The Checklist You Need to Start a Coaching Business
You've got all the skills of a great coach. You’re an active listener, often picking up on cues that others wouldn’t see. You are also incredibly caring, insightful, imaginative and not to mention a world-class problem solver.
Yet, you are also someone who is having trouble monetizing on their natural talents to build a profitable business.
Your coaching practice can help embrace your gifts and positively impact the world through your unique ability. However, to get started, let’s first understand what’s needed to build your business. Below I’ll help you understand the inner workings of developing a coaching practice that not only gives you flexibility with your time but also helps you attract the right type of clients.
A unique value proposition and target clientele.
The Checklist You Need to Start a Coaching Business
While the effectiveness of coaching is impacted by several factors, let's talk about what you'll need more than anything: uniqueness. No one wants to hire a store brand success coach. We want you to specialize. Thus, you must decide your unique value proposition or niche in order to do just that.
Now you may be thinking, “What is a unique value proposition?” Basically, it is a statement that makes you different and more sets you apart from the competition. Your UVP should explain the problem you solve and how your business can change the lives of your future clients.
Stay authentically you.
Second tip? When you are starting your business, listen to your intuition about who you truly want to help. Authentically being you is most serving to yourself and your clients. You may be the world's hardest-working coach following the best marketing and sales advice, however, if you work with a mask or filter around your true calling - you're constructing the wrong house, and it's going to fall to bits eventually. You will feel tired, drained, and discouraged constantly trying to develop a company misaligned with your beliefs and values. Explore and get curious when coaching clients, who gives you the most energy? What pain points is this client struggling with? What kind of personality does he/she have? Check-in with yourself during and after your session.
Focus on what you’re good at.
The most technically talented are not necessarily the highest-paid coaches. Don't get me wrong; you need to get positive results for your clients, but that's just part of the recipe. The outcomes of my customers vary from an ex-9 to 5’er who sold $39,000 in two months of personal training workshops to an online coach making $90,000 per month. What did these clients have in common? Confidence, passion and hard work. They knew how to support their target market, we’re passionate about the subject and had no doubt that they could help their clients.
Hit the right client.
Identify your ideal client. What are their pain points? What problems do they face? Second, compile your personal list of contacts (i.e. friends, colleagues, family) and draft an email to let them know you’re open for business! In the email, state you are looking for clients who are struggling with (insert pain points such as….balance, time management, relationships…) and ask if they know anyone who could use such support. If you are just getting started, it’s recommended to first give clients a taste of coaching, collect testimonials and referrals and then only charge for your impeccable service! You wouldn’t buy ice cream without first sampling, would you?
Be clear about your offering.
Language is powerful. But it’s also avoided by most coaches due to utter confusion around their message and the value they offer. Before you launch, get crystal clear about your brand. Productize the service into a simple, persuasive, distinguishable and felt offering. Avoid overused, generalist languages such as "happiness," "spiritual," "divine," "well-being," "transformation," and "catalyst." With repeated broad messages that do not produce a narrative, clients are turned off by the lack of specificity and your business turns into another store brand product.
Date your day-to-day.
First, develop a framework for your entire coaching process - from operations to marketing to pricing, it’s crucial to start dating your coaching business by first mapping out what you want the structure of the business to look like. I have learned exactly what to do, and most importantly, what not to do by setting up guidelines and a step by step guide to execution. Try setting up a simple structure - company strategy, guidelines, and offering to customers. It doesn’t have to be perfect, play with a draft and as you continue to progress keep coming back to the working document to revise until it feels like a success.
Get organized.
Try using project management tools such as Asana or Trello to organize and manage your work so deliverables are met and your priorities are aligned with monthly and quarterly goals.
My personal passion is working with aspiring coaches to gain the tools to set up their own viable and profitable practice. If this sounds like you, Schedule a discovery session with me today and I can help you find your way to build your own coaching business!