Last updated on June 16, 2022
Vicki Garcia is the founder of VCG Coaching in Seattle. Her coaching practice specializes in helping corporate professionals improve their mental fitness by using science-backed methods. We hope you enjoy this interview!
Coaching Focus: I’m on a mission to help successful corporate professionals put themselves, their dreams, their desires, and their mental health at the forefront of their lives.
I guide my clients in removing the masks and fully embracing who they are, without guilt, using brain science, Human Design, and Conversational Intelligence.
Location: Greater Seattle area, Washington, USA
Connect: You can find Vicki online at her website, as well as on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Tell us about your journey as a coach.
I worked in the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries in my previous career doing drug research. As much as I love science, something was missing. On the outside, everything looked good. I had a great job, friends, and family. But on the inside, I wasn’t happy or fulfilled.
After hiring a coach, I discovered what I wanted, and what would bring me fulfillment. I realized I wanted to change careers and get certified as a Life Coach.
I earned my coaching certification in 2008. I originally gained clients through attending networking events in the Bay Area. Once I moved to the Seattle area, clients came to me through referrals. I struggled to consistently put myself out there to get clients. As a result, my practice was feast or famine with no consistent income.
I was trying to do everything myself. I resisted investing in a high-level coach to help me with my business.
Once I finally took a risk and found the right coach for myself, I was able to work through the fears that were stopping me from feeling confident and charging according to the value I was delivering.
If I could offer advice to other coaches, it would be this: Strategy and tactics are necessary for business growth. But before you can effectively utilize any of those strategies, you have to be willing to do the personal work to increase your self-leadership and courage.
As my coach says, “It doesn’t take time to make money. It takes courage”.
We want to destigmatize talking about money, including how much coaches make. Would you please share with our readers any relevant revenue figures from your business?
I had plenty of years in my business where I made $20,000 or less. Eventually, I was able to make it to $50,000. In 2021, I made more money in my coaching practice than ever before, and this year (2022), I’m on pace to pass the 6-figure mark in my business for the first time ever.
What courses, programs, or certifications have you done? Would you recommend them, and for whom?
I’m a Positive Intelligence Coach and Facilitator. This mental fitness work has been life-changing for me and my clients!
The following are my coach certifications:
- Life Coach Certification Program with The Fearless Living Institute
- Conversational Intelligence Certified Coach with WBECS
- Quantum Alignment System with Karen Curry Parker (in process)
I would recommend all of them.
What advice or perspective might you give to a new coach trying to get her first clients? Any advice they should ignore?
Work on your coaching skills. Keep coaching, no matter what—even if it’s pro bono. Keep track of your client outcomes and successes.
If you’re afraid of putting yourself out on social media or speaking in public, hire a coach and work through these fears ASAP. When a marketing or business coach tells you they have THE way to build your business, run.
There is no one way to [build your coaching practice]. There is only the way that works for you.
What are your thoughts on “choosing a niche” as a coach?
I’ve been challenged with choosing a niche for most of my coaching career. You can build a practice without one. And, if you want to market, you really do need to speak to one client, not all people.
I started to get more clarity on my niche when I looked at the common characteristics my clients had, not just job titles or demographics. Not every niche will fit into a nice box that you can verbalize in one sentence.
Can you recommend any books that have significantly influenced your life?
It all started with Fearless Living by Rhonda Britten. This book was the start of me understanding and believing there was nothing wrong with me. Fear was motivating most of my actions. And when I learned how to let love and freedom motivate my actions instead, everything began to change.
If you received an extra $10,000 to spend on your business, how would you spend it and why?
I would invest in improving the systems in my business and would hire an assistant to do the things that take my time away from coaching.
What are some of your current favorite affirmations or thoughts?
As a Human Design Projector, this is the affirmation that I’m working with currently:
I sit still, grounded in my power. I observe the chaos around me with peace. I wait for life to come to me. I trust divine timing. I focus on where I can be of service.
When you feel overwhelmed, stressed, or have lost your focus or motivation, what do you do?
I work to lean into whatever I’m feeling without making up a story about what it means. I meditate and utilize Positive Intelligence PQ Reps and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to calm my brain. I create my schedule in such a way that I have quiet time every morning to get grounded. I set intentions for how I want to BE for the day.
Do you have any examples of how a “failure” set you up for later success?
I believe there is no such thing as failure. There are only experiences and learning from them. I have had countless experiences that set me up for success.
Do you have any embarrassing (at the time) stories from your work as a coach? Or a time when putting yourself out there really paid off?
As I mentioned, I struggled with putting myself out on social media, truly being myself and showing all of me.
I recently took a risk and posted about the more “woowoo,” intuitive side of the work I do. I included a call to action to apply to work with me and book a call. This vulnerable post lead someone I didn’t know to click the link, apply, book a call, and meet with me. I now have a new client who is exactly the client I have been energetically calling in.
If you could put a message on a huge billboard—getting a message out to millions—what would it say and why?
“When you shed the expectations and conditioning from others, you’ll see the truth: there’s nothing wrong with you, love.”
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I train and mentor coaches for the Life Coach Certification Program where I received my first certification. Most of the coaches I work with suffer from impostor syndrome and extreme self-doubt that stops them from ever making a living from their coaching practice. Although coaches are not technically my niche, I do attract many of them, and I’m on a mission to help more coaches make money in their practice.
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