cola and Avon and Audi and BP and Kotex and so many big names and big brands in the world and Fortune 500 brands and into big advertising agencies. I loved what I did. I really did. I, I loved it. It was fast-paced. It was all about creative ideas and it was creativity. I was seeing what I created. I was a part of something big and it was passionate. Yet again, there was something missing. Can you relate? Like, I was like, okay, what's the point? Like, at some point I started questioning what I am doing and who I was becoming. And I remember the time that I went to an NLP training. That's why I love neurolinguistic programming, and that's why I became a licensed trainer of that. It changed the way that I looked at everything. When I became an NLP trainer, I realized that there was more to life than that I knew. So that's why I actually woke up. That was my awakening, literally, in 2010, together with my past life regression. That was even more awakening. And then I left everything behind in Istanbul, and then I took my leap of faith and moved to Los Angeles, California, to follow what was in my heart, my dreams. I wanted to know who I was. Can you relate? Like, I didn't even know myself. I didn't know what I valued. I didn't know what I wanted, how I wanted to live. All I knew was that I was not satisfied. I was not going to stay where I was. I mean, don't get me wrong, I had worked a lot for my life. To become this marketing executive who was traveling to Europe back and forth and managing hundreds of people and earning a good salary and living a good life, traveling, having friends. And, you know, I had a great life. Everybody wanted my life, but me, I wanted more. I wanted something else. Can you relate if you are exactly where you are right now with you not feeling like complete, not feeling fulfilled, I'm speaking to you right now, okay? Listen to me. Right at this point in your life, something is calling you. There is a deep calling within yourself, and you absolutely want to listen to it, okay? That's your inner voice. That's your cosmic light within you knocking on the door. Hello, it is time for you to wake up to your own truth. Okay, and perhaps you are watching this video or listening to this episode as part of your awakening, and I hope you are. I would love that. That would make me super happy. And if you are in this phase of your life, then you are lucky because I'm gonna share my tips, my 5 lessons learned, and you're gonna have an amazing start. Okay? When I started, obviously, now you know the background. I moved across the globe. Okay? I mean, talk about getting out of your comfort zone. Okay? So I'm a master of that. I have done that. I had no clue what I was gonna do. I just wanted to become myself. I wanted to know more about myself. I wanted to find my purpose, and I wanted to live in a more meaningful way. You know what I mean? Like, you go to work, yeah, you get things done, you go to meetings, projects, and all this, and at the end you're like, okay, so what, right? So I wanted something more. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to leave my legacy behind. And what I didn't know— let's now move to the very first lesson. What I didn't know that I was becoming an entrepreneur. Okay, so lesson number 1 that I wish I had known before starting my coaching business is this: coaching is not a hobby, it is a business. You are becoming An entrepreneur, treat your business seriously from day one. That's it, okay? Put it into your pocket and let me break it down. For years and years and years, I am going to admit, because I was soul searching, right? That was my way of doing things. And because I was soul searching, I was not in a hurry. I was going to this seminar, to that training, to NLP practitioner, master practitioner, and trainer. Okay, I'm gonna meet Tony Robbins, I'm gonna go to UPW, I'm gonna unleash my power within, and I'm gonna also go study Kabbalah. Oh yeah, I'm gonna study metaphysics, I'm gonna learn all of these amazing tools, I'm going to study neuroscience. Yes, I'm gonna learn psychology at UCLA. Hey, I'm already teaching at UCLA, so Why not also learn a little bit of emotional intelligence and a little bit of leadership so that I can teach, and then I can teach myself as I teach others, and I can actually combine those and perhaps create my own thing? And I took my time, and for years and years and years, my coaching business was my hobby. Can you relate? Anybody out there? I know I'm not alone. So please know that you are stepping into another reality where in this reality you are not a person with a passion, with a hobby, which is coaching others. Oh, I want to help others, I want to make a difference. Yes, you are, and, and it's a business. Okay, you're gonna need to make money to pay for your bills to live the life that you want to live, don't you? You do, right? So that's why you need to look at it as a business. What do I mean by that? Invest in marketing, invest in automation, invest in learning the tools. Come learn with me. I have my coaching business school that I teach with my Neuroshine technology. I have my proprietary information, my framework that can help you how to start and scale your coaching business. Even if you are a baby coach, even if you are zero, you don't know anything about coaching, I can take you, I can meet you where you are. First, I can teach you amazing coaching skills at the highest level because I hold my Master Certified Coach credential. As you know, it's the top 2% in the world. Yes, I am bragging. I literally studied a lot. I worked a lot. I collected thousands of hours. So this is my bragging right. Okay. and you come learn from me not only the business side but also the coaching skills. These are gold standard coaching skills that are valid everywhere in the world. Some people come to me, oh, I wanted to study psychology, I wanted to become a psychotherapist, and then I tell them, did you know that if you are a psychotherapist, you're actually limited by the state that you live in. And they're like, what do you mean? Well, because it's, it's a business, and as a business, you are going to be limited by your license in that state. And if you live in California, then you won't be able to do therapy for people in Florida. Okay? Whereas if you become a coach, if you learn the coaching skills, learn how to make a difference with science and spirituality combined, just like I teach at the Academy of Neuroshine Technology, and just like my amazing other faculty trainers teach at the Academy of Neuroshine Technology. You learn the science behind it, you co-create the magic, earn your certification, your global credential, and then you're good to go. You can go to Bali and then coach people on the Zoom, get paid. You can live in Paris and travel to Indonesia and then get paid as you are talking to your clients on the phone. Coaching business is all about freedom, purpose, and abundance. Okay? And it is a business. So you're gonna need to know about the business matrix. Okay? What does it mean to create a business? Do you want an LLC? Do you need an S corp or a C corp? Are you planning to get investors later on? Do you want to work solo by yourself, or are you planning to hire other employees? How does it look like for you, that business? Because it's not a hobby, okay? You want to literally coach yourself and ask these questions to get clarity, or, or come to us again at the Academy. We have hundreds of amazing certified credentialed ICF credentialed coaches. We can match you. With a coach, and then they can coach you about your coaching business. They can ask you all these questions so that you have crystal clarity and you know how to start, where to start, how to move forward, what is the first thing to do, how to set up everything. You get clear. This is a business. You want to start with the right step forward. And again, we have really amazing packages, affordable coaching packages. I'm gonna drop a link below in this video. So if you're interested in learning more about our coaching packages, please click on that link below so that we can get your information in the form, and then we can reach out to you. All right? So That was number 1. Coaching is a business, not a hobby. Let's talk about lesson number 2 that I wish I had known before starting my coaching business, which is perfection is in the process. Any other perfectionists out there? I know I am not the only one. Perfectionists. Yep. I'm talking to you, my dear shiny ones and perfectionists. So being the Type A personality, wanting to do everything accurately, neatly, and yeah, excellently, like perfectly. OK, so that was a huge struggle for me. It was a real struggle for me. I wanted to do everything perfect. I hired the people I paid for the tools. I went to the places. I was in the right places to meet the right people. Yeah, it costs, okay? And I also remember I had— oh my God, yeah, here comes the truth. I had hundreds, hundreds, if not thousands, because, you know, we're talking about 10 years of corporate background, right? So that's a lot of years, and that's— can you imagine all the cards that I collected? Yeah, I'm talking about like cards, visual, tangible business cards. Hello, people. I worked between the years 2000 and 2010, okay? In those times, we use business cards, okay? So I remember I even carried them with me from Istanbul to LA. And I was trying to create this like perfect system where something called a tool— I'm not going to mention, but it was like very, very bad for me. It was the worst, one of the worst experiences ever, seriously. And I was trying to put this system together. I wanted to get all my cards, all my network, all my people into the system, and it took me years. I kid you not, took me years. I wanted to do things perfectly. I wanted to get things right. Can you relate? Anybody? Yeah, I'm talking about that. If you have that perfectionist within you, let me remind you, lesson learned: perfection is in the pursuit of it. Okay? Not the outcome. The outcome is gonna be messy. I'm telling you, I gotta tell you, I'm coming to you after 15 years, and I'm telling you, things are gonna be messy, and that's okay. It's okay. You stay in your lane, and yeah, never give up if you're a perfectionist, because I know you, you won't. You can't, because that's who you are. Right? You're just gonna do you. You're always gonna seek for excellence. I get it. I get that. I'm right there with you. So I'm not asking you to give up on that. I'm asking you to reframe it. Just look at perfection as something that finds you as you are in the process of it, when you are in the pursuit of it. When you have challenges, when you face challenges with the pursuit of perfection, you're going to want to overcome those challenges because it's part of the perfection. You're not going to give up because it's part of the perfection. You're never going to come up with excuses and tell you that you can't. It's part of the perfection. Yes, you are going to fall victim. Yes, you are going to feel weak sometimes, which is normal. You will even feel like a failure at times, although I don't have that in my vocabulary. There is never a failure. There's always feedback. There's always lessons. And that's even why I'm sharing with you verbally lessons learned. Am I telling you in this episode, hey, 5 failures that taught me what not to do? I'm not using that because that's not in my vocabulary. I don't believe in failing. I believe in experiences. I believe in learning because we live in this cosmic reality. It is time for me to tap into my metaphysics right now. Okay, now, now Dr Shiny Unsal AI comes and she talks about metaphysics. Okay, so let me reframe. The universe wants to experience itself through you. Period. When the Universe is nothing but you, you become it through your experiences, and because of that, you cannot make mistakes, you cannot fail. It's impossible. It's part of the process. It's how it is done. The Universe knows what it is doing. Through you. Okay, you cannot fail. It's impossible. So when you look at your life as a cosmic experience, when you understand that you are here to shine your light on others, on yourself and on others, you then accept the fact that you are more than your human body, your human outfit. You are more than your business, your profession. You are more than what you say and do. You are a force in the universe. You are a vibration that has volumes of frequency. You are the melody of life. You are the rhythm of the universe. You have your own tone, you have your own color, and that shows up as your perfection. Everybody shows their own colors. You show your own color, and that's why your business becomes your own perfection. You put your own brand color, you create your own logo design, you choose your own words, you make it yours. You make it around your values. You design your new identity as who you want to become in this universe, in this lifetime, as we play the game of life. And that's what I call perfection. All right, so that was lesson number 2: perfection is in the process. Now we're gonna talk about lesson number 3. You don't need hundreds of thousands of followers. You don't need a million followers. I understand we live in the world of social media. I understand that every human being, every voice has a media company, and you are going to become one as well if you choose to share your message on social media. And yet You don't need a million followers. You don't need to stress about, oh my God, I need to just like go to like hundreds of thousands of followers. I don't know how to do this. Like, you don't, you don't need that. Let me just bust that. Okay, let me bust it because I am somebody who was featured on several magazines and podcasts and even Kajabi. So as you know, I, I do use Kajabi. If you don't know, now you know I use Kajabi. I am married to Kajabi. I'm one of the Kajabi founders. I love that tool. I'm gonna drop another link in the description where you can actually get your Kajabi with a very limited promo that is going on right now in the link below. You should definitely get your Kajabi, create your own business. And what I was telling you is even Kajabi featured me on their website homepage as somebody, hey, she doesn't have even 10,000 followers, but she made 6 figures consistently for so many years. Okay. I was featured. I was actually a success story because of that. Because I don't have many followers, although I want it a lot. Personally, I don't. I only have— right now I have about like, I think, 14,000 on Instagram, but that's it. I don't have a million followers. I don't have 100,000 followers. I only have my own followers. I have my own people. I have my own leaders who want to lead, co-lead. A better world, co-create a better world. I have my own creators. I have you in my world. All I need is you because you want to become a shiny mind, and then you are in my orbit, and then I'm sharing my message with you, and that's it. One day you're gonna realize that you are in the right place, and then you're gonna come and learn with me. I, I heard a lot about stories. I heard so many of you, oh, I was watching your videos on YouTube, and then I love those, and then I love to learn from, from you, and then they are in my cohorts right now. I, you know, several. When you look at my videos, can you tell that? I don't even have so many views or likes, but it is not that. You see what I'm saying? It's about who is really in your orbit. I'm using orbit, obviously, because I'm thinking galactic in my metaphysical perspective. You are attracting your own vibe to yourself with the way you share your message, what's in your heart, and that's what really matters. Okay, your coaching business is gonna require somehow sharing your message. You could choose to share your message on social media. Or not. Perhaps you're just going to become somebody who just goes out there and then meets people in person, goes to the conferences, and speaks your messages in physical places. Perhaps that's the only style you're gonna choose, and that's fine. Perhaps you're gonna choose to write a book, and then you're gonna put your voice in a book. And perhaps you're just going to start your own podcast, your own video, your YouTube channel, and whatever that you choose, that's perfectly fine. You should do you, and you should definitely enjoy what you do. If not, then you're gonna get stuck on the, the numbers of followers, and you're gonna give yourself anxiety, and you're gonna feel not good enough. Oh, everybody has so many followers. I don't. Everybody has so many likes. I don't. I, I just want to tell you, it doesn't matter. I, I really, I really want to invite you to have another perspective that is going to make you peaceful. What I call a divine relaxation is going to be waiting for you if you can really truly stay in your lane, stay in your game, and just let it go. Surrender to The universe— if you follow your heart, the universe is going to take over. Universe is waiting for you to tap into your truth. It's just gonna do everything else because it's the infinite possibilities. The universe is already creating your multiple realities. You are already in another dimension co-creating another possibility for yourself. Okay, so that's the metaphysical aspect of it. So don't worry about it, okay? Just focus on sharing your message. Even if there is one person, one person that you are making a difference, that's it. And I gotta tell you, actually, here's another story. When I started teaching neurolinguistic programming in the US, it was because a student of mine from UCLA Extension wanted me to teach her, one person. I was like, no, sweetie, I don't have any cohorts. I don't do any programs in English. I don't think my English is good enough. For me to teach something so extraordinary, so advanced, because neurolinguistic programming, it's all about communication, right? Like, my, my, my mind was like, who am I to teach this? I don't have the followers. I don't have the— I'm not the authority. I just started. I don't have the language and all kinds of stories, right? All kinds of excuses. And then she goes, but I still want to learn it. And I'm like, but I don't have a program. She's like, can you just teach for me then? Just me, one-on-one. I was like, hmm, why not? And then boom, I busted my own assumptions with the help of my student, and I'm super thankful for her. Deborah, if you're watching this video, I'm super grateful, super thankful. I actually became who I am after that experience. And that was just one person. That's why I'm sharing the story with you. Sometimes you, you think that you need millions, you need hundreds of thousands, or you need thousands. No, you need just one person. One. Lesson number 4 I wish I had known before starting my own coaching business is this. I'm going to give you a formula. You know I love formulas. Okay, now this formula is going to be super fun because it's about your purpose. So here it comes: patience equals purpose multiplied by passion. Yep, your patience is nothing but focusing on your own purpose because you're passionate about it. Okay, the passion is going to let the time go, and your purpose is going to let your mind go, okay, on the purpose. So that's why patience is not going to be patience anymore. You're not even going to name it as, oh my God, I need to be patient with my business. No, because you're going to be enjoying yourself. You're going to be living the life. You're going to be living the dream, becoming the dream. And who cares about patience? Like, what are you talking about? Like, what patience? For what? You're living it. You're becoming it. You are the purpose. You are the passion. You are the coach. You are the dream business. So you're not going to need any of that with this formula. When you really truly focus on what's in your heart, when you are truly aligned with your purpose, with your truth in your heart, then time is an essence that you carry as part of who you are. It's not a matter of, oh my God, I need another year so that I can get better and I can just make more money and all that. No, no, no. You enjoy you because you enjoy the you who makes the difference. You enjoy becoming the person who leaves the legacy behind. Who enjoys becoming the version of you that you wouldn't think would be possible. Does that make sense? It's all about mind and heart coherence, and it's all about in that passion and purpose that you bring, that you remind yourself, that you wake up with, and that you never forget. Okay, that is a lesson learned because I thought I needed to get everything done right away. I was late. Oh, do you have FOMO, fear of missing out, anyone? Anyone else? Yeah, I was like, oh my gosh, I'm too late. Everybody has done all of those things. But because, you know, I came from another country and English is my second language and I don't know anybody here. And like all the excuses, right? I just came up with all the excuses and then I always like look at the time and I was missing out on time. Like time was giving me a face, you know what I mean? Like, hello. And then I was like, okay, patience, patience, patience. And now I'm like, What patience? What are we talking about? I wish somebody said that to me, and that's why I'm telling you, enjoy it. Life happens. Life is life. People are peopleing regardless of what you do with your time. Okay, just enjoy it. Just keep on doing you anyways. That's a lesson learned, and I really hope that You put it into your heart, into your pocket, and you move on with it. Last lesson, lesson number 5 that I learned, and I wish somebody actually told me before I started my coaching business because I really needed this advice, especially this advice, okay? I want you to be very, very careful right now. Open your mind. Open your heart, open your neurons, tell your neurons to listen very, very carefully. Okay, here it comes. Ditch your excuses, be relentless about your vision and who you want to be. I'm going to say that again. Ditch your excuses and be relentless about who you want to be. That's my biggest advice to you. That's the biggest lesson learned because I realized when you look at a business, you think of it as, oh my God, I have the taxes, I have the clients, and I have the payments, and I have the systems, I have the marketing and the branding and the messaging and all that. Like, it looks and sounds like a lot of work. And at the end of the day, it's more than that because you are becoming someone that you are going to adore. That identity shift that comes by being an entrepreneur, like really owning a business, is priceless. I cannot tell you that. If I look back and if I go back to those days when I was in my own corporate job, when I was getting paid, when I was working for somebody and I was doing things that was demanded from me. That version of me is so different than who I am now. Who I am today is so different. I, I adore this woman. This woman, if she didn't tap into her own true potential within, if she didn't decide to take the quantum leap, start the business, become the coach, earn the credentials, study all the disciplines, merge 10 powerful disciplines together, create Neuroshine technology, get awarded as 40 Under 40, become ICF accredited, become ICF awarded, get your degrees in metaphysics, and reach out to thousands of people, certify hundreds of coaches in 50 countries and 6 continents. And then they will also reach out to their clients and they're going to make their difference. And the ripple effect goes on and on and on because we are working together with real humans, with hearts and minds and souls who want to make a difference. Parents and leaders and teachers and educators and doctors and astrologers and painters and artists and singers and accountants, engineers, all people from all walks of life. And they have their kids, their friends, their clients, their network. They make a difference together. We make a difference. Become relentless. This is who you are becoming. You are becoming a real force in the universe. You are becoming the light that you are. It's a privilege. It's priceless. If you can really let go of, oh my God, it's a business, what am I going to do, taxes and, you know, payrolls and employees and systems and Oh, you don't need all that. In today's world, you can actually create your coaching business just by you and AI on your side. And then you take care of everything with contractors and boom, that's it. Okay? You just let universe help you. You partner up with universe. Coaching is a partnership mindset. That's why there is a metaphysical side of it. And that's why I am breaking it down this way for you. I hope you are getting me, my shiny minds. It's super important that you do, because this is how I know that I'm gonna be timeless. I'm gonna be remembered one day when I am gone, even when I pass away to the other side, leave this human outfit and go. My video, this is gonna be alive, and somebody will be watching this, hopefully. I mean, I don't know what's gonna happen 200 years from now. Perhaps I can leave my AI coach behind because I do have my AI coach. Did you know that I have my AI coach, by the way? Yeah, I'm gonna drop another link. You're gonna have a ton of links today in my description below. So make sure you spend some time because I am now very passionate talking about my legacy. and I want you to become passionate about your legacy as well. And that's why I'm highlighting the fact that ditch your excuses, start this business, make your difference, leave your legacy behind, because you are becoming somebody that you're gonna adore, and that feeling is priceless. So there you have it, 5 lessons that I wish I had known before starting my own coaching business that I hope they are going to help you right now. I kind of know that they're gonna help you. So if you like this video, please put a like on it, share it with your friends, share it with everybody that you know that may also consider becoming a coach or want to hire a coach, want to work with a coach, because at the Academy of Nourish Shine Technology, we have all the resources We have certified coaches, we have ICF credential coaches that we can match you with, affordable prices. We have programs. You can become a coach yourself. You can start your coaching business, and then you can also join my Nourish Shine Coaching Business School where I teach you all about creating and scaling your business. And obviously you want to subscribe to my channel, my dear shiny minds, because we are becoming enlightened human beings who are heart-centered and passionate, please subscribe to my channel. Please let's make this world a better place one person at a time. What you have learned today are actually going to make you a better person even if you are not planning to become a coach. So thank you for letting my light into your neurons. And until next time, keep shining your light, my dear shiny minds.