Tips To Hiring Your First Business Coach

Meet Nanette Saylor

Looking for 5 reasons to hire a business coach? Join me today for this enlightening interview with Nanette Saylor, a fabulous business coach, with a creative touch! You will love how her brain operates!

Enjoy this podcast transcription as I know working with Nanette was instrumental in changing my business through some simple suggestions and ideas that I could implement. As a creative entrepreneur in today’s cluttered business life having a business coach like this was a game changer.

Nanette Saylor is not your ordinary business coach… she is a creative entrepreneur coach and possibility partner at the Wise Well Women’s Way. Nanette is a CCA-certified coach. She blogs, she journals, has a self-care toolkit program, and so much to offer entrepreneurs in today’s very noisy business environment.

I want to share that Nanette was also my first business coach. When I was trying to transition after the housing market crash and we had a personal health issue in our family, she was very instrumental in giving me sound advice and guidance in regard to what my next step should be, and if I wanted to even stay in real estate at that point.

I am a firm believer in hiring a business coach and know that it can take you to the next level or clear the noise so you can focus in on your business. Here is the breakdown of our podcast…I know you will enjoy her tips as much as I did and still do.

#SoooBoca Interview 

Nanette Saylor: Oh, thank you, Michele. I’m so glad to be here today.

Michele B.: Tell us a little bit about yourself, and then I have a few questions that we call our Five in the Hive.

Nanette Saylor: Ah, okay. Well, I love on the fly questions, so this’ll be fun.

Michele B.: There you go. You’ll be good. You’re good.

Nanette Saylor: This’ll be fun. You know, it’s interesting thinking about how we’ve come together over the years. My story about Michele is that she helped me sell my house …

Michele B.: There you go.

Nanette Saylor: When I was ready to downsize and in a pattern of simplifying. We woke up one day and said, “You know what? The market’s starting to come back. It’s time to go,” and so we sold our Southeast Boca home, and now I’m a very happy renter on the beach. But I got to tell you that Michele was fabulous. She made that transition so easy. We were in a situation where our house was a little bit of an oddity in our community, so we needed some real expertise in the Boca market, and we got it with Michele.

Michele B.: Much appreciated.

Nanette Saylor: Yes, it was really fun.

Michele B.: I did not ask her to do that, just so you know, but thank you so much.

Nanette Saylor: Well, and I think it’s really important, because not only have you been a client of mine, but I have been a client of yours, and I think that really, for me … I’ve lived in South Florida now since the early ’80s. I’ve been a Boca resident for many, many years, and it’s really all about the relationships.

Michele B.: I agree. It’s rapport, relationship. I will say, even when I go on a listing appointment, and I’m going on one after this, you know, it’s usually who you know, like, and trust. I present whatever, but if you don’t like the person, you’re probably not going to do business with them anyways. I’m really up-front about that. I don’t do anything long. I’m just like, “Hey, look, here’s what I do. I do it at a high level. If you like me, we’ll work together great. If not, that’s okay.”

Establishing Relationships

Nanette Saylor: And so that’s really, in my coaching practice, that’s really what I’ve found works. For me, it’s about establishing a relationship. From that place, then we get a chance to decide whether, one, coaching is even something that really is right for you, and two, are we a good fit?

You know my backstory, which is, I came from the hospitality world. My last hospitality job was the general manager at what is now the Waterstone the old Bridge Hotel. I loved being a part of those kinds of hotels, but after 25 years I was tired and ready to do something different, and I found my way back to my creative core. That happened through a series of volunteer activities. I know that you do a lot of volunteering in the community. Those volunteer activities gave me a chance to really get my hands dirty and come back to creating. What I discovered was that the practice of nurturing our creative energy fuels a joy-filled life. That’s really what it’s all about.

Getting Joy Back Into Your Life

Michele B.: You and I have talked about getting your joy back. I think many times … and Nanette knows my backstory … when you lose that joy, it’s very challenging, and sometimes you don’t realize that you’ve lost it until you get it back. I think that was the one piece, for sure, that I have a takeaway from, is when we sat down … I’ll never forget. We sat down at my old real estate office on Palmetto Park Road, and you asked me, “What do you love about real estate?” I said, “I love helping people that are in difficult situations, and I like to list.” You said, “Then go list.”

Nanette Saylor: Yeah, right?

Michele B.: Then I was able to kind of … it opened that arena. It was a conversation, and it was productive in a very short period of time, which is what I think a lot of folks crave. They don’t necessarily want a long commitment, but they want a smart commitment, right?

Nanette Saylor: Yes, yes.

Five In The Hive 

Michele B.: I have a few questions for you. Here’s my first question for what we call our Five in the Hive. What is a creativity coach, and how does an entrepreneur tap into that?

Nanette Saylor:  I love this question, because when I say, “Hi, I’m Nanette, I’m a creativity coach.”

Michele B.:Get the crayons out.

Nanette Saylor: Yeah, they get the deer in the headlights look and they immediately think we’re going to go tie-dye or something. What’s unique about creativity coaching is, yes, I love all of those creative activities, and in fact I do workshops for those kinds of things …

Michele B.: I know.

Nanette Saylor: and I am passionate about encouraging people to get back to playing, because I think play is so important to our psyche. But the thing that makes creativity coaching unique is that we are trained to focus on areas where the individuals that we work with are birthing something that comes from them. When you’re an entrepreneur, you are selling something that comes from you, whether it’s your unique way of selling real estate in the world, or it’s my unique way of offering coaching, or maybe I developed a product, or maybe I’m an artist. But one of the things I really want to get across to everybody is, creativity coaching is not just for artists and writers and musicians.

Michele B.: I agree with you.

Nanette Saylor: Entrepreneurs, by their very nature, are core creative beings. Many of them just haven’t claimed it yet, because they think they have to get out the paintbrushes, and that’s not really what it’s all about. But offering support to people who are serving in the world, bringing something out that is their own, is a unique thing.

Michele B.: And that’s what you helped me do.

Nanette Saylor: Yeah, yeah.

Are You Distracted?

Michele B.: Because I’m in business, but I’m creative, bright and shiny objects can really attract me. It was more about reigning it in. And so my second question for you is, how does one choose the right coach? Because I’ve had real estate coaches, some group coaching, some private coaching, and you know what? I have found that in many cases they don’t get my vision. They want to push their vision. When I walked away from something recently it was really because it had run its course. It gave me what I needed and then I needed to move on.

Nanette Saylor: Yes. Yeah, and so thank you for bringing up that distinction. Coaching is a really personal thing, right? In the creative coaching world, what we really focus on is not driving my intention, but helping you discover your own. That is in its essence all pure coaching, but we see a lot of quasi-coaching, consulting things in the world of coaching.

Michele B.: We were just talking about that.

Nanette Saylor: It’s important for people to understand the difference, because there is a use for both. The coaching world is one where you and I spend time, me mostly asking questions, and you finding your own answers.

Nanette Saylor: In the consulting world, when I consulted in hospitality, I came in, I did a run-around, I saw how things were, I made my recommendations for how I thought, because I was the professional, I was there to teach you. 

Michele B.: Got it.

Nanette Saylor: We see it mixed up a lot.

Michele B.: A lot. And I do too. I agree with you.

Nanette Saylor: Yeah.

Michele B.: If you could pick one word in regard to why someone should journal, what would it be?

Nanette Saylor: Self-expression. Self-expression.

Michele B.: Yeah, I like that. We also want to know what your favorite empowerment word would be.

Nanette Saylor: Courage.

Michele B.: Oh, I love that. That’s a great word.

Nanette Saylor: Yeah, that’s my word of the year this year, so that was an easy one.

Michele B.: Mine was collaboration. That was my word of the year. I’m going to ask my millennial to jump in and ask the last of the Five in the Hive questions, so go ahead, Miss Alle B.

Alle Bellisari: Okay, so this is one of our more fun questions. If you had to pick any woman, dead or alive, to break bread with here in Boca, who would that woman be, and what restaurant in Boca would you choose?

Nanette Saylor: Ooh, that’s an interesting one. I would say Elizabeth Gilbert.

Nanette Saylor: Eat, Pray, Love. Most recently, Big Magic is her book all about creativity.

Nanette Saylor: And my favorite restaurant in Boca these days is Racks.

Michele B. Oh, awesome. Alle, what did you think about what Nanette was saying? Because obviously, you’ve been mentored, I have been coached, and I know there’s huge value in it. Why don’t you touch on that a little bit, my little millennial?

Alle Bellisari: Well, I feel like people don’t realize how helpful it is to have a mentor. Especially when you’re super independent, you just want to do everything yourself… You don’t want to listen to any suggestions or anything, you want to learn for yourself and keep going. And I feel like I’m like that in a lot of ways, where I just want to learn things for myself and I don’t need people to tell me what to do all the time.

But when I found my mentors, they literally changed my life. As dramatic as it sounds, they really did, because with my photography, I didn’t necessarily know what I was doing freshman year of college. I knew that I loved photography all throughout high school. It was like my passion, my hobby, and I just knew that I wanted to work with another photographer in the area. I didn’t have any specific niche in mind. But once I hooked up with my mentors, they taught me everything I know. What I was doing before was not even correct. It’s just super helpful to have people that you can ask questions and not feel like you’re going to be judged for it, and you actually learn. Now that I have graduated and am back in Boca I have started my photography business Halle Alessia Photography 

Michele B.: And they’ve mentored us for like holiday gifts for you. I reached out to them on a number of occasions, said, “I need to get Alle a lens, or what kind of equipment could I get her for birthday gifts and graduation gifts and Christmas gifts and whatever.” And I mean, not just like a “Get this, get this, or this.” I would get a long email on why, and also an option for something less expensive
I just thought that was amazing. You certainly can give them a shout-out if you want to.

Alle Bellisari:  Hunter Ryan Photo. They’re a couple wedding photography duo, and they’re amazing. They’re so fun.

Michele B.: And they’re based in?

Alle Bellisari: They are based in the Naples-Southwest Florida area. But yeah, they’re just simply amazing, and they’ve just turned my life around.

Michele B.: We’re very grateful to them. For my perspective, like I said, coaching, I think, can be so valuable, if it’s even one coaching session, or maybe you need a few coaching sessions. And I think it’s okay to switch coaches because sometimes it’s just not a good fit. But you need to start with one person and see if that’s a good fit. I think one of the things that people walk away with is that they don’t like, necessarily, what a coach is saying, but a lot of times that coach is seeing things that you don’t see. I think that’s where it’s so helpful. I’m glad we were able to talk a little bit about coaching and mentoring today.

Many thanks to Nanette Saylor for her time and wisdom as always!

About Michele Bellisari

Michele is a South Florida Realtor, based in Boca Raton, Florida, serving surrounding cities, and the founder of #Soooboca Lifestyle and Media. If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Boca Raton and any of the surrounding cities let her help you out! Michele blogs, vlogs, posts and shares all things Boca Raton, South Florida & Beyond from events, people, food, travel, home decor, fashion, beauty and real estate! You can find more at www.soooboca.com and on all the socials @soooboca.