Life Coaching Business
Step I: Establish your niche
Step 2: Claim your coaching business
name
Step 3: Identify your preferred
coaching business structure LLC etc.
Step 4: Choose how you will offer
your coaching services
Step 5: Choosing the right equipment
and online platform for your coaching business
Other Steps to consider
Business Plan
Choosing the right web host and
designer
Top 100 Life Coach Websites
And Blogs To Follow in 2018
Blogs and Social Media - Why
Blog is Important
Getting Testimonials For website and listing services
I thought I’d start
writing when I retired at sixty-five. Thanks to my first coach, I wrote my
first book, Coach Yourself to Success at thirty. Coaching really speeds things
up so hold on to your hat when you hire a personal coach, a business coach, an
executive coach or a life coach.
Liability Insurance What Kind of
Insurance Does a Life Coach Need? | Chron.com
Pricing
Most life coaches working with
individuals charge about
$200 to $1,000 per month for a 30- to 60-minute call three or four times a
month. Executive coaches chargemore
and typically work with their clients for two hours a month. It all works about
to about $100 to $300 per hour.
Accounting
QuickBooks
Tutorials - Learn How To Use QuickBooks
Startup Costs
and Monthly Expenses
Choose specific
demographics to target.
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As someone who wants to start their
own coaching business, you’ve probably already discovered no shortage of
“wisdom” on how best to go about it. With the endless resources of the web,
everything is available if you have time to do the research and (more
importantly) discern between what you should listen to and what you should
ignore.
The process can feel overwhelming.
So in this post, I’ve compiled an essential five-step business startup
checklist. You’ll also find bonus information containing the often-overlooked
odds and ends that can save valuable time and money when starting your life
coaching business.
Step I: Establish your niche
I’ll be the first to admit:
marketing generalized coaching services can be a real struggle. To begin with,
you’re selling an intangible product – a future outcome. This means you need to
highlight visible aspects of your client’s current situation, which in this case
is the problem they have that requires fixing. Otherwise known as the
top-of-mind problem, this is the issue that haunts them to the point where
they’re motivated to invest in a solution.
The tools of coaching can be applied
to almost any context – career, business, health, relationships and life
purpose to name just a few. To gain clients and permanently secure them in your
roster you have to specialize in solving specific problems.
Don’t worry if this feels confining.
Once you’re up and running you can always expand your services and your client
base. Start by trusting that the variety will be there for you. Then get
specific in your marketing by focusing on establishing yourself as the go-to
coach for those with a specific set of problems.
Establishing your niche is the first
step toward creating a successful coaching business. With that complete, the
remaining four core components will fall neatly into place.
Step 2: Claim your coaching business
name
Deciding on a name can be a daunting
task. A quick Google search will lead you to believe all the good ones are
taken. But that’s far from the truth. Because no matter how clever the domain
names appear to be, none of them capture you as an individual or the unique
aspects of your service.
Unless you’re planning on starting a
coaching firm, your clients are ultimately buying a relationship with you. So
consider using your own name or a specific nickname for your coaching business.
Not only will this pair a strong visual association with your services (your
smiling face!), it also very clearly establishes you as the brand.
One of the reasons I love using my
name is that it builds top-of-mind awareness, keeping ME front and center with
current and future clients alike. It also gives me the freedom to add programs,
products and even change the type of coaching I offer without having to
re-imagine a completely new brand identity.
A final benefit to using your own
name is that it simplifies the purchase of a URL for your website. If your
exact name isn’t available, don’t get discouraged. Try alternatives. For
example, James Brown might not be available, but James.p.Brown or
JamesBrownCoaching might be. Then if you ever start your own coaching firm, you
can call it “Your Name & Associates.”
If you’d rather have a business name
that doesn’t incorporate some form of your name, create one that speaks to the
solutions you offer. For example, one of our graduates at Coach Training World
created the name “Peaceful Solutions” to reflect her conflict resolution and communication
coaching for divorcing parents. The idea here is that your business name speaks
to your ideal client and the solutions they are seeking.
Still seeking ideas? Try the
business name generator. Or better yet hire a coach who can elicit your creative
juices so you’ll have the perfect business name for you!
Step 3: Identify your preferred
coaching business structure
In the United States
Sole Proprietorship
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Cooperative
Corporation
Partnership
S Corporation
Each offers a variety of legal
protections and comes with a range of different tax obligations. The U.S.
In addition, one of our graduates
(who is a CPA and small business coach) offers some insider tips on the pros
and cons of the most popular business structure options for coaches. As you
watch Ana, keep in mind the two most important details when choosing your
structure: legal liability and taxation.
Step 4: Choose how you will offer
your coaching services
Coaches love to work with their
clients in person. After all, we are relationship-oriented people. But the
option of web connectivity provides a broader reach and more convenience, both
for the coach and their clients.
This takes us to another decision in
the process: should you get an office or work from home?
Coaching from an office
The decision to invest in a physical
office really depends on your preferences and your budget. Having an office can
feel really good. It gives your services a professional appearance, especially
if you plan on offering group coaching or workshops.
If you don’t need the space
full-time, you may be able to sublet or rent it to other coaches if your lease
allows. This is one way many coaches subsidize their office space when they’re
just starting out. As their practice grows and they need the space more often,
they simply scale back on the subletting. Craigslist.org is a great place to
find such opportunities within your area.
One potential drawback to keep in
mind: A physical office requires separate phone services, high-speed web
access, and utilities. These services can add up quickly depending on your
location. But there are also a number of offices you can rent by the hour.
Day offices like ShareDesk and
Davinci provide a complete office setup and include all the necessary business
amenities (some even come with a live lobby greeter). Prices start between $10
and $60 per hour, with day rates from $30 to $300. On-demand work spaces can be
booked online and offer a variety of unique office settings, from individual
work stations to full conference rooms and office suites. They’re another great
way to get started without a ton of expense.
Coaching from home
In contrast, working from home has
its own set of rewards. I love it! And the pros are obvious:
No commute
No time wasted sitting in traffic
Take breaks whenever you want
Work odd hours without sacrificing
time away from family and loved ones
Eat and cook at home (staying
healthy by avoiding the temptation of fast food)
One potential drawback to keep in
mind: If you end up working at home, you’ll need to find a way to separate your
business from the rest of your life. This includes kids, dogs, and household
distractions such as laundry, yard work, and the siren song of the
refrigerator.
When setting up a home office,
establish a place that makes boundaries clear and enables you to easily avoid
the distractions and temptations that threaten to keep you from focusing on
your clients. Also, consider how comfortable you feel having people over. How
easy will it be to constantly maintain a clean and private environment?
That said, if you plan on coaching
clients primarily on the phone or online, a home office might be the way to go.
My favorite setup is a
self-contained office located on the property – similar to a guest house or
bungalow. It’s in a separate area from the main house so it feels more
professional but also offers the convenience of proximity. It’s the best of
both worlds.
Another version of this setup is a
separate entrance into a private area of your home. But honestly, when you
start packing in the clients, a separate office or location is really the way
to go. And if you haven’t noticed the number of coaches working out of coffee
shops, pay attention to who’s around you the next time you’re in one!
Step 5: Choosing the right equipment
and online platform for your coaching business
With your ideal space chosen, the
final core component is to furnish it with the tools of the coaching trade.
Most coaches need a good phone and a headset for phone coaching. And that’s
about it! I recommend a landline with a wireless headset. Although a good
noise-cancelling headset and your cell phone might do just as well.
Before buying equipment, consider
where you’ll be coaching from. To give you an example, I’ve coached while
traveling, using my cell and a laptop computer from as far as Indonesia
Skype is one of the most popular
platforms for offering coaching services. It’s free for most people, easy to
use, and accessible anywhere and on a variety of devices, including smartphones
and tablets. If you intend on using Skype, ensure that you have a strong
Internet connection. Also consider
Google Hangouts.
It might also be worthwhile to
invest in another virtual meeting space that, for a small fee, will give you
more reliable service. Popular examples include Google Hangouts (free for up
to 10 participants; $5 per month for 11 to 15 participants), WebEx ($25 to
$50 per month), and Fuze ($15 to $70 per month). Although in the past year, you
can’t go wrong with Zoom.us – free to work with individuals one-on-one, and
only $15 a month to work with groups.
If you decide to do group coaching,
you’ll definitely want an online meeting/seminar service like WebEx or
GoToMeeting. These platforms offer additional options and enhanced features for
leading groups and managing participants.
BONUS: Loose Ends – What else should
you be thinking of?
Starting a life coaching business is
similar to any other enterprise: there are a number of components that minimize
cost, organize your process, and ensure success.
Among the most common, you’ll find:
Liability insurance. Depending on
your risk tolerance and the type of coaching you plan on offering, you might
want to look into liability insurance for life coaches. As a certified life
coach, holding either an ICF or BCC Credential, you’ll qualify for discounted
rates on this type of policy with many insurance companies. Start by comparing
premiums directly through the ICF.
Client organization tools. For those
who like to stay super organized and have a streamlined system in place,
explore online platforms that minimize your administrative duties. This can
include everything from letting clients self-book their appointments to
managing your billing, record keeping, CRM, appointment reminders, and the
hosting of client information and session data. Popular platforms include:
Coaches Console
Life Coach Office
CoachLogix
CoachingCloud
Taxes, write-offs and quarterly
estimated taxes. You can begin writing off your business expenses once you’ve
officially opened the doors to your business. But be aware: there are a few
exceptions.
Professional services. This isn’t
just for coaches. It’s for anyone starting their business. Create your dream
support team in advance to avoid stress and unwelcome surprises. This typically
includes resources for legal advice, accounting and taxes. Also, hiring a
seasoned marketing coach is never a bad investment. It could save you hundreds
of hours and thousands of wasted dollars. Depending on your marketing skills,
you may also require a graphic artist, web developer and copywriter to help
brand your services.
Don’t go it alone
The above topics represent broad
considerations for starting your life coaching business. But as you integrate
the specifics of your chosen niche, you may have questions or need additional
guidance to ensure you take the most direct and economical path forward.
