7 Things to Know BEFORE Starting a Coaching Business

In this video, I'm breaking down the 7 crucial things you absolutely need to know before starting a coaching business that actually makes money. These are the game-changing insights that I wish I knew when I first started because they would've saved me countless hours of frustration and costly mistakes. If you follow these tips, I guarantee that you'll have 1, a clear direction for your business, 2, a smoother launch so you can hit the ground running with confidence, and 3, a rock-solid foundation for a coaching business that not only transforms lives but also pays you consistently for the long term. Starting with the first thing I wish I knew, which was the importance of a niche. Choosing a niche allows you to stand out in a crowded market. It also helps you clarify your message, which is going to make it easier for potential clients to understand how you can help them. A clearly defined niche attracts a target audience that resonates with your specific expertise, and it's going to help you lead to better conversion rates, more consistent clients, and stronger client relationships. More importantly, according to a survey by the International Coaching Federation, coaches who specialize in a niche can increase their client base by up to 30% compared to those who don't. Now, I remember when I first started in the coaching space, I was a life coach, and I would have clients who had relationship problems, but then they also would have career problems or mindset issues or health challenges. And I was this person who apparently knew everything, and I had to help them, and I was constantly studying how to solve all these different problems. And it was really hard for me to get them good results. Fast forward to today, I focus on a specific set of things that I can specialize in and different skills that I help people develop. Up, and I know what the problems are related to what I do today, which is helping people take what they know, their knowledge, their skills and expertise, and turn that into an online business. Now I can help those specific people really get good results because I know the common issues that I hear all the time from people, and I know how to get over them and help them solve these problems. Now, big concern that people have when it comes to choosing a niche is what if I limit my audience too much? They start to get FOMO that they're going to miss out on all these other people that they could potentially help. When in reality, having a a niche doesn't mean that you're closing the doors. In fact, it means that you're opening them wider for the clients who truly need your help. And when you specialize, you become a go-to expert in that specific area, which naturally draws in more clients who align with what it is that you're offering. And on top of that, you also become referable. People know exactly what you do. So when they hear somebody having a similar issue, they can say, have you checked out this person? And then they send you business. But even with a great coaching niche, you can absolutely fail as a coach without this next piece, and that's that client relationships matter. It seems obvious, but let me explain. Building strong relationships with your clients creates trust, loyalty, and long-term engagement. They want to keep working with you because if they like you, they trust you, and they know that you can help them get the results that they want, they're going to keep paying you. When you really take care of your clients, they are more likely to return to working with you or continue to work with you, and they're more likely to refer other people to work with you when they feel valued and understood. Having a good relationship with your clients is going to lead to better outcomes for the clients because they're going to be more open to sharing their challenges and aspirations with you. If they can't trust you to even open up, how are you supposed to coach them effectively? I've had many clients that I work with where they've worked with people in the past who never really took the time to fully understand their business. They just kind of treated them like another cookie-cutter business. But businesses are very different. The challenges that fall under the businesses can be very different. So I was the first person who actually took the time to really understand their business. And for me, I think it's cool because I get to learn something new, but also they feel valued because I did take time. So that's the importance of really taking care of your people. Research shows that 70% of clients are more likely to refer someone they trust. And this is why it's so important for you to make big promises as a coach or a business owner and then fulfill them. I also can't tell you how many times people have come to me and they've worked with someone who charged 3, 5 times more than I did, and then they left this client hanging. That really gets under my skin. And I have made a point to never do that with my people, because when I can help you get a great result and get success, you are going to to share it with other people and say, hey, I learned it from this guy named James. Go check him out. But the big question floating around is, how do I build trust with new clients? Well, trust is built through consistent, authentic interactions. Being genuine, practicing active listening, and showing empathy can quickly establish rapport with your clients. And when you do it consistently, you're going to build a reputation that you're that type of person. Clients really appreciate coaches who take the time to understand them beyond just their goals. It's really getting to know them as an individual. Do that and you will be way more successful in your coaching business. Now, this next point is one that stops most coaches and experts from succeeding. And if I knew this when I first started coaching, I would have been able to get out of my own way and make a ton of money way faster. And that's that coaching is not just about expertise. While knowledge is crucial in being an expert or having competency in a certain area, it is important. Successful coaching relies really heavily on soft skills like empathy, listening, and emotional intelligence. Developing these skills is going to help you to connect with your clients on a deeper level and make sure that they feel heard and supported. A coach who can balance expertise with compassion passion creates a very transformative experience for their clients. And you don't need to be the all-knowing guru. Instead, position yourself as a guide. Instead of being at the top of the mountain saying, look how amazing I am, I'm going to tell you exactly how to build your business or get the perfect relationship or master life or anything like that, you are simply the guide who is going up the mountain with this person. You're a little bit further ahead of them and you're saying, hey, watch your step, there's a big rock coming up or there's a hole in the ground. So put on the hat of being more of a guide and you will be able to help a lot more people even if they are more successful than you. I remember when I was starting out in my coaching business, one of my clients had a cleaning company and he made about $200,000 per year, but he wanted to double or even triple his income. So I knew nothing about building a cleaning business, but I didn't need to because on our calls I was able to ask him questions to help him realize his own answers. 9 times out of 10, people know exactly what they need to do. They just haven't made it a priority to actually do it. So that's where coaching comes into play and having that empathy, those soft skills to really find this challenge and dissect why they haven't done it yet, but also motivate them to achieve the goal so that they take the action needed. By doing that, even though I hadn't built this cleaning business, I was able to help him significantly grow his business. Now, a huge question around being a quote-unquote expert is, what if I feel like a fraud because I'm not an expert? Imposter syndrome can feel overwhelming, but remember, you don't have to know everything to be a great coach. Your unique experiences and perspectives are valuable. Just remember that your clients are looking for someone who understands struggles, who can provide support and not just be a textbook expert. To help you get past imposter syndrome, acknowledge your journey so far. You've achieved a ton of amazing things, and it really just comes down to confidence and being able to help this person. The other thing is that when you're working with more and more people and you're seeing more and more people get results, you are going to naturally build a lot of confidence, and you will know that you don't need to be the all-knowing guru to really start to help people. Instead, put on the hat of being the guide. You just need to be a couple of steps ahead of your clients. Now, even if you are an amazing coach, you will never get clients without mastering this next piece, and that's to invest in marketing. And when I say invest, I'm not just talking about money. Effective marketing is essential for reaching potential clients and establishing your brand. Without marketing, even the best coaching services will go unnoticed. So by investing time, energy, and money in your marketing, you are going to boost your chances of getting your message out to the right audience and increase your chances of attracting clients who actually need your services and want to pay you. I spent so much time in building my business not marketing myself, and I wondered why I wasn't making any money. When I really started to invest time into developing good marketing skills and just creating marketing assets, I was able to maximize my income and reach six figures. But how do you know if your marketing is working? If you've been doing this for a while and you're like, well, nothing's been happening, basically you can find out if your marketing is effective by setting clear goals and tracking simple numbers. Look at things like how many people are visiting your website or your page, how much engagement you're getting on social media posts, and how many of those leads are turning into clients. Like, that is the biggest metric right there. If you are posting stuff and it's leading to clients and business, then you have good marketing. It's also a great idea to ask your clients for feedback to see how they found you. When you book a strategy session with someone and you don't know where it came from, take that as an opportunity to say, where did you find me? That way you can know which channel is performing better. When you see that everybody's coming from one channel, maybe it's time to start doubling down on that one channel. Now, a huge game changer major for me that allowed me to hit six figures while also decreasing my work hours was by having a good system for marketing. To help you build this type of system, I put together a full masterclass that's going to show you how to earn $2,000 per month from digital products without complicated tech. But even if you're booking one-on-one calls, this is still going to be super valuable for you. To get this masterclass, you can always click on the link in the description or go to profityourknowledge.com/masterclass. To me, building a coaching business isn't just about making money. It's about having the freedom to do what I want and when I want, which is why this next point is important, and that's to set clear boundaries. Setting boundaries helps you maintain professionalism and it prevents burnout for you and your staff if you have it. Clear boundaries protect your time and your energy, allowing you to serve clients effectively without compromising your well-being. They also establish expectations for you and your client and create a more respectful and productive coaching relationship. Now, you might be thinking, well, I really want to help my clients and be there for them all the time. Are they going to understand if I set these strict boundaries? Most clients appreciate clear boundaries because they enhance your professionalism. When you set boundaries, it shows that you value your time and their commitment to the coaching process. When you have clear boundaries, people are more likely to respect you, and they're going to take their time with you a lot more serious. So consider setting some clear boundaries in terms of your work hours, your availability, when people can book calls with you, response times to messages, and even how they reach out to you. For example, I like to use Voxer in between calls. I have set work hours from 9 AM 2:00 PM. Sometimes I'll go a little bit over if I'm hopping onto a podcast or something, but after that I'm usually done for the day. And with Voxer, they can send me messages anytime they want, and I say, you're never bothering me because it's an asynchronous communication platform. I can send them a message anytime and they just get back to me when they have time. I tell people, give me 24 hours to respond to you. Now I have many different clients inside of my Voxer account that have communication with me and they're all at different stages. So I'm in there just about every day and I am quick to respond, but I just say, give me 24 hours because I could be sick, I could be tired, I could be busy hanging out with family or something like that, or on a call. And then that gives me some breathing room to get back to them when I do have the time. And a big part of setting clear boundaries is giving yourself space to rest, to be creative, and to improve as a coach. Which leads me to my next point, and that is the importance of investing in yourself. Continuous learning allows you to refine your skills understand new trends and offer new solutions to your clients. It positions you as a reliable and knowledgeable resource, which is also going to enhance your credibility and your marketability. It's really true that the more you learn, the more you can earn. So the more that I can invest in myself, learn things, and develop my skill sets and competency as a professional coach, the more I can share with my clients. And the more I can share, the more valuable I am. The more valuable I am, I am, the more money people are willing to invest in me to help them get the goals that they are trying to achieve. Now, you might be thinking, isn't my coaching certification enough? Maybe you spent a lot of money if you did get a coaching certification. Getting a coaching certification or any sort of like initial training that you do is good for providing you a foundation, but in the real world, it's very dynamic. Things are always changing out there in the field, if you will. So ongoing education, continuing to invest in yourself, is going to keep your skills sharp make sure that you can adapt to the changing needs of your clients. The more you learn and develop and hone your craft, the more you can offer those fresh perspectives and ideas that will significantly benefit your coaching clients and ultimately your bank account. All that being said, you do need to be careful about overinvesting. I am 100% guilty of this, where I kept buying course after course after course and hiring coaches and all that kind of stuff and then not implementing the different things that I had learned. But the implementation is where you really get good. So really it's a matter of you investing, practicing, and then sharing with your clients. But only share after you have genuinely practiced and not just regurgitate exactly what they taught you, because then you can really teach from your experience rather than what you think the concept is just about. So be intentional and strategic about your investments and focus on building up competency so that you can better serve your clients. And by investing in yourself and growing your competency, you will also grow your bank account by helping people and more people. And because of that, we really have to focus on this next piece because this is something that a lot of people don't talk about, and that's being prepared for financial fluctuations. As you are growing your coaching business, you are going to have high months and you will have low months. A lot of people are throwing out these numbers of hitting $30,000 months or $10,000 months, and I'm even one of those people. But honestly, it is a range. Sometimes we have high months where we hit closer to $20,000 or $30,000 or something cool, and then we'll have low months where we go a bit under $10,000. I mean, that'll happen with me, but on average it's around $10,000. So as a coach and business owner, you have to be prepared for the financial ups and downs that are going to hit you inside of your business if you want to have a sustainable coaching business. Financial stability allows you to invest in growth opportunities and weather those slow periods without the stress. This is going to allow you to really focus on serving your clients rather than always worrying about money. I think the Buddha said it best: all suffering is caused by attachment. When you have slow months, and if you didn't prepare, you will not have that buffer to keep your peace of mind, which is so important. I wish I did this when I was starting my business because I would have a good month, which was like $5,000 at the time. Then I would go blow that money on buying stuff or celebrating, which is good. You should celebrate. But I wouldn't reserve some of the money for the next month if it was slow. And when you're so attached to making money to where you need the money, you're actually going to push people away, which is why it's so important to have a financial buffer. Nobody wants to sign up with you if you're white-knuckling when it comes to the money, because needy is creepy, and that's not what we want to do when we're building our business. According to a study by the Small Business Administration, about 30% of new businesses fail within the first 2 years due to poor cash flow management. Now the big question is, how do I prepare for these slow months? Basically, when you're busy, just set aside a bit of that money into a savings account or some account off to the side that you can access if and when a slow time comes. The key is to have a financial cushion or buffer that's going to help you navigate the slow times with confidence. Being proactive about this is going to make sure that you can sustain your practice and continue to support your clients effectively, even during challenging times. And by you not having that financial stress, you energetically will be able to attract more business, to have more of those high months as you grow. Keep your head on straight by giving yourself a financial cushion. Now, even if you've already started your coaching business, you might still be struggling with getting enough clients, figuring out how to stand out, or scaling to that next level of income. To help you solve all of those problems and more, watch this video and I'll break down the exact steps that I would take to get to 6 figures the fastest way possible. Hey, this video was helpful. Please like it. It really helps with getting it out to more people and leave a comment below, positive or negative. Just get some engagement on the video and it'll really help this grow. Also, if you think of somebody that you think would benefit from this, please share it with them as well. Take what you learned here, get out there, make something happen, and I will see you in the next one.