How to Start an Online Coaching Business - Episode 271

Have you thought about becoming an interior design coach? Maybe you’re burned out, ready to move on to another point in your career, or simply want some side income. Whatever the reason, online coaching might be the way to go. But how do you start an online coaching business? Do you dive in full-time, or dip your toes in part-time? Do you offer one-on-one coaching or group coaching? 

In this episode of Wingnut Social, Kendra Perry—a former six-figure functional health coach turned online business strategist—shares how you can seamlessly build an online coaching business. Don’t miss it! 

What You’ll Hear On This Episode of Wingnut Social

[1:30] Wingnut webinar and wingnut academy updates

[2:56] Mini News Sesh: How to calculate engagement rates

[9:17] Learn more about Kendra Perry

[11:47] The first steps: how to start an online coaching business

[15:34] How niched is too niched in the interior design industry? 

[18:07] Online coaching: side hustle or a full-time job? 

[19:40] Should you market your coaching business using current channels? 

[22:00] Why you should start with one on one coaching 

[26:14] The difference between Masterminds and group coaching

[30:00] The importance of communities to support group coaching courses

[31:55] How to structure an online course for your coaching business 

[39:06] It’s time for the What Up Wingnut Round!

[41:00] How to connect with Kendra Perry

[42:50] Blooper Reel!

Connect with Kendra Perry

Kendra’s coaching website

Follow Kendra on Instagram

The Wealthy Coach Podcast

Resources & People Mentioned

Record your podcast episodes on Riverside

Engagement rate calculation: Engagement Numbers/Reach x 100

You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay

Circle Community Platform 

Mighty Networks

The first steps: how to start an online coaching business

Everyone's an expert in something, right? Is there something you learned as an interior designer you wished you knew? Do you have expertise in a specific niche? It doesn’t have to be anything extraordinary. You don’t need specific education. You can take the knowledge you’ve acquired through your career and build it into an online program.

The most important thing you need to consider is your niche. What segment of the market are you going to target? What’s the single problem you solve for people? Who is that person? What are those people looking for? Kendra emphasizes that you aren't just selling coaching—you’re selling solutions to problems. 

What outcome can you provide with your coaching? You can monetize any skills but you need to understand who you’re serving, the problem you’re solving, and the outcome you offer. 

Should online coaching be a side hustle or full-time job? Should you market your coaching business using current channels? Listen to hear Kendra’s thoughts!

Why you should start with one-on-one online coaching 

Many new coaches want to start with group coaching or an online course, but Kendra recommends beginning with one-on-one coaching. Why? Because it’s simpler. You don’t need a launch strategy, program hosting, modules, etc. You can reach out to your current audience and see who’s interested. You could have a coaching client the next day. 

Secondly, if you don’t have a huge audience, one-on-one coaching will be easier to start with. The amount of feedback you’ll get is invaluable, which you can then take and apply to a group program. Anything you learn can be rolled into an online course. 

To do something like group coaching or a course, you need volume to sell to and infrastructure in place. That’s why Kendra recommends giving yourself 6–12 months to bring in a full-time income. You have to build an audience and a list and those things take time. 

When do you move to group coaching? And how do you structure an online course for your business when the time is right? Kendra is a wealth of information on this topic. Tune in to the whole episode to learn the ins and outs of building an online coaching business in the design space.

C