incident with a 'life coach" need feedback

Lol wth. I wonder how her everyday conversations are like then. 

femmemichelle wrote: Lol wth. I wonder how her everyday conversations are like then.  What if she goes to the mall and someone asks if they look good in a particular outfit?

Quiann00 wrote: ThoughtCouture wrote: i don't know that i can automatically assume the op was trynna get over.  i mean i meet people all the time and sometimes there is advice that exchanges.  allbeit this is not by profession...  it seems to me that she needs to find a better way to establish an actual business transaction.  it just seems like a messy and inefficient way to conduct business, imo... I don't know tho...this wasn't a meeting that happened as the life coach passed her by in the mall.  It seems like the OP sought her out because she was a life coach and because they're from the same country.  So she felt she related to her plus (maybe) she could talk with her about some things.  At the end of the day, she said she gave good insight. Although I agree with a previous poster that the meeting should have been more of a consultation of what she could help her with moving forward, I do think the email/invoice was appropriate.  Let's think about it from the perspective of the life coach.  She probably had situations in the past where someone was trying to get over on her and had to use this method to let folks know that this is still how she makes her living. I would call her and ask for clarification and also ask if she wants to be compensated, especially since it wasn't the OPs intentions to get over on her.

the op may have been trying to take advantage or could just be one of those people that go on and on about themselves when they first meet a person.  this does happen on a fairly regular basis so...who really knows.  however, we know for a fact that the life coach felt like this interaction was considered work as far as she was concerned.  

Honestly, we don't know what questions the OP asked. It sounds like the OP knew that the life coach had a decent track record, especially since she later sought her out for a one-on-one session (i.e. invite to her house to "chat"). And not that the OP needs to tell us the full extent of her convo with this woman, but maybe the OP asked questions that fall under the scope of "please tell me what to do with my life". And that's well under the role of a life coach to provide direction, etc.

That's like someone coming to me during my dating coach days and asking me to give them tips on how to meet people, etc. At some point, it goes from just giving one or two pointers to them basically asking you to give them a freebie. I'm in NO WAY trying to say that OP was looking to take advantage. But, any consultant worth their salt knows the value of "advice". If you need that much advice, then you should be okay with paying for it.

The real question is, if OP HADN'T received an invoice, would she still have continued to reach out to this life coach the next time she had a question and needed guidance. If the answer is yes, the coach is justified in sending an invoice.

ETA:

In other words I'm saying, OP may have made a reference towards the end of her convo with the coach that gave the suggestion of "I'd like to hit you up for more advice in the future". In that scenario, the coach is justified.


Edited by modelbusiness82 - Mar 12 2013 at 12:50am

I think the life coach's approach was sloppy and unprofessional, though. Having freelanced for a few years, I know you have to make things clear up front. If she felt that their talk was turning into a counselling session, she should have let it known as diplomatically as possible, but her not saying anything is on her. I've never accepted a job without making my expectations clear. At the same time, I can understand that she might have wanted to set the tone for future encounters with her e-mail. I don't think anyone took advantage of anyone in that situation. If you run a business, you have to take your responsabilities.