Coaching

I have spent the better part of this last year asking people if they knew an art agent I could talk to. I thought for sure someone would know someone already established in this capacity. I would ask for an informational interview, or in a best case scenario, offer to intern with them. I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel, just apply my eye for art and trends with my relationship skills. Lo and behold, there was no such person, at least not in Atlanta.

Just last night, I had an artist address me, saying, “As my agent, you….” So the fact that I’ve gone from there to here, amazes me. Once I started taking action, things started falling into place.

Over the summer, I met Patricia Varley (www.patriciavarley.com) in Aspen, and didn’t find out until the day I was leaving, and we exchanged business cards, that she is not only a motivational speaker, but a business and life coach. Well, I feel my life is about the happiest and most balanced it’s been in a long time, but I knew I could use some dedicated business coaching. So when I got home, I shot an email off to Patricia.

While she is on the road a lot, she is available to coach by phone. We spent an initial session determining what I was looking for in a coach, and she sent me some questionnaires to complete. I’d already done a lot of pre-work on my own in the last couple of years, writing out what’s important to me, what I think my purpose is, so the questionnaire came easy to me. When completed and we met by phone for our next session, I was encouraged by how much Patricia seemed to like my writing. And the exercise seemed to tie together a lot of the things I’d been thinking about recently and my reasoning for looking for an art agent to apprentice with.

There wasn't going to be a mentor, and I wasn't going to be an apprentice. I was going to figure this thing out on my own. Patricia was invaluable in listening, coaching, encouraging, and most importantly for me, the matter of paying for sessions made my self imposed deadlines very important. I was motivated to get the most out of my investment in myself.

So at the end of each session, we covered what my tasks were and when we would meet next. And as my newfound coach pointed out, when I started taking action, things just started happening.