Last updated on October 9, 2022
Janine Wittwer specializes in helping women advance their careers through her practice Inner Harmony Coaching in Salt Lake City. We hope you enjoy this interview!
Coaching Focus: As a success coach, I help women gain self-confidence and maximize their strengths to reach their professional goals, for example finding the right career or advancing in the current one. I am particularly interested in supporting women in STEM fields.
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Connect: You can find Janine online at her website, as well as on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Editor’s Note: Don’t miss Janine’s article here at Life Coach Magazine: Imposter Syndrome: What It Is, and How It Affects You and Your Coaching Clients.
Tell us about your journey as a coach.
I have been a college mathematics professor for 20 years. Over time, I realized that my very favorite part of the job is advising, particularly advising female students.
I love helping [clients] realize that they are much more knowledgeable, impressive, and powerful than they think.
Then I get to see them go out into the world and do fabulous things!
This led me to pursue my training with Coach U and to start my coaching business in 2020. Most of my early clients (and a sizable part of my current clientele) are graduates of my college. I can imagine that in the future I might coach full-time, but for now, I enjoy coaching part-time while also being a professor.
What courses, programs, or certifications have you done? Would you recommend them, and for whom?
I completed the Core Essentials Program at Coach U. I have applied for the International Coaching Federation’s ACC certification and am waiting for review.
I would recommend the Core Essentials Program to anyone who wants to get in-depth coaching training. It is a 12- to 18-month program with about 12 individual classes. The teachers are ICF-certified coaches with their own practices who bring a wealth of personal experience as well as their unique styles. I learned a lot, got to practice all the knowledge, and had a blast in the process 🙂
What advice or perspective might you give to a new coach trying to get her first clients? Any advice they should ignore?
We are often told that to start with we should coach for free. That is great for getting practice, but don’t expect any of your free clients to ever convert to paying clients. They will be willing to give you testimonials and help you get seen on social media, though, so take advantage of that. I’ve found that referrals from existing clients (free or not) are the most powerful tool for getting new clients. I also offer free webinars to get my name out.
If you are aiming for ICF accreditation, you’ll need at least 100 coaching hours, 75 of which need to be paid. (Check that number when it is your time, it is subject to some changes). Be aware that ‘paid’ includes clients you barter with. So for example, someone could help you set up your marketing strategy in exchange for coaching, and it would count towards the 75 hours.
What books have significantly influenced your life? What are your key takeaways from these books?
- The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It by Valerie Young – This is an eye-opening book for anyone who suffers from imposter syndrome. I have recommended it to many clients, sometimes with life-changing results.
- The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga – I listened to this as an audiobook and loved it. (It takes a few chapters to get into.) It helped me worry much less about what other people think, and gave me talking points to support my clients in the same journey.
- Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab – A great guide to how to set your personal boundaries. I’ve recommended this to many clients.
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