How to Find Your Purpose as a Coach or Consultant

Do you want to find your purpose? Do you feel passionate and fulfilled by your work? Do you create value for your clients far beyond money?

If you are a coach, consultant, or professional service provider, finding your purpose is not only important for your happiness but also for your business success.

In this article, we will explore the meaning of purpose, why it matters, and how you can find it in your work.

What is Purpose and Why Does It Matter?

Purpose can be defined as an overarching intention that is personally meaningful to you and of consequence to the world beyond yourself. Your purpose can help you organize your life, give you a clear direction, and motivate you — especially when you encounter life’s inevitable setbacks and disappointments.

For example, maybe you’ve always had a strong desire to contribute to the greater good, leading you to pursue a career in coaching, consulting, or professional service. Or maybe you’re most energized when lifting others and want to entertain them through a creative career. Or maybe, you’re still figuring out your purpose — that’s okay too.

Finding your purpose early in life can benefit you in many ways. Those who report a strong sense of purpose at younger ages tend to have better mental health and are more resilient against setbacks. Finding your purpose is also a precursor to being an effective leader, and working in a meaningful career that can make a positive impact.

But finding your purpose is not only good for you, it’s also good for your clients and your business. When you have a clear purpose, you can:

1. 1. 1. Attract and retain clients who resonate with your vision and values.
      2. Differentiate yourself from other coaches, consultants, or professional service providers who offer similar services.
      3. Create and deliver offers that solve your clients’ problems and fulfill their desires.
      4. Charge premium prices that reflect the value and impact of your work.
      5. Build a loyal and engaged community of fans, followers, and advocates.
      6. Enjoy your work and have fun along the way.

Four Steps to Find Your Purpose

So, how can you find your purpose as a coach, consultant, or professional service provider? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are some steps that you can take to help you discover it. Here are some suggestions:

Seek out new experiences and reach beyond yourself.

It’s important to cultivate your passions and seek experiences that can challenge, inspire, and expose you to new perspectives. For example, you can take a course, read a book, travel to a new place, volunteer for a cause, or join a community that interests you. These experiences can help you discover what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for as a coach, consultant, or professional service provider.

Reflect on your life story and your core values. 

It’s also important to look inward and examine your life story and your core values. Your life story can reveal your defining moments, your turning points, and the key influences that shaped your identity and your purpose. Your core values can reveal your beliefs, your principles, and your standards that guide your decisions and actions. For example, you can write a personal narrative, create a timeline, or draw a map of your life journey. In my coaching sessions, I use a simple Personal Values Assessment to help my clients identify their top values and how they align with their purpose.

Ask for feedback and support from others. 

It’s also important to seek feedback and support from others who know you well and care about you. They can provide you with valuable insights, perspectives, and encouragement that can help you find your purpose. For example, you can ask your friends, family, colleagues, mentors, or coaches to share their observations, opinions, and suggestions about your strengths, your passions, your goals, and your purpose. You can also join a mastermind group, a peer coaching circle, or a professional network that can help you with your purpose discovery process.

Experiment and iterate until you find your sweet spot. 

Finally, it’s important to experiment and iterate until you find your sweet spot, where your purpose, your passion, your skills, and your market meet. Finding your purpose is not a one-time event, but a dynamic and ongoing process that requires trial and error, learning and adapting, and testing and validating. For example, you can create a hypothesis, a prototype, or a minimum viable product (MVP) of your coaching, consulting, or professional service offer that reflects your purpose. Then, you can test it with your potential clients, collect feedback, and make improvements until you find the best fit.

Conclusion

Finding your purpose as a coach, consultant, or professional service provider is not only important for your happiness, but also for your business success. When you have a clear purpose, you can attract and retain clients who resonate with your vision and values, differentiate yourself from other coaches, consultants, or professional service providers who offer similar services, create and deliver offers that solve your clients’ problems and fulfill their desires, charge premium prices that reflect the value and impact of your work, build a loyal and engaged community of fans, followers, and advocates, and enjoy your work and have fun along the way.

To find your purpose, you can seek out new experiences and reach beyond yourself, reflect on your life story and your core values, ask for feedback and support from others, and experiment and iterate until you find your sweet spot.

If you need more help with finding your purpose, you can join our Coaches Without Clients program, a group business coaching program that will help you overcome your challenges and transform your business and your life. In this program, you will learn how to find your purpose and passion as a coach, consultant, or professional service provider, identify your niche and craft a unique value proposition, market your services and attract your ideal clients, sell your offers and convert your prospects, manage your time and adapt to new technology, and use AI as a marketing tool to enhance your online presence and reach. You will also get access to a community of like-minded peers, mentors, and experts who will help you along the way.