Strategies for Scaling Your Counseling Practice with Nicole Liloia Ep.64

Episode Overview

• Episode Topic:
  In this episode of Mastering Counseling, host Becky Coplen sits down with accomplished entrepreneur Nicole Liloia CEO and Founder at Nicole Liloia International. Nicole has a rich background in social work and has successfully transitioned into the business realm, focusing on empowering women to develop diverse income streams. The conversation gets into Nicole’s journey from being a social worker to building an international coaching business. Listeners will gain insights into how Nicole established her online presence and expanded her clientele across different countries, highlighting the blend of her social work skills with entrepreneurial strategies.
  
• Lessons You’ll Learn:
  Listeners of this episode will learn valuable lessons on balancing a career transition while leveraging foundational skills. Nicole shares her experiences of moving from a social worker to an entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and adapting. She discusses the significance of creating multiple income streams and the impact of building a strong online presence early on. The episode offers practical advice on how to utilize one’s existing skills in new domains and the benefits of thinking globally when building a business.
• About Our Guest:
  Nicole Liloia is a dynamic entrepreneur with a background in social work. She has dedicated her career to helping women diversify their income streams and achieve financial independence. With her company, Nicole Liloia International, she has built a successful coaching practice that spans across several countries, including Austria and the Netherlands. Nicole’s unique blend of social work principles and business acumen has enabled her to create impactful strategies for her clients. Her journey reflects resilience, innovation, and a commitment to empowering others through entrepreneurship.
  
• Topics Covered:
  This episode covers a range of topics crucial for anyone looking to transition their career or expand their business internationally. Nicole discusses her initial steps in the coaching industry and how she attracted her first international client. She shares insights into building an online audience and the importance of rebranding to stay relevant. The conversation also touches on the burnout often experienced in social work and how Nicole used her skills to navigate and overcome these challenges. Other key topics include problem-solving, the importance of licensure in counseling, and leveraging social work skills in various life and business situations.

Episode Transcript

Becky Coplen: Glad to return to mastering counseling today.  We are so excited to have Nicole Liloia with us. Welcome, Nicole.

Nicole Liloia: Hi. Thanks so much for having me.

Becky Coplen:  we’re thrilled to talk to you. She is an accomplished entrepreneur, especially in developing women, with diverse income streams.  She has been a social worker in the past and has just done a lot of work in the business end of counseling and social work. I can’t wait to hear the things that you will share with us today. why don’t we, first talk about your, you are international, the Nicole Liloia International.  Let’s talk about that because we don’t always have international relations. How did you build that? It might be ahead of ourselves, but I’d love to hear how it’s gone across countries.

Nicole Liloia:  I mean one of my first coaching clients was in Austria.  New Zeal but truthfully, I just was like when I redid my business team and how to update it, and I saw somebody. Else had that and thought it looked fancy.

Becky Coplen: Okay, okay.

Nicole Liloia: it’s a little later, but the international is added on for the professional. But a professional business title. But I do have clients. Definitely.  in other countries like Amsterdam right now.  I think it’s just, I got started building an online audience like years ago when other people weren’t. I kind of got a head start.

Becky Coplen: Okay. Very cool. Well, let’s talk about you getting a head start.  several years back. What were you talking about? What were you doing? Were you still a social worker at that time?  How did all of this begin?

Nicole Liloia: I mean, I feel like I’m always going to be a social worker at heart. Even if I’m not necessarily doing counseling services. I think that degree does, it works well for, you know, anything in life, truthfully, and problem-solving and looking at all areas of things. I’m grateful for that degree. But, just like a lot of other counselors and therapists, you know, I got my master’s and then got that first agency job and was just trying to get my hours for full licensure.  but, you know, got burnt out doing that.  I just got burned out from the toxic workplace you know, just, like, not great energy  you know, the same thing all the time. So I had left my job to kind of take some time off to travel and volunteer in South America. And when I got back, I was just like, oh my God, I don’t want another full time job. Something’s wrong with me. I’m lazy, like I can’t. So somehow I ended up taking a bit of time.  that was in deep burnout recovery too,  it like getting a bunch of different, you know, fee for service type positions,  things like that.

Nicole Liloia: I did kind of make my schedule. I did have some driving around, you know, so it was kind of nice to be doing that,  and to just kind of be involved with, with different projects and not have to be in that 9 to 5 all the time and have more flexibility and be making my schedule. So that was really cool. And then eventually I did decide to try the private practice thing.  and I enjoyed it, but I was also like, oh God, I just restarted. This was like ten, 11 years ago. So it was like when things were in person,  and I did some online stuff because I did like to travel, but it was so unknown.  Like people weren’t necessarily positive about it, you know, it was like Skype. It was zoom. Did not, you know, zoom did not exist. It was like the days of Skype and like free conference call lines.   definitely a little ahead of the curve there, which was scary because you don’t know if you’re doing the right thing. Right.

Becky Coplen: What the bureaucracy.

Nicole Liloia:  You know, the bureaucracy of it. So I was doing that. But in the meantime, I had also kind of been looking at people’s websites, and that’s sort of how I discovered coaching and new income streams. So I started teaching online programs myself, working with coaches.  You know, it was just with a lot of experimentation until I finally got to somewhere where, you know, I was getting consistent clients and also had other income streams working for me.

Becky Coplen: Wow. Very cool. I did read that on your website about the trip to South America. Was kind of a little bit on a whim, and you knew you were taking a big risk.  but it probably was a great move to do that.   diversify yourself for sure.  What would you say have been some of the hurdles for you in starting your own business that you’re operating now?  you kind of mentioned them a little bit because you were a. Of the time on Skype.  but even since then, when are some of the things that people who want to go private or maybe even do a coaching plan like you have, what would they encounter? I mean.

Nicole Liloia: I think some of the hurdles are really, I mean, I think some of the hurdles are just tangible life things, too, right? Like, you can have the plan for it, but executing  and just, you know, having the support to do it,  I’m a single person, so I’ve been single this whole time. So like one income stream. So I found that hard because it’s stressful, obviously.  do not have, you know, someone else having like, bringing in income or sharing expenses or stuff like that. So the income I need to make is a little higher,  just for basic living. So I feel like that’s stressful because when you’re starting new income streams or even your first business, you really are starting at zero. We all do. And I think it feels really bad for people. But we do start at $0. We start at zero audience most of the time, you know, so it feels like such a big leap to bring it up. I mean, some people,  and I kind of do that too. Like I had a part time job and also then started my private practice, so I had to do that for security. So I think sometimes it is a slower, slower build.  that way.

Becky Coplen: Okay. Thank you.  we mentioned several times and it definitely talks about on your website about multiple income streams. So how if there was a woman who was coming to work with you,  with you as their coach, what would you, I guess, first discuss in trying to figure out what their various income streams could be.

Nicole Liloia: Who our audience is like, that’s super important. I’m actually doing a free training series right now. And the first day training was about, you know, creating a service that sells,  you know, and that is really evolved and involved around having a strong audience, not being a generalist. Right? So making sure they know who their audience is and like what the audience would want, right. Like what else is going to solve a problem? They have, you know, versus us kind of just deciding, putting it on our own words. And then people are like, mm. Or it’s like, you know, very vague, like self-care for women.  I always do that one a lot like self-care. And it’s like, that’s not really like self-care is the process you take them through. It’s not really like a result, you know what I mean? Or the problem. Right? So I think that people get confused about that a little bit. Like, and I think it’s just because of our training. Right, like we’re trained about how we are going to help them. But like people do, we really want to know like my clients, I don’t really want to know the stats until they’re signed up and then like.

Becky Coplen: They’re committed.

Nicole Liloia: And have to do it right. Otherwise they’d probably be doing it. So I think it’s a little bit like people are necessarily thinking about the process. Right? Like most, the majority of people are not like I want CBT. I want this, like there are some new ones like eMDR that people ask for, but I think people get very into,  showing their skills and focusing on that versus, you know, being where your client’s at.

Becky Coplen: Well, okay. Interesting.  Let’s talk about how you kind of personalize it with each of your clients.  and I know you talked about, like, a free training you’re doing right now. So I, I’m sensing you do a lot of large groups and then some individualized. How does that get broken up throughout your week?

Nicole Liloia: I have 1 to 1 clients.  so that’s like a four month package. So I take a few of those.  and then my biggest income stream is my mastermind where there’s about 12. I max it out at 12 people.  and I do those twice a year. So that is definitely where we’re doing a workshop. But I think what’s different about me is like, I’m not focused on overwhelming people with content or giving them all this, like, watching these long training sessions. You know, I do a live workshop once a month on topics and systems and strategies that we need at every level and have to do again at every level that we’re growing.  so I think that also is a little different versus people who kind of give people a lot of content and expect them to implement it by just figuring out how to apply it to their own business versus me who’s like, this is how you apply it to your business. These are your ideal clients. Like this is you know, what? What do you like? What do you have the assets for? How big is your audience? Do you have people to sell this to you, or do you need to like stairstep things in?   I am able to help more people that way. And then I do have my bigger business bootcamp,  which is open all the time.   that we have a live round with, that’s a little more like you’re going through the content when we have the live round or the evergreen, and I really can make it short, like I have ADHD.

Nicole Liloia: I’m not going to commit to watching home videos.  I want people to spend more time on the tools and resources and implementing them. So for four weeks there’s like a five ish minute video every day,  for the weekdays. So we’re in a private community, I’m answering questions. We have a live call every week where people can come and get their questions answered, but people get lifetime access, which is pretty cool. So in between the live rounds, we have a monthly coaching call to you. So that one is a little bit more low touch.  there are more people that are able to be in it, so that helps balance out some of the things where I have a cap, like, you know, my mastermind, where I’m not going to I’m not going to take 20 people just to make more money, because I’m not going to be able to serve them well at the rate that they’re paying and deserve.  so that’s how I’m able to personalize things a little bit more. But, you know, people need to ask questions   you know, commit to the process to you or like, letting me know how I could support them. Right?

Becky Coplen:  I feel like what I hear you say is that,  it’s very practical, tangible day to day how to have people actually doing it instead of sitting and learning and watching long things.

Nicole Liloia: Or like that money, too. And now they’re like complicated funnels that usually people are not ready for.  or again, like trying to jump to like they hear a lot of stories of the passive income, but like, that’s not really a real thing. Like, you know, it’s so much work on this team and you need certain things set up. So I think it’s also what I like about it is like everybody needs to be doing these concepts right. You need to look at leadership. You need to look at it like you do need to look at. You don’t need a master team. But like you probably if you want to scale, especially with multiple income streams, you probably do want an admin at some point to help you with the tech or whatever, like DIY and get you stuck.  you know you do. It’s great to have eyes on, like what you’re creating in your marketing. Like in my mastermind, I also have a copywriter who does reviews with them. So it’s really nice for the messaging piece, the copy piece, because that could be a really big extra expense.  and again, I think that’s one of our weaker areas, but like, it’s not like, hey, you need to figure out your ideal client. Here’s worksheets. Go do it. It’s like, you know, let’s talk about your ideal client. Who are they? Like doing the work she hosted. I’m going to review it. I’m going to help you go deeper. Right. Because everybody’s ideal client is different too. So

Becky Coplen:   I definitely wanted to ask you about how big your team and business is. Like how many people are actually part of your I know there’s probably many layers because some of the people you train maybe end up working for you. But you mentioned you have a copywriter. Who else do you have?  like accountants or.

Nicole Liloia: That’s a great partner.  I mean, my most important team member is my project marketing manager, who I’ve been with for eight years, so I feel very lucky for that.  well, who does all my tech  like, graphic design and honestly will do a lot of other stuff too, but,  does like a lot of that stuff. I don’t really enjoy tech, and I don’t think it’s the best use of my time. And like, I don’t mean graphic design. That looks like kindergarteners did.

Becky Coplen: I’m right there with you. I totally get it.

Nicole Liloia: I can do better than me. Really.   you know, that’s like, obviously a big help.  Because if I had to learn every program and the intricacies, it just, like, wouldn’t be the best use of my time. And then I have an admin,  who does like a lot of the, a little admin type tasks, right? Like,  tracking information, some project breakdown timelines,  helping me with, like sending emails and scheduling them and stuff. The copywriter pretty much is there for the mastermind members. So reviewing their job, posting a monthly call, things like that. And then I do have an accountant as well and a bookkeeping service. And I also have worked with a financial planner to help me plan out, like investments and retirement and stuff like that.

Becky Coplen: Okay. Very cool. Amazingly, the one has been with you for eight years.  you can probably do a phrase or whatever, and they’d know exactly what you want, how it should look, and all that. So that’s it.  

Nicole Liloia: I Mean that’s what’s really nice is I definitely, you know, she’s like in my mind already so. Right. Right.

Becky Coplen:  That’s a good way to put it.  so we have a lot of people going into counseling and therapy,  listening to this,   you have gone more into the coaching realm. Can you,  do you work with a lot of counselors and therapists, or is it strictly helping coaches? How does that work in what you’re able to provide?

Nicole Liloia:  Well, I definitely,  help. A lot of counselors and therapists. I have a Facebook group called Therapist Entrepreneurs and there’s like over 17,000 people in it. So it’s nice because I also can give a lot of free help  you know, free training and stuff like that.  so obviously a lot of people see me there.  and end up working for me, you know? So working with me, I should say as, as my clients. So that’s where a lot of them come. And of course, building an email list. So really, like I work with different service providers, but I would say it is more in health wellness, like, you know, medical like speech language pathologist, lactation consultant, like, you know, complementary field.

Becky Coplen:  No, that’s cool. That inches speech path and lactation. That’s a little wider range than we often have here. So that’s it.   So let’s talk about you. Has New Jersey always been your home base and then you’re helping people all around the country? I know we mentioned a few international places.  but is New Jersey where you grew up or why there?

Nicole Liloia:  I grew up in New Jersey. I lived in New York City for a few years when I went to grad school at Columbia  and worked there,  and just kind of came back here. I love it. I live in a city now, like near New York City. So it’s a very diverse community.  and it’s just like, very,  I feel like a lot of the values and ethics are, are here that I like.  so I feel like a lot of the people I meet who live here have very similar beliefs.  so I really do love being able to, like, walk around. It’s like, not New York City, which is overwhelming.  I love being able to, like, walk around, go to a cafe and go to a co-working space,  and just,  have that, like, have that. That’s my lifestyle, you know, have a sort of a smaller apartment, obviously have less space at home. But, you know, I like to live in a nicer building where I don’t have to worry about upgrading things, fixing things for myself.  so that’s kind of my lifestyle now. I’ve been here for about six, seven years.  so I really am happy here.

Becky Coplen:  No, thanks for sharing that. I feel like it’s good for people to underst  you know, living areas.  you know, I’m sure it’s quite expensive, but you prefer the small but new. But you have the city, which I love, living inside the glass. We can see that. So it’s very. So do you do all of your work online or do you do any in-person work these days?

Nicole Liloia: No, all my work is done online. I mean, and it’s been online for like nine years now. So again, I kind of was ahead of the curve with that too.  so I do work with people all over the country. I mean, I’ve definitely worked with local people too, but it’s online.  I’ve worked with people, you know, all over the world.  so it’s definitely a fun experience to be able to, to be able to do that. But primarily people are from, from the US and then once they are Canada’s second. Okay.

Becky Coplen:  What do you think going back to nine years ago, what pushed you into wanting to be online? Is this not like everyone else was doing that? So what sparked your interest in it?

Nicole Liloia:  I mean I think it was the ability to be able to travel. Obviously now we can do it this way. But like back then it wasn’t really again, a thing online. You know, there were some digital nomads out there, but they usually had different types of work and jobs.  so I knew I really needed to figure out different income streams and not be reliant on clients who kind of had that expectation of being in person and having those ongoing sessions. So I think it had been really because of my volunteer experience and getting that opportunity to travel and really spend time in a different culture, not just going on a vacation in a resort and coming back. So I knew I wanted more of that ability to go somewhere, especially in the warm winter.  you know, really just,  get to know the culture of other places. Okay.

Becky Coplen: Where are some of the top places that you like to go? Do you go repeatedly to the same place or always do?

Nicole Liloia:  I do sometimes go repeatedly to the same place, though. I’ve been to Costa Rica a few times.  and Mexico, mostly because one like Mexico is convenient. Like when I was going to Costa Rica was really like 90 years ago, so I would say it wasn’t as convenient back then for, for online, like the internet wasn’t as great. It was. I felt like it was a little bit more expensive. So I started going to Mexico and I was in Playa Del. My watch is only an hour from Cancun, and I really loved it because there were tourists that came there too. But I was really more in the local area and could go to the beach, walk to the beach. It was like a very walkable area. So I would spend a lot of time looking for other places. And then I’m like, why am I doing this? You know, I love it there. I love the food. The exchange rate is good. It’s affordable to be able to spend a good amount of time there. They have a lot of Airbnb options that are similar to hotels and affordable. So  I definitely did continue going there a few times just for ease.

Becky Coplen:  I did see on your website you never miss Taco Tuesday. So we’re.  We’re pretty devoted to that as well. Here in my house, not everything, but we eat a lot of tacos. It’s more like, are you having soft taco or hard taco?

Nicole Liloia: But I’m a crunchy taco person.

Becky Coplen: You’re okay?  So what would you do? What do you see on the horizon for women entrepreneurs, like as we move into the next 5 to 10 years?

Nicole Liloia:  I mean, I think, you know, having more visibility to having more equality and opportunities like charging more, better rates that they deserve,  negotiating more for that, like not backing down, understanding how to ask for that and how to know, like your value and worth.  I think obviously more will, you know, look for new ways to support people, support their audiences. Like, do you think they’re gonna have to see that they need to be more specific if they have a vignette and who they’re helping?  so they do stand out and get more opportunities than nowhere to even look for that.  so I think that’s going to be really important. And I have a feeling like, obviously there will always be focus, like on caring for more people and just helping them, especially in the field.

Becky Coplen:  And then where do you see your organization in the near future and possibly longer than that? What new things or changes do you see if at all?

Nicole Liloia:  I mean, I think like, honestly,  I like where I’m at, Khuzestan, I see a lot of people who sort of redo their businesses or are constantly trying to come up with new things, and I think that does drain energy and resources sometimes, like it’s going to happen, you’re going to obviously create new things. But I hope that people like I’ve realized like it’s not about more income streams, it’s just about income streams that are more profitable. Right.  so you’re not overworking yourself. So for me, it’s always about looking at that, like, how can I serve people better, make my program stronger? You know, I just like, redid all of the bootcamp membership to make it easier,  for people to know how to get the most out of the program and get through the content. So for me, I think it’s just continuing to build my audience,  serve people in my Facebook group and my email list, and continue to focus on the email list.  You know, I think I kind of pulled back from some visibility opportunities because I was working behind the scenes to improve things. So I think it’s just up to you to get more visibility opportunities.  I really love being able to host free trainings or, you know, I used to do mini trainings every week in my Facebook group. So I definitely just want to be able to get back to that and create more content that helps people and isn’t, you know, advertising flashy overnight.  things that aren’t real magic, but that, you know, and it’s I get to work with the people who understand that it’s work and want support in implementing those things.

Becky Coplen: No, I love how you’re always going back to the free things that people can help in order to be part of your Facebook group   which in turn is helpful for you, like you said, more visibility. But it’s all I think people have to feel that connection of someone they know they can trust and they can work with, and that’s super important. So  Well, anything else that you feel like we should know today?  for people doing this type of work or any advice for people who are still in their master’s program or even considering going into this line of work.

Nicole Liloia:  I mean, I think get clear on your audience and definitely create opportunities for them to get on an email list. Like, I know people go to social media a lot, but you don’t want to be reliant on the algorithms. You want your own audience that you can be nurturing. You know you’re getting your information in front of them.  you know, you’re not paying for marketing to them. But I think grow the audience before you’re ready for it, even if it’s just nurturing them and sending helpful emails for now,  because then they’ll be ready when you’re going to. Style something to them?

Becky Coplen:  No, that’s a good point about the email that often we see people write sign up here and then. But you’re right, the logarithm. It’s always confusing on Facebook what’s coming through and what isn’t. All right. Well, this has been super interesting.  definitely more a little bit on the business end and coaching side, which we don’t always get to talk about.  and I think great opportunities and cool that you’ve shared with us. You mentioned your Facebook group and I marked it down. Therapist entrepreneurs.

Nicole Liloia:  Okay. On Facebook. Okay.

Becky Coplen: And then your website is  nicoleliloia.com correct?

Nicole Liloia:  I did get nicoleliloia.com. And if anybody is interested in learning more,  about multiple encouraging words for therapists and where you can go to Poland and Tty’s and download a free guide to different multiples, I can choose that. You can start to think about prepping your resources for and implementing.

Becky Coplen: All right. Yes. And we’ll have our name listed so you know how to spell it.  Well, thank you so much for giving us your time today and hearing all about your amazing organization and how you’ve helped many women.

Nicole Liloia: Thank you so much for having me.

Becky Coplen: To our listeners, on mastering counseling. Please reach out and continue to comment and give us questions about the whole world of mental health counseling and therapy.  We are signing off for today. Have a wonderful day.