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What I wish I knew When I Started My Coaching Business

Anthony | March 13, 2021

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Running a coaching business can be very rewarding. It can also be very overwhelming.

With so many different opinions out there on how to get started and where to focus your energy, it can be easy to fall into the trap of analysis paralysis.

Here’s what I wish I knew when I was getting started as a coach.

1. Don’t force yourself to get a certified

The assumption that most new coaches assume is that they need to complete a coaching certification course to build a successful coaching business.

If you want to build a profitable coaching business that helps people, you don’t need to complete a coaching course.

Don’t get me wrong coaching training programs are not a waste of time or money, most people would be better off spending the time and money elsewhere.

You absolutely need to learn the fundamentals of coaching and business. But you don’t need to drop $15,000 and one year of your life on a coaching program.

2. Get coaching from someone Who Can Shorten Your Learning curve

If you don’t have a coach, you’re putting the brakes on your own potential.

Invest your money in coaching instead of any other area of my business and it always comes back ten-fold.

Get the help you need to find the work your passionate about so you can increase your income and work less.

And if you are a coach yourself, it is absolutely essential that you hire the best coach you can. Why? Because a coach who hasn’t been coached is a walking contradiction, asking people to believe in a process that they themselves have not invested in.

3. Don’t Obsess Over Your Niche when you start out 

When you first start out as a business out you’re pretty much pushed to pick a niche.

Think of a niche as a specific problem that you help solve for a specific group of people.

The logic is that if you narrow your scope to only a very small demographic (like 35 year old men from Los Angeles with two dogs and a small business with less than $100k revenue), you’ll be able to make your marketing more targeted.

Stop obsessing over trying to figure out who your ideal client is because it will freak you out and leave you thinking you don;t want to choose wrong niche.

Trying to pick the right niche distracts you from doing the things that help you get clarity: namely, writing and coaching.  You’ll be left with not enough data coming in, and constantly feel stuck.

Most successful business people don’t pick their niche upfront. That’s because niches are uncovered over time. You’ll eventually want to find your niche – but there is no need to force yourself it if it feels premature.

4. Those “Things” You’re Doing Are Not Productive

When you first start your business stop yourself wasting time (weeks or months) trying to find the perfect URL.

You lose countless nights of sleep thinking about your niche, only to decide upon the wrong target market.

Stop “playing” business instead of “doing” business. Stop worrying about the facade instead of the foundation.

None of the surface stuff really matters.

Focus on getting paid clients and everything else will fall into place.

5. Know Where to Find Your Ideal Clients

There’s nothing more frustrating than having a gift to give and not enough people to give it to.

Simply being a great business coach is not enough anymore.  If you want to support yourself financially, you’ll need to have a steady stream of clients coming in to replace the ones that leave.

What if I told you that you could get 3-5 conversations scheduled this week with people willing and able to invest in your coaching?

It’s totally possible.  The most important step by far is figuring out where your ideal clients are and going there.

6. Don’t Become the Coach with No Life

This is a common trap for full-time business coaches to fall into. They make the leap because they want the freedom of running their own business and instead, their business ends up running them.

Some coaches don’t realize this until it’s too late. They wake up one day tired, unfulfilled, and trapped in a constant state of anxiety. And they don’t have the energy left to do anything about it.

As a coach, you’re supposed to be helping people live a good life. And it’s hard to do that if you don’t have much of a life yourself.

Build your business around the life that you want from the very beginning.

7. Use a Framework for Your Coaching Sessions

Most coaches show up and try to “work their magic” without a framework and sometimes that works really well.

However other times the conversation gets a bit out of focus or the person leaves without knowing what to do next.

What do I mean by a framework?

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About the Author

Anthony

How would you like to attract more leads, convert these leads into paying clients and deliver more value to these clients? Join a team of like-minded entrepreneurs who are generating more money, delivering meaning and have more freedom to live the lifestyle they choose