Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can! I work with clients all over the country and even abroad. I often field concerns about the effectiveness of Zoom sessions so let me say this up front: I have had more breakthroughs on Zoom than in person! Why? Because most young people live on the computer these days. They are almost more comfortable in front of a screen than sitting face to face. The screen actually acts as an emotional buffer, creating a space where they can truly let their guard down.

Parents are often nervous about how their son will react to the idea of coaching. Some are excited at the prospect, others are totally shut down and resistant. I’ve had great success with both, so fear not if your son is the latter. You know your son’s personality best, so depending on their attitude, here are a few ideas for getting them on board:

Present coaching as a gift: “I wanted to give you something really special for your birthday/Christmas/graduation etc.”
Use your own adolescent experience: “When I was your age my parents were the last people I wanted to talk to. I remember wishing I had someone in my life who really understood me; someone who I felt comfortable talking to about the “tough stuff”. I didn’t have that opportunity but I want to make sure you do!”
Show him my website. A lot of them assume I’m an old man in a cardigan and librarian glasses who won’t understand what they’re going through. When they see my face and get a feel for my style, they understand that I am young enough to relate, but old enough to share some hard-won wisdom.
Talk me up! Be enthusiastic and keep it light: “I heard about this really cool guy, he works with teens and millennials all over the country. He doesn’t diagnose you or prescribe any medication- he just supports you in living a happier, more fulfilling life!”
Choose your timing wisely: If your teen is stressed out about an upcoming exam or crying over a breakup, he probably isn’t in a place to receive information about coaching. Choose a time when he is relaxed, open and calm.

People typically see a therapist because they have symptoms of a mental health issue and want to feel and function better. Issues such as major depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, rape, suicidal thoughts, or physical & extreme emotional abuse.

Coaching tends to focus on the present and future rather than the past. Coaches help people identify their goals and the obstacles they are facing. Like therapy, coaching involves guidance and support but also places a great deal of emphasis on accountability, enabling people to do more than they might on their own.

Traditionally, therapy is based on a disease model and focuses on healing what is broken. Coaching stems from a strengths based model and focuses on identifying and cultivating signature strengths. Click here to see the breakdown.

Sessions will last approximately 60 minutes. During the session the client will be asked a powerful questions, such as what issues are they currently facing with, where they’d like to see themselves in the future, what they want to accomplish. The client will never be forced to make any decisions they don’t feel comfortable with and all sessions will be confidential, allowing you to explore your thoughts and feelings privately in a safe space. They will also receive action steps tasks and homework to work on between sessions.

An article in Public Management revealed a study where training alone was compared to life coaching combined with training. The study showed that training alone increased productivity by 22.4% while training combined with weekly life coaching increased productivity by 88%. Here is why:
1) Accountability. Most life coaches have three calls a month with their clients. This regularly scheduled call prompts clients to get more done than they would if left to on their own. Think about it, if you work out with a personal trainer at the gym, you work much harder than on your own. Clients take bigger actions, set bigger goals and think bigger when they work with a professional coach.
2) Expertise. The trained life coach knows how to help you set the right goals, free up more time, and structure your personal and professional life to achieve greater productivity with less effort. You’ll achieve more in less time with the input of a coach.
3) Delivery. A well-trained coach knows how to use the right words so that you are naturally motivated. It doesn’t take brow-beating or nagging when you are working with a skilled life coach. Coaching typically works best with weekly sessions so clients have time to integrate new ways of thinking and take action each week toward their goals. The experience is challenging and uplifting.
4) Speed. Most people find that things start to happen very quickly after hiring a life coach.

The ICF puts it nicely: “People hire a life coach because they want more. They want to grow. They want it easier.”

Teenagers, millennials, entrepreneurs, executives, business leaders, actors, musicians, athletes, creative people, managers, small business owners, start-ups, professionals and home-makers all reach their goals with the help of a life coach. If there is a gap between where you are now and where you want to be, there is room for life coaching. Not only will your life coach help you close the gap, your life coach will help you break through your limited beliefs and challenge you to think bigger.

Setting and achieving goals and objectives
Building confidence
Planning — business, career and life
Blasting through blocks and fears
Clearing clutter
Financial security and independence
Balancing business and personal life
Making key decisions and designing strategies for success
Communicating powerfully and succinctly
Becoming a problem-free zone
Building powerful relationships
Breaking through the glass ceiling
Getting promoted
Finding the ideal career/work or business
Getting out of a rut
Making an important life transition
Starting a business
Growing a business
Living an ideal life
Identifying core values and passions
Fulfilling personal and emotional needs
Getting organized
Making more money
Having loads more time to enjoy life
Playing, having adventures, and a lot more fun!
Finding happiness

You start taking more effective and focused actions immediately
You stop putting up with petty annoyances
You create momentum so it’s easier to get results
You set better goals that are based on what you really want
You have more time and energy

People are tired of doing what they “should” do and are ready to do something special and meaningful for the rest of their lives. Problem is, many can’t see it, or if they can, they can’t see a way to reorient their life around it. A life coach can help them do both.

People are realizing how simple it can be to accomplish something that might have felt out of reach or like a pipe dream. A coach is not a miracle worker, but a coach does have a large tool kit to help the Big Idea become a Reality.

We’ve been taught that “hard work and doing it on your own” are the keys to finding life, success, money, or happiness. Most people believe they must sacrifice something to attain what they want. Some people sacrifice their health, their time to enjoy life, or their relationships. None of this is necessary. You can have it all, but maybe not all right this minute! And, with life coaching, you’ll find you don’t have to sacrifice anything to get what you want. You may need to change a few things, true, but clients find they have more time with their families and friends, more money, more opportunity, and are more successful at work when they work with a life coach.

Athletes, performers, CEOs and presidents know that they can’t do it alone. They know they need a trained professional or even a team of experts to help them determine the best direction and to provide objective support and feedback. Without this, it is almost impossible to achieve excellence. No athlete would consider going to the Olympics without the support of a coach. The extra edge the coach provides makes all the difference. Why shouldn’t you have this same advantage?

No. The client is always responsible for their own life. Clients makes their own decisions and takes their own actions. Life coaches provide positive support and encouragement. While a life coach might challenge you to think differently. Life coaches do not in any way control the client’s thoughts, actions or life.

People are starting to realize that ‘self-help’ is not a self-indulgent fad, it is in fact a way of improving what we already have, utilizing what we already know and breaking down limiting preconceptions about who we are and what we’re capable of. Even the most skeptical among us can benefit from discussing and organizing our lives with an impartial stranger. So to answer the question simply – no. It is a legitimate, effective and transformational process that is here to stay and looks set to continue growing over the coming years. Currently there are approximately 47,500 life coaches around the world.

Most people in America can use some assistance getting their finances to the next level. If you never had financial education from your parents or in school, financial coaching might be right for you. If you had poor financial examples in your life, financial coaching might be right for you. If all your financial advice has come from your HR representative, the guy in the cube next to you, or the teller at the bank who cashes your check, we need to talk. If you spend more time researching the purchase of a car or a vacation than you spend planning for you family’s financial future, then you can definitely benefit from a financial coach.

The financial coach focuses on daily money management: spending (budgeting), saving, and debt reduction. As a financial coach, I do not sell any products nor do I take your assets under my control, so my fees are strictly per session that we meet. Financial advisors tend to focus on implementing financial products and strategies, while financial coaches focus more on the basics of personal money management, behavioral change, and accountability to a client-driven spending plan. And while financial advisors most commonly help to manage wealth that already exists, a financial coach’s job is to provide a client the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that will help them build wealth in the first place.
Another major difference between financial coaching and advising is that coaches typically have no tie-in with products at all; they do not manage investments, nor sell insurance. We might educate our clients on the basic concepts of insurance, investing, diversification (which isn’t considered giving financial advice, as I’ll discuss later), etc., but we never provide specific recommendations on where to invest. In many cases I don’t even discuss the above topics with my clients because they aren’t at the point where they have assets to invest; they are more worried about working their way out of debt or building up their emergency fund.

In that way, financial coaches are an integral asset and valuable complement to traditional financial advisors. When a client has met his or her goals of positive cash flow and some wealth accumulation, I often refer that person to a financial advisor, so they can move on to the next stage. Honestly, to compare coaches with advisors is like comparing apples and oranges – one is not better than the other, and seeing them as either/or misses the point. Both are incredibly important and help people use their money better to reach their goals. But they do different things, and in practice work typically work with different types of clients with different needs.

During the coaching session, you will discuss in depth the problems you are trying to overcome, strategies and solutions to solving the problem, and action items that you will take with you to begin making the necessary changes.

-We’ll set up the first (complimentary) consultation where I can meet you, learn more about your situation and goals, and see if we’re a good fit for one another. If you live in the Dallas, Tx area, we can set up a face-to-face meeting, but otherwise we’ll do the meeting via Zoom or by phone.

-Before the first session you will have a little homework to do. This will involve completing a worksheet that provides a financial snapshot of where you are now.
-During each session I’ll be asking you questions, teaching you principles and techniques, holding you accountable, and recommending action items for you that will get you on a plan to achieve your goals. We’ll discuss typical time frames you can expect to achieve your goal if you stick to the plan. You are the one who has to do the work and decide what sacrifices you will make in order to meet your goals. Some sacrifices may be small and some large, but the choice is up to you. I (or any coach) will not force you to do anything.
-You may just have one urgent issue you want addressed and if so, perhaps one session is all you need. But more than likely there will be a few meetings along the way to work alongside you as you implement recommendations and work through your plan.
-This entire coaching process is a dialogue, not a lecture, so please ask plenty of questions.
-I can only coach you through what you want to achieve, but will offer recommendations regarding your full financial picture.
At no point will I sell you specific financial products and I will not be taking your finances under my management or control. You are in the driver’s seat.
-I want to help you see a future that you might not have thought was possible and help you in a focused approach to get the results you seek.
In short; I want to understand your situation, provide information/suggestions, and offer hope and encouragement.

If you are inquiring about working with a financial coach, then you have probably realized that going at it alone or using “free” advice isn’t working. Financial coaching gives you an extraordinary level of detail and individual attention and the cost reflects the scope of professional resources devoted specifically to your situation.

Many people are concerned that they can’t afford coaching; however, what some don’t realize is that they can’t afford to not have a financial coach. The reason is because improving your financial situation by paying off debt faster, plugging the leaks in your budget, and saving more money for your goals will quickly pay back the cost of coaching.

I have also found that if a potential client is not willing to invest in coaching then they may not be ready for the larger sacrifices that will be necessary to make real change in their financial future and get out of their current situation. Therefore it is important to fully commit your time, attention, attitude and yes, a bit of your paycheck, to the task because your investment and “skin in the game” is a sign of your seriousness and likelihood of having success in attaining financial peace.

There is a wealth of information on the internet on all matters of finance that may or may not be correct. The internet will not learn your exact situation and will not take the time to learn about you and your family as well as your goals. Nor will the internet tailor an approach and plan for you to meet those goals. The internet will also not walk alongside you and encourage you as you embark on your journey to financial freedom and peace. As your financial coach I will do all those things.

I will provide you with written actionable recommendations after our coaching sessions. In our coaching relationship we will be discussing a wide range of topics, so from that sense, yes you should have a clear path and plan for what you can do to take your finances to the next level, whether it is to get out of debt, master your monthly spending, or build wealth toward a particular savings goal. While some sessions may be focused on one particular area, the idea is to take a holistic approach to your finances.

No. Fortunately in today’s world, we have wonderful video conferencing services (Zoom, FaceTime, etc) available that can simulate us sitting in the same room and even a phone call can be effective as well. I’ve work with clients in different states and countries using these forms of communication, and it is not an issue.

In order to fully understand your financial situation and work out a specific plan for you, some financial numbers will need to be communicated to me. I do not need or want access to your accounts, so that control stays entirely with you and I never need to know your Social Security number. The data that you transmit to me in order to help coach you is kept strictly confidential and not shared with any other parties. Period.

Bankruptcy could be one of a few options you may have. Be sure to research all the pros and cons of bankruptcy and make an informed decision on the path to take for you and your family. If you don’t want to file bankruptcy and deal with the ramifications of it, then a financial coach should be able to help you with a plan to get out of debt in a different way. However, sometimes bankruptcy might be the best option for you. If you do decide to go through bankruptcy to discharge certain debts and need help getting your financial affairs in order afterwards, a financial coach can also help with that.