Using your coaching business as an outlet for social change.
Most of us got into coaching because we have a desire to be of service - to help others and leave the world a little bit better than we found it. We see the impact of our work every day on our clients - but what about the impact of our business decisions? How can our businesses contribute to a more equitable and sustainable future? How can they be a true extension of our values?
Creating an aligned business requires an ongoing commitment to shining a light on your purchasing, hiring, product, marketing, and pricing decisions (to name a few). It requires asking how all of your business decisions can be more in line with your values.
This is hard work - a lot harder than writing a cheque each year to a charity you care about (although that’s important too!) It requires clarity about the kind of future you want to help build and an openness to seeing your business decisions as a tool for change in and of themselves.
Here are a few questions to get you started:
1. HOW CAN MY BUSINESS CONTRIBUTE TO A NEW WAY OF RELATING TO THE EARTH?
Every zoom call, every computer you buy, every new app that you use in your business - they are all made possible by resources extracted from the earth. They all have an environmental cost - a cost that is undervalued (if it is valued at all). As a result of humans taking blindly from the earth, we are facing an unprecedented climate and biodiversity crisis.
As entrepreneurs, we can begin to challenge this system of extraction and start making it as normal to give back to the earth as it is to take from it.
Some questions you can ask as you look at your business:
How can I reduce the environmental cost of my products and offerings?
How can I factor the environmental cost of my offerings into my pricing?
Factoring carbon offsets into your balance sheet is one way to do this. Many sites offer small business carbon calculators (like this one) that you can do for free and then pay for your offsets. Or you can commit a percentage of profits, or an amount per client (such as through the Soul Trees program with TreeSisters) to an organization working in reforestation.
How can more of my business dollars support companies that prioritize the planet? Check out this list of B corps, or this list of businesses that have committed 1% for the planet for starters.
How can I share what I’m doing and use my business as a platform to encourage others to think about the climate and biodiversity crisis?
2. HOW CAN MY BUSINESS CONTRIBUTE TO JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION?
If your business decisions aren’t intentionally challenging white supremacy, colonialism, and other systems of oppression - then your decisions are likely perpetuating those forces. Dismantling systems of oppression require unlearning, evolving, and breaking out of a powerful default mode that exists in all aspects of our lives.
If you are new to anti-racism work, start by educating yourself (this is one place to start). Then you can begin asking hard questions about your business - looking at each aspect with a justice and equity lens.
Some questions to get you started:
How can I use my pricing, my profits, and my marketing to redistribute wealth, resources, and influence in a way that begins to right historical wrongs?
How can I be more open to uncomfortable feedback from those with marginalized identities?
How can I use more of my business dollars to support women-owned and BIPOC owned businesses?
How can I make my offerings more accessible to people with disabilities?
How can I use my business as a platform to encourage others to think about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion? Check out the Small Business Anti-Racism pledge for some ideas.
How can I continue to learn and challenge myself in this area?
When my coaching business got to a point where I realized that it had become more than just a side hustle I quickly got overwhelmed with asking myself these questions. However, when I looked closer I realized that creating an aligned business can be done in much the same way that we support our clients to create an aligned life. Go slowly and thoughtfully, be kind to yourself, choose one thing at a time. Balance this work with all of the other demands on your time and attention focusing on what matters most to you. Let this work on your business be something that fuels your growth and deepens your understanding of how you want to be of service in the world. And always come back to your vision - for yourself, for your business, and for the world.
Onwards, Rebels.
Jessica Lax
Certified Mind Rebel™ Coach
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Jessica Lax is a Certified Mind Rebel™ Coach and member of our Faculty team. Jess is also the founder of the Ember Circle. She draws on her 20 years of experience working on social and environmental issues to support coaches and social impact leaders to step into aligned paths of service.
