I Made an Embarrassing Business Mistake

Here’s how I recovered and what I learned from it.

I’ve been a full-time life coach for almost half a decade. Each year I level up and improve my systems, skills, and business.

But every now and then, I make embarrassing mistakes. Like the one I made last week.

Today I’ll share…

• what happened
• what it taught me
• a different approach to fixing your mistakes

Like Trey Songz, let’s dive in. 🤿

Ch. 1: Selling a cheap coaching package.

My certification from the Insight Coaching Community.

A month ago I wanted to make some fast money. So I reached out to 11 people I coached in the past. They all declined to work with me for one reason or another (usually finances).

I told them about my “Springtime Special.” I was selling small packages of coaching sessions for a significantly lower price. The goal was to make it easier for folks to say yes to some coaching.

My typical cost: ​
~$500–750 per session

Springtime Special:​
• $225 for 1 session
• $200 each for 5 sessions ($1000)
• $175 each for 10 sessions ($1750)

Of the 11 reachouts, five agreed to discuss it on a call. All five signed on for the Special.

Here’s the breakdown of those five purchases:

1. 10 sessions: $1750
2. 3 sessions: $675
3. 10 sessions: $1750
4. 10 sessions: $1750
5. 5 sessions: $1000

Result = $6925 in 5 days. Not bad!

I felt creative, resourceful, and powerful. But not for long.​

Ch. 2: The mistake.

One of those new clients was a personal friend building her first business.

She was super hesitant and resistant to signing on, which was new for me because I hadn’t charged so little since I was a beginner.

I added an extra session and included a guarantee. If she didn’t make what she paid for coaching in her business by the time we finished, I’d refund it all back to her.

She paid $1750 for 11 sessions.

Things were going well. Then three sessions in, she told me she regretted her decision and wanted out. She asked me to refund her for all the sessions we didn’t do.

I was floored.

“That’s not how this works,” I replied. “We both consensually agreed to something, you paid for it, then we began the thing we agreed on.”

I knew I was right. But here’s the thing.

In my years of coaching professionally, I’ve never given a refund. It’s in bold at the bottom of the contract I sign with my clients.

“No refunds,” it says. If we do this, we do it all the way.

Wait…Oh shit.

I didn’t create a contract with her. 😳

We put nothing in writing. Just a digital handshake.

How can I say, “That’s not how this works” if we have no clear agreement on exactly how this works?

Is it a coincidence that the one time I don’t use a signed contract is the one time the client asks to bail halfway through?

Nope. I fucked up.​

Ch. 3: How to respond to a business mistake.

I called my girlfriend to vent. She validated me and shared my rage and hurt.

“What do you want to do,” she asked.

“Many things,” I replied. “It doesn’t feel justified for me to give back $1225. But I’m in a hyper-emotional state. I definitely shouldn’t make any decisions right now.”

I finished my sad day and went to bed.

Pro Tip — 💡
​
No one ever said to “stay awake” on a problem.

Whether you’re manic, depressed, or pissed off…Take a night to sleep on it before making any irreversible decisions.​

Every single time I did that…I ended up making the calmer, more rational, less regretful choice.​

When I woke up I put on my headphones, did the dishes, and listened to Uncle Alex’s latest podcast on recovering from huge business mistakes.

It was exactly what I needed to hear.

My biggest takeaways:

• It doesn’t matter if you’re right, it’s always your fault.
• The goal is not to win the argument; the goal is for every customer (or ex-customer) to leave with a positive perspective of you.
• When you make a mistake, you don’t just refund that mistake; you give back three times as much.

All the frustration and animosity I had for her turned to me.

My lack of professionalism led to this. If I had taken ten minutes to write the contract that said “no refunds” on it, we wouldn’t be here.

I could spend hours stewing about how messed up it is for her to bail on something she knew she was getting into. I could complain about the unplanned “-$1225” in my bank account the week before moving to Europe. I could come up with even more reasons why I was right to be outraged.

But none of that matters. And none of it helps.

My business. My responsibility. My fault.​

Ch. 4: How I left things with her.

I went for a long walk before hopping on a call with her to finalize everything.

When we got on Zoom, I apologized for not writing up a contract and took full responsibility. Then we signed a termination agreement.

On it, it had:

• the reason we terminated our work together
• the amount to be refunded
• a list of potential coaches who would be a better fit for her

I also gifted her two extra sessions with me to cash in any time down the road.

She was grateful and satisfied, which was the goal.

My face was hot the whole time. None of it felt good. My brain and body weren’t on the same page.

But we can feel terrible and still do the right thing. I wasn’t glad I did it that day, but I’m glad I did it now.​

Ch. 5: Cheap clients vs. expensive clients.

I refer to this meme often.

I didn’t believe it when I first saw it. Then I ran my own business for several years.

It’s counterintuitive. You’d think those who pay the highest, most firm fees would have the most intense demands.

But more often than not it just doesn’t happen that way.

The clients who pay the least are almost always…

• the most annoying to onboard
• the most likely to cancel/reschedule calls
• the least committed/least likely to take massive action

I’m even seeing this with the other four clients who bought this Springtime Special.

I’ll never do it again. This is why I charge high rates for long periods of time.

It filters out everyone who’s not a killer.​

Ch. 6: Expectations vs. agreements.

Steve Chandler talks about the importance of creating agreements instead of living in a world of expectation.

When we have expectations, there are only two possible results:

1. people meet our expectations (neutral, expected)
2. people don’t meet our expectations (bad, disappointed)

Neither is good.

Have you ever been thrilled to meet someone’s expectations?

“We’re expecting you to hit these numbers.”
“We expect you to be on time.”
“I expect you to treat me with respect.”

We obviously gotta do what we gotta do when we have jobs, spouses, and customers.

But creating agreements is 10x more powerful.

“What numbers make sense for you to hit this quarter?”
“We noticed you’ve been late. What time can we agree on?”
“Let’s agree to love each other and treat each other with respect.”

Subtle differences. But now both parties are on board and on the same page.

When someone breaks an agreement, you can remind them of the agreement they made. They’re on the hook.

But when they break an expectation you had of them, it’s more cloudy and it’s usually a one-way poison.

I’ve caused so much self-inflicted damage by carrying expectations in my head. Then when friends, girlfriends, or colleagues unknowingly break those expectations…I resent them and they have no clue why.

With this friend and ex-client, I had invisible expectations and no visible agreement. We spoke words but put nothing in writing.

Pro Tip — 💡
​
If you exchange any service for any money with any person…write up a contract.​
​
​Especially if it’s a friend or family member. It will protect the relationship and keep you from mixing the personal with the professional.

I will never again work with someone without a written agreement, even if they pay me $1 for a 60-second session.

This lesson hurt to learn. But I’m better for it.

If you want to follow my journey to $50,000/month, get lessons from top 1% creators, and join me as I travel the world with my laptop…

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