As I write on pages 61 and 62 of Coaching Business Builder, “Consistency doesn’t mean that you can’t do different things and that you have to do the same thing all the time. It is important that people see how things tie together. Consider what you’ve created when products can be developed into other projects or purposes. Part of this may be to consider how you can reduce, reuse and recycle.”
 
I remember vividly being in grade 1 and the 3Rs – Reduce, reuse, recycle mantra was coming into play in public education. I continue to think about this as I move my own work forward, focusing on:
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#1 – Reduce – “Less is more”. In addition to the 80/20 rule being known as the Pareto Principle, distilling things down in group programs is also very important. In fact, for years I’ve practiced a design rule also known as the 80/20 rule, which I’m pretty sure I picked up years ago from a program with Bob Pike. In the 80/20 rule, to design we want to pull out at least 20% of our original design ideas to create more space for discussion, dialogue and reflection. In content creation, reducing may mean having shorter posts, or doing a series over the course of a week or month. What are the elements you want to distill downwards?

#2 – Reuse – What can you do to reuse or REPURPOSE content? Perhaps two blog posts become an article, or an article becomes a short video. What can you do to repurpose your content? Take a look at what you have created, perhaps by looking back at your Content Trackers in Section 5 of your Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner. What do you notice about content which can be reused?

#3 – Recycle – How can things be recombined to create a WHOLE NEW entity? As a program designer, I built most things in discrete modules. Like building blocks, when put together these can create a whole new spectrum depending on the combination.
What is useful for you to take action on this week around content creation and the 3 R’s?

All the best,
​Jennifer

It's almost the start of a new decade and with that, it might be time to do a "refresh" on your toolbox.
On a practical business level, there are many areas I like to have a variety of resources in, including marketing, design, and communication. As I thought about all my creative projects this year, I was aware of how many of these tools have become standard fare in my work.
Here are the top 10 go-to resources I used this year in my remote business:

Zoom - My absolute go-to for any sort of client communication. Some days I spend upwards of 5-7 hours  leading groups, holding individual coaching calls and also leading meetings with members of my project teams. Zoom has many "Bells and whistles" including breakouts, and annotation, which may be available with the type of account you ahave.

Rev and Temi for transcription. As someone who leads dozens of hours of training and calls a week, it's important to be able to quickly transcribe many of these videos and audio calls. Both services are great, and at a different price point. What could be important to transcribe? How is your speaking creating new content for your business?

Lumen 5 - Lumen 5 has been my go-to for years in terms of transcribing blog to video. IT's always a nice change to be able to include video content, instead of just written media. Check them out at : https://www.lumen5.com

AdobeSpark - AdobeSpark is another option for great video creation. Check them out and consider how you might use them in creating some new video messages.

Loom - If you want to do a demo or lead people thorugh your screen, nothing beats loom. I've incorporated a few loom videos to take people around the Conversation Sparker website, and it has led to sales! Check it out.

Dropbox - I've been a dropbox user for years and it's where I house most of my videos to share with groups I lead.
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Teachable - Teachable is the back end of what I use to house my on-demand programs as well as the backbone for my annual programs. I've found it to be a very scalable framework for both on-demand and live programming. Check out what the Coaching Design Studio has to offer - and perhaps join us for 2020 programming which will include the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator, and the annual Learning Lab and Design Studio, and the Coaching Biz Growth Lab (meets on Friday afternoons).

Mighty Networks - Earlier this year I created the Conversation Sparker Zone over at Mighty Networks. It's a community hub for people to connect around group and team coaching issues, business development as well as virtual and remote work. Check it out and join in on the conversation!

AdobeStock and Unsplash - For all things graphics I leverage my subscription through AdobeStock and also turn to Unsplash for photos to use in design. They usually get incorporated into any design work in Canva. 

What are the things you use on an ongoing basis?

We'll be exploring these, and many other resources to help you thrive in your business next year, starting on January 1st with the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator. Part on-demand program, part live calls (Mondays and Fridays), you also have access to me for a weekly laser 1-1 call throughout the program which runs January 1 - March 1, 2020. Hope that you will join us!

With best wishes,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: [email protected]

If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.
Also starting in January are two groups of the Virtual Facilitation Essentials - a Friday group and a Monday group. If you want to see many of these tools in practice, and get experience in using them. Consider joining us for this virtual train-the-trainer.