Update on 1-1 Coaching and Revision of Rates

Posted May 16 2009 by Celes

This post is to give a quick update on the 1-1 coaching I provide, my experience on coaching in the past month, revision on rates and future plans ahead in this area

1-1 Coaching Experience Thus Far

The coaching in the past month has been quite a ride. I have witnessed such incredible changes in my coachees’ lives which have warmed me greatly and reminded me of why I do what I do.

For example, one of my current coachees has a health & fitness goal. When he approached me, he was melancholic. He was slipping in his health condition and had to lose a certain amount of weight by the end of the year in order to put his health status in the green light. It wasn’t as simple as that too. There were several tough barriers – for example he had a spinal cord injury in the past which limits him to walking exercises. He had a penchant towards foods which were detrimental to his health goal. He was also extremely busy with his hectic job, which more often than not, ate into his health. During our first and second sessions, he was largely feeling vacant and unmotivated about his fitness goal – it came across as an obligation to stay alive rather than anything else.

However, by the third session, he was making huge progress – he enthusiastically shared with me his vision for the future, his progress status on the health goal (which has been absolutely amazing so far) and how he might even explore running a marathon in the future! It was truly an incredible switch from how he was previously. I was literally on cloud nine when I heard that. To witness that change was really the best thing I could have ever experienced as a coach!

Another example is another coachee. A year ago, she was in depression due to extenuating circumstances in her life. She eventually got out of her depression, but her life stayed in a rut after that. When we started out coaching, it was around 6 months post her depression. Throughout our sessions, the changes in her were visible – she became happier, more open, positive and forward looking. By the 3rd session, she was smiling very openly. By the 4th session, she was literally beaming and laughing. During our 4th session, she shared with me how she was laughing out loud at a joke she heard and she hadn’t laughed this way ever since she had her depression a year back! It was simply amazing witnessing that transformation and to hear that as well as see that beam on her face as she said that.

And I cannot claim direct credit for these changes – All these incredible results are really due to their own hard work and accountability they have towards their lives. As a coach, I act as a guide to channel their efforts into the right places to get the best results for themselves. Without them consciously working to improve their lives, these changes would never have manifested at all. For the most part, I have observed a direct correlation between the improvement a coachee experiences and the 1) coachability of coachee 2) accountability and 3) seriousness of the coachee towards the coaching, all of which are prerequisite criteria that need to be present before I take on someone as the coachee. The more coachable, accountable and serious the coachee is towards the coaching, the more dramatic the changes he/she will experience out of it.

If you are wondering what the coaching is for, please check out my life coaching section for more details. Think of 1-1 coaching as concentrated ammunition to turbo charge you towards reaching your desired goals. If you are at point A and you want to get to point B, our coaching will speed up your progress and enable you to achieve point B, regardless of how slow, average or fast your progress has been.

1-1 Coaching Rates Revised

After much contemplation, I have revised the 1-1 coaching rates to $140 USD ($210 SGD) for every 4 sessions.

The reason for the raise in rates is to even out the demand and supply. Right now, there are way too many people applying for the coaching for me to be able to help all of them. In April, the waiting list lined up till June. A few weeks later, it extended to August. Right now, with the continuous incoming stream of coaching requests, it looks like it’s going to be lined up till October.

The wait is getting too long and there are just more and more coachees queuing for coaching whom I could not help immediately. It isn’t feasible, especially with some having urgent issues which need addressing immediately and some who desire to start working on their life immediately. It was discomforting for me to have to tell someone – who has taken the brave step to improve on himself/herself and his/her life – to wait and put their lives on hold.

The fee was the best lever to manage the demand and supply situation. I will continue to determine the rates based on the demand. At the moment, there might be a rates revision again in the near future, because I’m currently having a career seminar in the end of the month which will likely lead to an increase in coaching sign-ups at the end. I will see how that goes.

For those who had 1) sent the request or 2) been confirmed as a coachee or 3) are currently undergoing coaching with me before the fee was raised, please don’t worry – you will continue to pay the initially agreed fee.

If you cannot afford my 1-1 coaching fees or you are not considering 1-1 coaching at the moment, you can continue to read my blog, where I will continue to write and post free, quality articles on how to improve yourself and better your life. The articles here will forever remain free. If you have found the articles here beneficial, please take a moment to share CelestineChua.com with your friends and family and link it on your site, if you have one. Thank you!

Long-Term Coaching Plans

In the long-run, I will be reducing the number of 1-1 coachees to just 3-4 (I have 8-10 at the moment), as it is more effective for me to reach out to more people at one go through talks/seminars/group-coaching, rather than on a 1-1 basis. That’s the direction I’ll be moving towards by the end of this year. I’m also probably going to start looking into getting an office for my coaching (currently I meet my coachees in varying locations). At the same time, I will recommend people who require personalized attention to go for 1-1 coaching with me. I will share my updates accordingly at the main blog here.