Hey there informational interviewers!

I just got back from a work conference in Paris (glamorous, I know!), and jet lag be damned, I will see Barbie tonight! I have a list of like 20 think pieces I want to read about the Movie of the Year, but I don’t want read any of them until I’ve seen it.

Anyways… I have some exciting news: I’m making more room in my life for coaching. I’ve been working with a handful of coaching clients on the DL for the last year, and I’ve decided it’s time to add a few more.

Regardless of whether or not you are all interested in coaching with me, coaching as a thing can be very helpful. So, today I’m answering some FAQs about coaching in general, and about my coaching practice in particular.

Stay Savvy

Emma

Do you need a professional coach?

Professional wayfinding can be a challenge.  Everything you need to know can be learned through this newsletter (a bold claim, I know), or through other resources. But professional wayfinding is about more than what you know. It’s about community, connection, being willing to be seen, giving and receiving help, and becoming a more expansive version of yourself. It’s a process that can be enormously challenging. 

If you are stepping into a professional wayfinding journey you may benefit from coaching. I have received coaching before, and found it transformative. And, as a coach, I’ve worked with dozens of creative and ambitious people who want more out of their professional life: more freedom, more money, more meaning, more connection, more respect, more power, more visibility. 

It’s been a pleasure to watch my coaching clients get new jobs, build their businesses and unlock their creative potential. I’ve seen how vocational empowerment impacts all areas of my clients lives, changing their personal relationships, their family life, and their experience of themselves in the world. 

Of course many (most?) people don’t know what coaching really entails. Sometimes people think of coaching as a bit unserious or even scammy. That’s too bad because coaching can be really transformative. So let me take a moment to answer some of the most frequently asked coaching questions.

What is coaching? 

Coaching is a service offered by experienced and skilled professionals who work to help their clients achieve their goals. Different coaches have different frameworks for how they go about doing this. In general though, coaches work to help their clients unlock their potential and get wherever it is they are trying to go. 

Some coaches have domain-specific expertise (for example former start-up founders who now coach aspiring start-up founders), but most coaches are domain-agnostic. 

How is coaching different from therapy? 

My coach explained it to me this way: therapy often focuses on the past, coaching mostly looks to the future. Most, but not all, coaches are not licensed therapists and are not trained to address intra or interpersonal conflicts the way therapists are. If you are suffering from mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, PTSD or relationships challenges like conflict with your partner, friends or family, therapy can be a great supportive tool.  If you’re interested in actualizing your creative potential and fulfilling your personal or professional goals, coaching can be a helpful tool. 

That said, coaching and therapy do cover similar terrain, just from different angles. Many of my coaching clients do notice how childhood experiences and family dynamics impact their ability to flourish professionally. When these kinds of challenges arise in coaching we talk about them and often consider how certain beliefs can be reframed or behaviors altered. Sometimes, I recommend that a client consider therapy. In fact, working with my own creative coach made me realize I needed to be in therapy. 

How much does coaching cost?

Different coaches have different fees. Some coaches work exclusively with business executives and charge tens of thousands of dollars (or more) for annual contracts. Usually when that happens it's the business, not the individual, who is paying the coaching fee. Other coaches charge hundreds of dollars for ad hoc sessions. In general you can expect a good coach to charge around the same as what a good therapist in your area would charge. 

I charge on a sliding scale. The fee is determined by your current income. If you are unemployed and searching for work, the fee is determined by your net worth. I do up to five single sessions with a client, but mostly work in blocks of six months. 

My sliding scale goes from $0 - $250/hour. I do have clients who I work with on a Pro Bono basis, so if you can’t afford to pay for coaching don’t let that stop you from reaching out. 

If you are interested in coaching and want to learn more please to reach out. 

How long does a coaching engagement usually last? 

Many coaches say that clients see results in about six months, and those results really “stick” after about a year. 

Coaching should not be a forever thing, so if you’re working with a coach and you don’t feel like you’re getting results after about 4-6 months, you might want to re-evaluate. Your coach may not be a good fit for you, or you may be in need of other forms of support (like therapy). 

Okay, I’m interested in maybe receiving coaching, what next? 

Wonderful!  I’m so glad you are considering getting some support. There are many talented and qualified coaches out there. If you are interested in working with me, reach out and let me know.  From there we will schedule a (free) introductory call. 

During the introductory call I will answer any questions you have, and we’ll talk about what you’d like to accomplish through coaching.  After that you can decide if you feel like receiving coaching from me feels right to you.

What I'm reading this week…

California needs real math education, not gimmicks ~ Noah Smith in NoahpinionRead this piece! I will have more to say on this topic later. But for now, wow do we need to get real about giving all kids a chance to excel at math! Blowing Up the Crypto Cartel ~ Jacob Silverman for the Baffler I found this piece funny in a cringy sort of way. I work in a crypto-adjacent space so this is…erm… a little close to home. I wanna say “not all crypto”… and its true, but market manipulation is a real and problematic thing! Working 9 to 5, Hopefully ~ Julia Rothman and Shaina Feinberg for the New York TimesNobody does high production value tentpole content like the New York Times. This piece is great and the UX is even better. Overall, though the message is kind of a bummer. When will we teach informational interviewing to ALL students so that they can find their way in the world? Confused by Corporate Jargon? This Buzzword Survival Guide Is Here to Help ~ Mia Gindis for Bloomberg Just sharing this because its sort of silly. I mean, yes, learning corporate jargon is a part of existing in corporate spaces (if you want do that!). But, like, not everything needs to be productized. You could also just do informational interviews and learn the lingo the old fashioned way.