Prosperous Coach Podcast

This episode is part of my Start Smart Series. A listener asked me to talk about the simplest and least expensive way to get a coaching business off the ground. Great question!

I love it when listeners tell me what they want to hear on the show. If you have a specific request, go to my contact page on —ProsperousCoachBlog.com — and get in touch.

High Profit, Low Tech and High Touch

The answer to the easiest coaching business model is ultra simple! It's 1:1.

If you're charging enough and enroll your clients into a longer term package, you won't need many clients each year to make a good income. I only work with 20 - 30 clients each year.

Your marketing could be minimal if you have ready access to your chosen target audience. And because expenses are incredibly low for this business model, 1:1 is the most profitable option.

Think about it ... You don't have to have a website (although you may want to.) You won't need a team or even a Virtual Assistant to help you with all the tasks because admin is minimal. You don't need big coordinated marketing campaigns, a strong presence on social media or a bunch of apps with monthly fees.

Literally all you need is a phone and a private place in your home to take client calls. And maybe an inexpensive business card for networking.

You know what I'm describing, don't you?

It's the way every service entrepreneur did business before the internet. Don't roll your eyes. It's still the way a lot of service entrepreneurs operate.

Sometimes I wonder if it isn't easier than all the online stuff everyone, including me, does now. But an online business model does allow you to have an international audience, and I love that.

For that analog way of business, you have to be an active networker, go where your clients are, be a good conversationalist and a non-salesy enroller.

When I started, I only offered private coaching. I found all of my clients through networking and speaking.

It was only in my second year that I added in face to face group coaching. Then started doing VIP days - that's 3 to 8 hours of working with one person in one day.

It was only in year 6 that I shifted to online. I created a Membership Program. Honestly, a huge amount of work for poor returns. Then, I added a high ticket online Mastermind with two yearly retreats. And I sold two self-study online training programs. For one of them, I took a group of 20 - 50 through it quarterly as well with a closed Facebook group.

It was fun doing all of that stuff and I made good money. But it was soooo much work keeping it all rolling. And so much of my income was going to expenses!

That's often overlooked when coaches choose a business model. The more complicated or technical you go, the harder you work, and sometimes the less money you keep.

There really is no passive revenue except royalties. I was lucky to have the opportunity to co-write Coach Training curriculum for a royalty and that curriculum is still being used.

Market Less, Serve Clients Longer

But you know what I like the most? Getting to know my clients well and doing deeper work. The 30 hour work week with a 4 day weekend isn't bad either! That's my lifestyle choice.

So in my 20th year in business ... (find more Show Notes here.) 

There are so many upsides to having your own business. But the biggest downside to operating as a solopreneur is that you're ... well, solo.

That is, unless you do something intentional to change that. And I'm hoping that after this podcast you will take some action so you don't feel lonely in your business.

Being an entrepreneur is different than any job you've ever had. At first you're slogging through tasks without a team, a sounding board or even a water cooler connection.

Soon, you will have a steady flow of coaching clients and that will energize you.

But as you're building to that, the isolation you're experiencing now not only feels bad, but it also isn't good for you.

Isolation is a contracting force. The longer you go without support, the more your momentum is quashed. It might have you questioning your decision to become a coach.

And, prolonged loneliness can turn into depression.

Look, everyone feels like this at first. But don't ignore it. Take some conscious actions until you feel sustainable relief.

It's time to reach out.

Community is the solution and you have choices.

When I emerged as a life coach in 1998, I immediately joined the Denver chapter of the ICF. That helped a lot. It's especially meaningful to be in the company of other coaches.

Now if you're not near a city with an ICF chapter, join some Facebook or LinkedIn groups.

Think about it. What professional groups of peers could you join?

Peers will keep you inspired.

Once you've joined a bigger group, take it a step further by creating or joining a smaller sub-group of peers. Keep your eye out for kindred spirits. Reach out to people you connect to energetically or philosophically.

You could even form a support group with some or all of the coaches you trained with.

I'm an introvert, so while the professional groups were helpful, I knew I needed a more intimate group. So, I co-created a peer community with 5 other local new coaches. 

We kept each other on a professional path, laughed and learned in a co-facilitated arrangement.

Mostly it was a social scene — a potluck and some wine plus a discussion topic.

For a while we studied a business book together — still a favorite of mine — called The Power Path: The Shaman's Way to Success in Business and Life by Lena & Jose Stevens. Once or twice we played Robert Kiyosaki's Cash Flow board game.

I know this for sure ... if I hadn't had that group, I would have given up on my coaching business.

If you do start your own group you'll be able to set the ground rules and the tone of the group. You can pass the leadership role around. The idea is to be equals and help each other.

One of my clients told me recently that she joined a Meetup group but stopped going because the coaches weren't being real. Everyone acted as if they didn't need anyone else to succeed.

Well, success largely comes from helping hands.

And here's the thing ... if you've chosen a smart coaching niche to stand out in the crowd, you won't have to compete. Instead you can be generous and refer ideal clients to each other.

Imagine how much more enjoyable that would be than having to pretend to be an island.

So let's be good to each other! It's a fellowship.

By the way ... I'll be talking in my next series all about choosing a smart and narrow niche.

Subscribe to this podcast so you'll hear about the Smart and Profitable Niche series. You can do that where you'll find the show notes for this episode at prosperouscoach.com/4.

As Seth Godin recommend in his latest book — This is Marketing — you want to choose the smallest viable market for your business. (Find more Show Notes here.)

This short episode explores the sticky question about whether you need to certify to be successful as a coach. Sticky because there are 2 camps — the yeas and the nays — and each has good reasons for their position.

I explain the 2 types of certification and generally how it works. Independent certification, such as what the International Coach Federation (ICF) offers, helps to firmly establish and professionalize the coaching industry across the globe. Certifying bodies provide ethics, core competencies and best practices for coaches to follow.

There have been complaints and law suits against coaches from time to time. It's important for you to exhibit integrity in all you say and do to attract and serve clients for 3 main reasons: to do no harm, to maintain the health of your own coaching business, and for the good of the entire industry. 

But, it's worth questioning ... Will all clients require you to have it? Are you really a better coach if you're certified? Is certification the only way to earn more and gain respect in the industry?

I cover the 6 main reasons that proponents of independent certification give about why you should earn and maintain certification.

Find more Show Notes here.

This episode might surprise you. Find the full transcript at prosperouscoach.com/2.

New coaches often ask me what does it really take to be good at this ... to earn a good living at coaching by running your own business? Great question!

Welcome to Your Coaching Business Journey

You want to make a good living at this, help people, and be the director of your own career and lifestyle. Your coaching business can bring you all of those things and more.

After 20+ years growing my own coaching business I've realized that it's been the territory of my greatest personal transformation. It’s been a spiritual journey because I’ve raised the courage to stay in it and ride all the waves. I’ve evolved and have more to do there.

So here's my invitation to you … if you're going to build your own coaching business — go for it without limits. Stay the course. Keep the faith. Believe in yourself even and especially through the down times when you're not meeting your goals or feeling stuck.

Let’s explore what it really takes from two angles:

• First, mindset shifts you’ll need to make.
• And two, actions you’ll need to take.

As you listen think in terms of your potential rather than what you have to have achieved already. Wherever you are on this journey, you’re in the right place to move forward. Forward is always the best direction.

Let’s start with the most crucial mindset …

Mindset #1 - Embrace Being a Beginner

Learn to be okay with not knowing everything and with being bad at some things until you get better at them.

Explorers and scientists get the value of this mindset. They know that first you summon courage and that most mistakes made along the way are happy accidents.

I've never liked the phrase "fake it ‘til you make it" because you can be totally authentic while you're learning things. Be transparent.

·      You can tell your clients you're new at this.

·      You can flub up and just bounce back.

·      You can apologize for mistakes and learn from them.

No one will mind. In fact we're living in times where vulnerability is appreciated. Don't perform. Connect. Don't judge yourself. Allow yourself to grow.

To read the other 3 mindsets and 3 actions to take to be successful as a coach go here.

This episode is about why you (and every new coach) get stuck and 4 ways to breakthrough to forward momentum again. Find the full transcript at prosperouscoach.com/1.

You've been learning a lot, cramming coaching techniques into your head and transforming yourself from the inside out. Coach training sets the pace and you keep on going until you graduate and stuff gets REAL!

It's time to shift from student coach mode to professional coach mode. They are very different states of mind and practice. Learning curves accelerate because the business side of coaching is more complex than the coaching skills side.

And suddenly you're stuck. The best thing to do is get back into strategic action as soon as you can. However, if you don't exactly know what to do you’re still stuck. I’ll address that in a minute.

All Coaches Feel the Imposter Syndrome

Also you may have a mental block and feel you’re not worthy. Imposter Syndrome is one of the main reasons new coaches get stuck.

So the first way to get unstuck is to acknowledge that this is a familiar place. You’ve felt this before and you're not alone here. There’s nothing wrong with you.

Consider your many skills and accomplishments that brought you here. You're an intelligent, talented and thoughtful human being. Now get into the habit of giving yourself a pat on the back for whatever you learn or take action on. 

You'll feel instantly better.

Creating Your Coaching Business Alone is Discouraging

The second reason you get stuck is trying to do everything on your own. And this gets back to that issue of not knowing what to do.

Overwhelm is a courage and momentum killer. Chances are, you're literally drowning in information overload right now. You’re plucking bits of advice from here and there and none of it really fits together.

There's this mountain to climb and it looks like it's going to take years, so you are tempted to give up … just slide back into your old life.

But then shame creeps in because you feel like you've wasted a lot of time and money on coach training. You can’t let yourself and your family down!

So here's a rule ... take a bit of information in, and then take some sort of action to integrate what you've learned. Incremental learning is going to give you an ever-expanding comfort zone and that feels good. And, consider sourcing your advice all from ONE place.

To get unstuck fast, find a coaching business mentor who can beeline you to where you want to go step by step so you’re not overwhelmed. Get every bit of your business foundation set up with someone holding your hand all the way.

You may now be thinking … "but I have to earn now before I spend any more money". But what good will it do you if you spin your wheels trying to force yourself to know something that you can't possibly know?

Take it from me, the road is hard, full of false-starts and bad moves doing everything on your own. With good help it’s a much more graceful experience.

Coaching Business Startup is the Critical Phase

Read the other reasons why you get stuck after coaching training.

Prosperous Coach Podcast is hosted by Rhonda Hess, international business coach and niche strategist with 18 years experience helping coaches niche and launch their coaching business with confidence. This weekly show offers practical guidance and inspiration to emerging coaches who want to be wildly successful in their coaching business. Episodes cover how to choose a profitable coaching niche, create authentic messaging, design magnetic coaching programs and other topics to help you get noticed by ideal coaching clients who pay well. The show also digs into coaching tools, coaching client challenges, money mindset and moving beyond limiting beliefs.