Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Steve Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Steve thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of being a service provider is the kind of crazy stuff that happens from time to time. It could be anything from a disgruntled client attacking an employee or waking up to find out a celebrity gave you a shoutout on TikTok – the sudden, unexpected hits (both positive and negative) make the profession both exhilarating and exhausting. Can you share one of your craziest stories?

I began my coaching career by purchasing a coaching franchise. The company was very small, just emerging from start-up status. It was risky but I fell in love with their methodology and entrepreneurial spirit.

Two and one-half years later (I was just starting to show a profit), the company closed and filed bankruptcy! I was stunned at how fast everything proceeded to go away. I had spent around $100k on everything to purchase, ramp up and market my business and in one 8-minute phone call, it was all gone.

My wife saw the shock on my face and asked what was wrong. I said, “it’s all gone. The company has closed, and my franchise is worthless”. She replied, “you always tell me how your clients stay beyond their contracts just to continue working with you, so why don’t you start your own coaching company”. At that moment, without knowing what I would call it, GrowthSource Coaching was born!

Here’s the truly crazy part. I contacted my friend in IT and asked if the data bases were still open. He confirmed this but said they would be shut down in 24 hours, so I had to work fast. I retrieved the company’s client list and began contacting them to see if they were interested in continuing. Many had paid their annual coaching fee up front and were out thousands of dollars. I also was out $24,000 in back invoice payments. This was a very risky move but since the owners abandoned the company and the trademarks, I decided it was worth it.

I reached 72 clients and after hearing their tales of woe, being screamed at, and threatened with lawsuits (like this was my decision), I convinced 42 clients to stay with me. Some, I had to coach for free since they already lost so much. Others were willing to split the fees so I could make something, and they could get what they paid for. I still have one client I’m working with from this arrangement 11 years ago!

That’s how I got started from the wreckage of a failed coaching franchise to becoming one of the best recognized executive coaches in Orange County, CA. The experience was nail biting and expensive but it’s what enabled me to have the company I have today. I’m glad I stayed the course to realize my dream of becoming a successful coach. I am the only one from the former franchise to remain in the coaching field today.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

After a stellar 30-year career in the consumer products manufacturing industry working for several highly successful and well recognized fortune 500 companies, I decided I needed a new direction. So, in 2008, after serendipitously meeting a small business consultant, I was introduced to coaching. At the time, I had no idea how well this match would turn out.

What made business coaching such a great fit was a blend of my years honing my sales, marketing, logistics, management, and leadership capabilities coupled with my dedication to working with business professionals on their own skills, mindset, and beliefs about how they could reach their own true potential.

Fourteen years later, I have served over 600 clients with individual coaching and team training with the philosophy that I will do whatever it takes to support their journey to extraordinary levels of professional success.

My market is worldwide with a heavy concentration in So. Cal. I specialize in leadership and management tune-ups for business owners, executives, operators, and entrepreneurs. My client list spans a wide variety of industries including manufacturing, logistics, legal, financial, technology, health care, commercial trades, retail, and personal services.

My specialties focus on mindset upgrades, clear thinking, communication, decision making, professional presence, building influential relationships, problem solving, delegation, time and resource utilization, and team building. I also offer 360 feedback evaluations and leadership, management, and communication assessments to help clients target areas of growth opportunity.

I am most proud of the way I have built my business. Instead of sheer size, I have concentrated on delivering the highest quality coaching available and cultivated a reputation based on professionalism, expertise, and sustainable changes.

I am a native of the Washington DC/ Maryland area where I grew up and met my wife of 43 years. I currently reside in Orange County, CA where I oversee my local Chamber of Commerce and serve on the leadership team of an executive coaching nonprofit organization. I also co-host a weekly podcast with my son called Business Wingmen which can be heard on any of over a dozen podcast channels.

In my spare time, roast coffee, travel with my wife on my motorcycle and adopt rescue dogs.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media marketing and internet marketing in general has been my business building secret weapon. Once I learned how it all worked, I blended this strategy with another called ‘Authority Based Marketing’. By delivering regular, high-quality content via, articles, videos, public speaking, and guest interviews on podcasts, I have been able to build a very credible reputation for helping business professionals change their thinking, focus, behavior, and actions.

What made this so successful for me was the realization that although I was good a creating the content, I was lousy at consistently posting to the right sites. So, I hired an online marketing assistant who still works with me today. She became the secret ingredient that has established me and my brand so well.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Coaching is mostly about asking good questions and listening. Giving advice dilutes the effectiveness of helping your client come up with their own solutions. When people figure things out for themselves, they own the outcome!

Years ago, I would hand out advice like candy on Halloween. Tell me your problem and I would solve it for you whether you wanted a solution or not. This had the effect of treating an open wound with lighter fluid. Instead of thanking me for my helpfulness, people resented the fact that I chose not to ‘just listen’ to them.

Over time, I have found that the less I respond, the more people like sharing what is on their minds. Sometimes, I can help people resolve issues they have been struggling with for years by simply asking a few good questions and saying nothing else. Best of all, my interaction stays with them long after our initial meeting.

Here’s what I have learned. It’s not about what I think. It’s all about getting you to think more deeply about what you want to change.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.GrowthSourceCoaching.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GSCBusinessCoach
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachstevejsmith
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GSCoaching
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GrowthSourceCoachingOrangeCountyCA
• Other: https://www.businesswingmen.com