SKB 1-to-1 Tutoring

Welcome here.

If you are looking at our one-to-one services, we know you are serious about finding support that is the right fit for you and your business. So grab a tea, and we'll spend a few minutes to try to answer your questions.

(FYI for the curious, the longer tale of how SKB came to be is over on SKB Core Curriculum.) 

Laugh if you will, but I thought I had to be magic.

I think that one of the biggest fears I've had over my years as an entrepreneur is that there's some magic enjoyed by people who are successful: a magic that I don't have, and won't attain, no matter how much I learn or work or do in my business. 

I'd see these people --about the same age, and with the same years of experience in their work as me-- and they'd have a huge number of followers on media. Or they seemed to be selling books and courses around the world. Comparisons were inevitable. Had I wasted my career life following this sometimes twisty-seeming thread of self-employment?

If I'm painfully honest, I guess I also wondered if there was something wrong with me. If I needed to be more out there, more aggressive, more energetic, more like the herd, more not myself. 

Because you've probably read all the self-help books too, I imagine that right now you are very kindly thinking 'of course there's nothing wrong with you.'

I agree. There's nothing wrong with me, or you. In fact there's everything right with wanting to do helping work that manifests your values and earns you enough to live. And in longing to present that to the world in a way that feels in alignment with who you are.

It may sound strange, but one of my biggest 'a-ha' moments of recent years came when I realized that being successful in my small business didn't mean something mysteriously magic. It came when I realized this:

My business is the creative, sustainable container I build to hold my good work.

That's it. It's not marketing fairy dust, or ‘make six figures by tomorrow’ castles in the air. It's not something that I need to have unusual luck or a super-charismatic personality to do. It's about using my innate creativity + some best practices to joyfully build a structure that will hold and support me, so I can get on with solving the problems I love to solve for people. 

That’s just do-able, roll-up-your-sleeves-and-make things sort of stuff. Plus, it's delightful. I get to create something beautiful and useful.

And here's what's really intriguing. When I started to re-structure my businesses to support me, I also noticed this: far from being a liability, my kind, soul-of-a-singer homebody personality brings with it a whole bunch of qualities that make my work attractive to people.  My unwillingness to talk b.s. in my marketing materials lets people trust me. My introverted nature that listens first, talks second, makes me approachable. My creative artistic side also turns out to be great at troubleshooting business problems. My writerly reclusiveness is ready made for social media. My drive for cultural change gives my blog posts some fire. The very things that I worried were holding me back are actually invaluable.

You can be quiet and gentle and kind, and also have a business that makes money. 

I have re-organized my work life to provide for my personal priorities:

• freedom to work--and play--when I choose (right now, my work-week is about 45 hours because I am co-running 3 business streams and have family responsibilities. I anticipate it will be more like 30 in the future)
• having the money to live in a small home in a city I love, pay bills each month without worry, pay my ‘extra’ health care bills, wear clothes by sustainable indie designers, buy organic food, keep educating myself, go to happy hour with my friends, and support organizations that matter to me
• choose the people with whom I’ll work

Essentially, I have re-structured my service-based businesses to support me, as they support others. This is what we teach at School of Kind Business™

I still feel uncomfortable on the regular. I am constantly learning, and iterating what I do. I've had to breathe into the initial panic when ‘no’ from a poor-fitting client (and you know they’re poor-fitting because they’re saying ‘no’) creates space for a right-fitting client. I had to ditch the concept of sales pages and create ‘filter in’ pages, instead. I needed to be OK changing my prices, and find creative ways to supplement my income as I build up. I had to find ways to navigate risk. And a whole bunch of other stuff that feels scary and courageous and empowering at the same time.

The School of Kind Business™ One to One Tutoring is a personalized, deep support version of our core curriculum.

Like the 5-week SKB Classroom, it is especially designed for introverts, empaths, quieter folks, and anyone else who is worried you have to be pushy or super-confident or 'sales-y' to run a successful business. Your spidey senses, open hearts, good listening skills, creativity and longing for a kinder world are all assets that will help you build a more sustainable structure to hold the work you do. (And we welcome bold, kind-hearted extroverts here, too!)

It’s about building a holistically kind business. And it’s about true, sustainable wealth. Measured not just in money but in time and energy and well-being. 

Because it seems to be the goal of a lot of business/marketing  programs, I want to be clear that this isn’t about ‘making six figures.’ Or ‘multiple six figures’.  Or some other (usually large-ish) number. 

It’s about making whatever you need to feel truly supported. It’s about making enough.

At the end of the 60 days, you’ll have your own Kind Business Plan™-- service packages, sustainable pricing, a free sample offering, a bag full of marketing ideas--and a to-do list for tackling them in a non-overwhelming way. 

The program centres around 12 succinct but essential exercises, presented in easy-to-follow worksheets you can print out or view on your iPad while writing your responses in a journal at your favourite cafe.

Plan for three hours per module (and a glass of bubbles or cup of your favourite tea), once per week, if you want to be leisurely about it. You may want to schedule in another couple hours for your meeting with your tutor, and any follow up that comes out of that. Once you have all the modules, you can always come back to refine or even fully re-write your Kind Business Plan™ in a your spare moments, or over a weekend. We want this to feel totally do-able, and joyfully creative.

You will learn skills you'll never un-learn.  

Who is SKB Tutoring for? 

• You are a solo entrepreneur and your business is service-based in healing, helping, creative experience, or similar. 
• You think you might know some of this stuff already, but you would benefit from specific, tailored-to-you feedback, the creative input of someone who 'gets it,' filling in the missing pieces, and weekly accountability
• You identify as an introvert, intuitive, shy—or all of those. That said, we whole-heartedly welcome extroverts, ambiverts, or any kind of '-verts' who want to be able to grow their businesses without feeling fake or 'sales-y'!
• You prefer one-to-one conversations and e-mail interactions to group learning 
• You love your business, you're just not in love with it right now. You are committed, but not feeling satisfied. You might even feel exhausted by it all.
• You are not making enough money - especially given how much of yourself you're putting into it
• You don't want to spend all of your time marketing or selling. . . you want to spend your time doing your good work
• You are excellent at your modality or practice, but struggling with how to communicate your offerings, reach more people, and put systems in place
• You've secretly wondered if only more outgoing (aggressive?) people are cut out for financially successful self-employment, or if you're going to have to fake it a little to get the sale

Who isn't this program for? 

Like all good things, School of Kind Business One-to-One Tutoring  isn’t for everybody. We don't recommend it if:

• You’re happy with your pricing, business structure, and website exactly as-is (if that's the case, maybe we should hire you to teach at SKB!)
• Your pricing or practice is mandated by a governing body so you aren’t able to change your rates, or find other creative outlets to augment your income
• You are selling widgets. So to be clear, if most of your revenue comes from selling physical products, online or in a bricks and mortar store, this course won't be specific enough to your needs.
• You don’t want to invest in your business right now, or you can't commit 3+ hours per week for 6 weeks.
• You’re already working with a business or money coach (too many cooks spoil the supper!)
• You aren’t comfortable with the idea of ‘choosing a niche’ (or experimenting with a few niches). It feels too much like fitting into a box.
• You don’t have the technological skills or internet connection to work through email & Zoom
• You'd prefer a lower cost alternative (in which case, you might prefer the School of Kind Business 5-week online group program)
• You are uncomfortable giving or receiving authentic, constructive feedback
• You have no idea what kind of work you really want to do, OR you don’t have any sense at all of what problem you solve for people
   

School of Kind Business One-to-One Tutoring includes: 

• Five learning modules that result in business peace of mind.
  
  
• Access to core worksheets and supplementary audio/videos through your private login in the Thinkific online learning platform. You’ll be reminded weekly by email.
  
  
• Five, 60-75 minute Zoom or Skype meetings with me (Pamela Alexander, hello!) as the Modules are released, i.e. one call every 7-10 days, as it fits your schedule.

• Plus email access Mon-Fri PST, for 60 days beginning your first day of tutoring.  (Please allow 24-48 hrs for response). So that's two full months of personalized support.  

• Ask me questions about the curriculum topics, request feedback on your homework and business plan, show me pieces of your copy writing. . . use me to troubleshoot any challenges you’re having. I am here to witness, reflect, and make kind suggestions.

• A discount when you choose to review the material by participating in any 5-week group program that runs during the year after we complete. 

For now, School of Kind Business One-to-One Tutoring costs $400 USD 
(around $500+ CDN)

It takes more instructor time than a SKB group course or self-study course, so it costs more. That said, you get so much more personalized care, it's hard to put a precise value on it. 

Many business programs charge in the $1500 - 2000 USD range for similar care and time. However, as you'll discover in the program, we believe in running a fair trade business that earns you 'enough' to live healthfully. I'm still experimenting with the online format somewhat, so you get a bit of a break on price for now. But I imagine in the next year or so I will give myself a raise so that the price more accurately reflects my fair trade costs.

Does this sound like it might be for you? 

Because we know your work matters a lot to you, we want you to feel really clear before you buy. We don't offer refunds, because we find that refunds and guarantees tend to act as false enticements. 

We don't want to entice you. That's why we have an application process. 

We recommend that once you've read every word on this page, you just sit for a few breaths, and notice how you feel in your body. In your guts, your heart, your feet. Underneath any excitement or butterflies, is there a solid 'yes' or 'no'? We want you to feel good in your body and commit to giving it your best. The results will depend on where you are at right now in your life and in your business, and how you engage with the material. 

If that's a 'yes', then please, go ahead and hit those cute buttons at the top or the bottom of this page and apply (which just means you'll need to answer a few questions and get the details from us, no big deal.) Don't put it off for some vague tomorrow.

To apply, or get more info, please reach out to [email protected]

These are the SKB Curriculum Modules we'll complete together. 

And they will be downloadable, so you can keep and re-visit them. 

(In fact, we recommend it).