She walks into the café and sits down across from me.

I had already created an entire personal brand and website makeover for her in my head and was excited to present my idea to her.

But she isn’t interested.

So before info dumping on her about something she doesn’t want from me, I ask her, “What made you want to meet with me today?”

Instantly she opens up.

She says, “I was surprised by what you said about why we sabotage ourselves, because I do that exact thing all the time.”

Ah, now I see what she really wants.

I thought we’d be having a chat about how I can help with her branding and marketing… but she probably wants my therapy & coaching services.

My goal is to support her in the way that would be most helpful.

So, I ask her, “What’s on your mind?”

She opens up a bit more and tells me that she wishes she could manage the emotional side of running her own business without getting derailed for days.

Like having the difficult conversation with someone she freelances for and then going into a 3 day paralyzing loop where nothing else gets done because she still so angry about how badly she was treated.

Or getting short-changed in a deal and then blowing up on her partner because that anger had to come out somehow and on someone.

She knows she is hurting herself and her loved ones and she’s had enough.

That’s why we’re here in this café, which is the first time in her 50 years of living that she ever considered even talking to a coach or therapist.

At this point, I have been doing family constellation therapy and neurodivergent parenting coaching for over two years. I had started off with one-off sessions and my clients would book sessions one at a time.

But now I know one thing for sure…

The real issues behind the emotional outbursts that my café friend’s business was triggering went deep and we would need time to reach them.

When she asks me how we could work together, I don’t blink twice and say that it would be a 6 month journey and would cost a four figure amount.

I can say it so quickly because in that moment I had the full-body knowing that it takes to get to roots that are so deep.

In this split moment, I am driven by my wish that no one should be left alone to deal with big things on their own, with no support.

When emotions start showing up so strongly in our business, it’s always “big things” that have deep roots. These “big things” go way back, often to the time when we were small kids. When we’re working at this level, we are working with the adult client in front of us as well as the small kid that still lives inside her.

It’s cruel to leave a small kid alone with a heavy burden and expect her to figure it out on her own.

It’s absolutely unfair and unkind.

That’s why she needs companionship, a guide, just someone around as she makes this journey.

And it must be long term support.

A minimum of 3 months, but 6 months is the sweet spot.

All these bits of full-body, lived-experience knowing tells me that she doesn’t need a one-off coaching/therapy session but long term support.

So when I tell her that we can work together but it would be 6 months and cost a four-digit number, she doesn’t blink either and says, “Sound good. Can you send me a contract and the dates?”

And that’s how I sold my first package after years of working with people in one-off sessions for 2 years.