Listen in to Chelsey's story.
PREFER TO READ? HERE’S THE TRANSCRIPT OF MY INTERVIEW WITH CHELSEY VINCENT
Sylvie: Welcome everybody, it's Sylvie McCraken from sylviemccraken.com and today, I have one of my incredible clients, Chelsey Vincent from chelseyvincent.com. Welcome, Chelsey, thank you so much for being here today.
Chelsey: Thank you, I'm excited to be here.
Sylvie: Yeah, so, Chelsey is a social worker by trade. Is that right?
Chelsey: That's right.
Sylvie: And, just completed our 8-week group coaching program, our eBook Engines program, and is working on an incredible eBook, which I'll let you kind of describe what it is you help people with and what your eBook kind of helps and who it helps.
Chelsey: Okay, so I do child and family social work so I work with families that are struggling with their kids or with relationships and I also do a variety of just routine mental health whether that's anxiety, depression, but really my specialization is working with attachment struggles and trauma and how that the interpersonal nature of trauma and how that impacts people on, in their daily functioning, basically.
Sylvie: That's great, well, I mean talk about something that's absolutely needed in this world, and especially for whatever reason it feels especially relevant right now. And, you know, so Chelsey, when you came across our program, what was your day-to-day like? What is it that made you decide that this is something you needed to do and that this is something you needed to do now?
Chelsey: I have extremely long days, I have a 2-hour commute and then, about 7 hours of face-to-face with clients and then the notes on top of that, so by the end of the day of a, you know, 9 to 12-hour day I'm pretty much exhausted and so, I wanted to have, start to lay the foundation for more flexible schedule and also the opportunity to reach out to people who are looking for the kind of services that I offer and that other people offer, but they don't know where to find them or what to look for. So many people are saying, “I need counseling” or “I need a therapist for my kid,” but they don't even know the first thing about what services are actually needed or what kind of therapy they actually, would actually help them with their problems, and so, that's, I wanted to help clarify that for people.
Sylvie: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, that sounds like the triple whammy of, you're spending way too much time, you know you want to impact way more people and, I'm guessing obviously because your model is tied, you know, dollars tied to hours, that there's a cap as well on the income and how much money you can make right now, is that true?
Chelsey: Yes.
Sylvie: Okay, cool, and so, what it is, I guess, what is it in the program, of course, we've gone through so many different things, we were talking a little before we started recording and, you know, I'm curious what you would say was, I guess, the biggest struggle for you to get over during the 8 weeks. Why don't we start with that?
Chelsey: Well, it all started, I had my breakthrough call with Angie and she opened up my eyes to the things, the dreams that I kind of just laid dormant 'cause I was exhausted, essentially, and didn't know how quite to get there. But, as soon as she was like, “Do you want to join the program,” fear just hit me like a ton of bricks and I recognized that it was fear hitting me in that moment and I said that to her and she said, “Well, we address that in the program, and we will help you work through that,” and so that helped me, get an idea of where I could go and what I could do with it and, so that was one of the major things with that initial fear of thinking, is this some sort of scam? Or is this really going to help? Or am I really going to be able to write a book? Even though that's something that I've always wanted to do it's like, where do you even start with something like that? And, so that was a huge shift, which is just getting over that initial fear. And then the next thing was starting to think of myself as an entrepreneur. I've never, you know, thought about myself in those terms and that seemed like such an elusive, elusive term and starting my own business seemed really strange, and even though it's something I wanted to do I just didn't know where to start with much of any of it and I even told Angie that, I said, “If I know what my goal is and I have a program to work towards it, I can do things like that,” but I'm like, this is uncharted territory for me, so I needed some guidance really.
Sylvie: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean that sounds, first of all, that's so common, but also, thank you for sharing that, because I think people might be under the misconception of, I don't know, that it's all easy or, “Of course, other people can do this but I can't,” and it's so interesting when we talk to people, especially after the fact, you know, in terms of what came up at that time. So, it's super interesting having to see that especially seen your journey already and how you showed up and took action during the whole time it's, just, kind of funny to hear you were starting with the same self-doubt.
Chelsey: Oh, big time.
Sylvie: Yeah, so okay, Chelsey, how did you, what would you say in during our time together, during the 8 weeks together, what would you say is kind of the most impactful part of the program or module or framework that helped you the most?
Chelsey: There were so, the program was so interconnected, it's hard to pick per one, but starting with the mindset piece, which you talk about a lot, but that really started to break down some of those self-imposed barriers so that I could start to do the work. I really started to outline it and see something take shape 'cause at first I had some ideas about what I would want to write about, but I didn't have any sort of framework to plug that into and it was amazing that as I went through each module step-by-step, how the framework just unfolded and not only did it transform the way I viewed my work and the way I started to work with my clients, 'cause I have this very eclectic framework that I use just naturally in my practice, but all of a sudden I realized how my framework fit together for my clients but then how also it was going to fit into an actual book that would be relevant to people and not just a smattering of all my different ideas all at once, so that was–
Sylvie: Yeah.
Chelsey: Each module step by step, just built all together and it was amazing to see it come together, you know, 'cause I went in not having any idea of what to expect.
Sylvie: Yeah, well let's, I mean that's incredible, because what it sounds to me is, like, you've had this message and this brilliance inside you this whole time and in a way, it was almost, like, unconscious. It's like an unconscious competence and you do it and you don't really know how you do it or what you're doing and, you know, if we could just pull that out of you and put it in an organized way so that other people can consume and learn from you, it's really all we're doing, so, I'm so, so glad that that came together, so that, you know, you could really share that with the world, as opposed to keep it to yourself.
Chelsey: Yeah, exactly.
Sylvie: So that's amazing. Okay, and then during our 8 weeks, obviously there's a lot to be done. So, for anyone listening that doesn't, you know, isn't a part of our program, doesn't know kind of our program, obviously, there's a lot to do. You know, you joined with no website, and are starting everything from scratch and, you know, 8 weeks goes by fast. Can you share a little bit of how much progress you kind of made in 8 weeks and, yeah, how far you've got in 8 weeks and how much left you've got to go?
Chelsey: I have a huge list of what I've accomplished, because that's part of what I did at the end was really reflect on what I had done, so that what's ahead of me didn't look like such a big deal. But, really, the fact that I got my book outlined, I got its cover, I got a title, I have the actual writing in progress and each section is being developed at this time, I've got a website bought. Talking to different people about designing, about editing, about website design. There's been a huge amount that was accomplished in just a few weeks and otherwise I would have just put it off for years.
Sylvie: Yeah, I remember you talking about, was it you that was talking about pre-sales as well? Were you doing pre-sales or was that?
Chelsey: No, well, when I've talked to people about the book there's people who are like, “Oh I would interested in buying that book,” so that kind of built my confidence. Oh, there's actual people I know who would buy this book. Even though I kind of knew that, it was different to hear them say that they'd be interested in that.
Sylvie: So, you've got people lined up already, that is amazing. I love that because you kind of have that fire under the butt now to actually get it done, cranked out, and launched, which is amazing. So, I'm curious in terms of, obviously it sounds to me like there were certain mindset shifts that happened during the program, just in the kind of work you had to do and kind of how you had to level up to put yourself out there, to really think of yourself as an entrepreneur, as an author and all these different things and oftentimes what happens is that, not only kind of creates this progress in your business and in your work, in your book, but also it leaps into kind of your personal life as well. So, I'm just curious, is there anywhere else you've seen kind of shifts in yourself and how you're showing up in other areas of your life, in your personal life?
Chelsey: It's given me new energy in some ways. Even though I'm working on the book in my off time, I have more energy when I'm around people, like it's kind of invigorated me in a different way and I've talked to the mindset coach that we work with about how I use my things that I've learned in this program with my friends and with my family and it's really given me increased energy, and increased kind of motivation, and that also helps me kind of rally around other people. And so, it's seeped into every aspect of my life. It's changed the way I wake up in the morning. It changes the way that I go throughout my whole entire day and how I structure my day and how I think about my time. It's been, I don't think there's an aspect in my life that hasn't been impacted over the past 8 weeks, truly.
Sylvie: That's amazing, I don't even know to say about that. I mean, you know mindset is such a foundational piece in everything that we do, obviously in business it's a huge, huge, huge foundation, but, of course, as we show up in our personal life and our personal relationships with our significant others and our children, our nieces, our nephews, our whatever, it obviously it impacts it in one way or the other. Positively or negatively or somewhere in between.
Chelsey: Yeah and I've just seen so many positive impacts over the past couple of weeks.
Sylvie: Yeah, can you just give us an example? Just one example, perhaps?
Chelsey: It's hard to think of one specific thing, but in terms of, as I've had friends who are encountering their own kind of mindset limits, I've been able to help them walk through, like, “This is what I'm doing,” and then they have told me, they've come back later and said, “I tried that, I tried journaling in the morning,” or “I did this exercise,” or whatever I told them to do. So, it's kind of fun, it kind of creates momentum amongst all of us, that we're going, “Oh, we can do this,” and “We can create things,” and, same thing, my husband, he's working on his own projects and, so, we've been able to kind of support each other. “Let's try this,” or “Let's make adjustments in our life this way and think about it this way.” And it's just, it's helped him, it's helped me and it's helped other friends that are close to me.
Sylvie: That's amazing, and what is, I guess, and I don't know if you've thought this far ahead, but now as you're getting closer to launching your own book and getting closer to going online for the first time, which is huge, it's a big undertaking, and you've worked so hard to get to this point. What is it that you envision, you know, your life to be a year from now? Just to give people a snippet of, a glimpse of what you're working towards a few months from now?
Chelsey: Well, my husband is in the military, so we could possibly move, almost every year it's like, we gonna move this year, are we not gonna move this year? And so, for me, just the idea that I can, I don't have to start over in my job every time we get stationed somewhere else, that's a huge thing. You talk about building on your own real estate and so rather than being dependent on wherever we're living to find a job or to find an organization I want to work for or find a network, I can build that network. So, a lot of it was just kind of giving me that reassurance that even if I moved in a year, I wouldn't be starting over from scratch. I wouldn't be trying to find a new job. So, having that security, but also having more flexibility to travel, because we are in the military, and also doing more pro bono work. That's something that I'm really passionate about, but I can't really just do pro bono work all the time, I have to be able to afford my lifestyle and so that I can have time to do advocacy work and pro bono work for different organizations that I'm really passionate about and so, I feel like this is going to give me not only a platform that my name can get out there and that people can start to recognize the work I'm doing, but also the flexibility and the funds to be able to do that kind of work.
Sylvie: To replace your one-on-one kind of day job to be able to then have more free time to donate your time if that's what you to do.
Chelsey: Exactly.
Sylvie: That's amazing, so, Chelsey, why don't you tell everyone what the url will be very soon with the website that is a work in progress, which will also serve as extra incentive for you to get it done quickly?
Chelsey: Exactly.
Sylvie: So people can learn more and find out about you, where can they go?
Chelsey: Chelseyvincent.com or lovedathome.com.
Sylvie: Okay, chelseyvincent.com or lovedathome.com. We'll put those links below this video as well. And, is there anything else that you would want to tell anyone that might be on the fence in terms of, whether it's signing up for our program or writing their book and really getting themselves out there and getting themselves out there in a big way, what would you say?
Chelsey: There's a quote that I kept thinking of, as I've gone through this program, and I don't know who it's from, but it said: “A year from now, you will wish you had started today.” And so, any time I feel like I'm putting something off, or I want to put something off I think that, where do I want to be a year from now, and is the choice I'm making gonna put me in that place or not? And so, taking part in this program, Ebook Engines program, it came up in my life at a time where I was looking to, I knew I needed to do something more and I, not by coincidence, I found your webinar and I thought, this is what I need to be doing so that in a year from now, I can have the flexibility to be doing even more of what I want to be doing and having a greater impact, and so, I took the plunge, as scary as it was.
Sylvie: And you've showed up and you've done the work as well, so it's like, not only have you taken that first step, but you've really shown up and you've submitted every help ticket, you've gotten reviews on everything that you needed to, and you have an incredibly framework that you can share with everybody, so I can't wait. I'm so excited for you to launch this and for it to get into people's hands and thank you so much for taking the time today to share with everyone about your experience.
Chelsey: Thank you, it's been a pleasure and I hope that people take the opportunity to really start, to start writing their book.
Sylvie: Absolutely, and to start sharing their message. Awesome, well, if you're watching this video and you're interested in getting started with your book. If you need a little bit of help or if you need to figure out if this is the right time or not, whether you have something that can be consumed in book form, and you want to get on a call for us. We can figure out where your business is at right now, what's not working, what you want your business to look like instead, and if a book is the best way to get there, if we can help people? Absolutely let you know how we can do that, and my team is the best team on the planet. I'm slightly biased, but really, they really are much better at it than I am and the link to book a call with my team is below this video. It is sylviemccraken.com/call and we look forward to speaking to you really soon. Bye for now.
