Initially I thought being a professional coach would be like being a therapist. People would find me in listings or by referral, keep buying sessions for years, and refer friends. A few years in, no coach I knew had a business like that. It set me to studying successful coaches.
Now, I like to test a coaching niche idea and see if it has “legs”. The coaches I work with look for confirmation in 2 ways:
- Their chosen audience is viable — actively seeking solutions and willing to invest in resources.
- Their niche is designed to fit their audience’s stated big goals and the problems in the way.
This keeps my clients from coaching niche mistakes that would slow them down. It sets them on a confident path.
Did you test your coaching niche before creating your website and putting out content on the socials? It’s never too late.
Two Smart Shifts to Make for a Thriving Coaching Business
I had the pleasure recently of dialoguing with a group of newly graduated coaches at the school where, in 2001, I co-authored curriculum and designed their certification program — Coach Training Alliance. A shout out to everyone who participated!
My goal was to help them get to the next level in their business from wherever they are now. There were coaches attending who had never had a paying client and coaching business owners who felt confident they were on track to earn well.
We focused in on 2 linchpins to success that are good for whatever phase of development you are in coaching business — the CEO mindset and a smart niche.
What would it look like to take on the full ownership of your coaching business?
- Take responsibility for your financial success.
- Set intention to be strategic in your content & actions.
- Fully develop your niche & specialty to attract ideal clients who pay well.
- Stay inspired and make things happen every day that you work.
Make this mindset shift now if you haven’t already. A clue is to look at the way you are thinking about and pricing your services. Are your fees an investment for your audience that helps them show up, stay present and transform? Low pricing won’t get that result.
Everyone in the group of coaches who had paying clients agreed that higher pricing meant better clients who get better results from coaching. Check out Episode 184 – How to Charge More for Your Coaching and Episode 191 – Low Pricing Could Kill Your Coaching Business.
The second mindset shift transfers to action. It is to set intention and learn be strategic in your actions instead of simply ticking off the daily tasks.
When you step fully into the CEO role in your own business you’re no longer just floating and hoping.
Instead, you actively gain traction, leverage your efforts, become a recognizable brand and offer something that’s truly wanted.
You attract clients and profits, not just for today, but for your future too.
What can you do right now to take ownership of your coaching business? Here are three things you might have partially done and could set intention to complete very soon:
1. Create a real home office with a door, a real desk and a good computer.
Seems obvious, right? When you establish a physical place for your business, it signals to you and the world that you are in this for the long run and not just playing about.
2. Set work hours and block time.
You’d be surprised how many coaches don’t do this. I get it They are thinking, when the clients come then I will get serious. That’s backwards. If your business is only squeezed in to whatever time you have left over from everything else in your life, it may never really get off the ground.
3. Set your business up for success.
Do the things that business owners do to build a solid foundation before launching or, if you’ve already launched, reset now:
- Target a viable audience full of seekers who will invest highly in their own success. Not all audiences are seekers. Many that coaches initially target are not.
- Conduct market research (and not in the traditional way but a more coach-like way.)
- Then tailor your niche and everything in your business to fit what you discovered while infusing it with your zones of genius.
These are the things I partner with coaches to do in my VIP Coaching Business Breakthrough program.
If you’ve been floating and hoping something will happen and feeling discouraged even though you are working hard, foundational pieces are missing in your business.
I’d love to help you make the smart decisions that set a strong course for your business. Then we will workshop absolutely every piece of your business foundation so you don’t have to do this all alone and flounder like I did for years at the start of my business.
If you’ve been thinking about working with me in this private 1:1 high touch way to get it all done, fill out the application at the end of this page. Then we will meet to see if we are a good fit!
I have 2 openings starting very soon.
We will start by refining your audience and niche. You know, sometimes the coaching niche you start out with isn’t the one that will take you the distance. It’s no shame if you have to recalibrate. Just do it with strategy to guide you for this, hopefully, last time around.
And we’ll continue with market research then use that to develop every aspect of your business. 🌟
How Would a Coach Do Market Research?
When I talk about market research, you’ll be glad to know I’m not suggesting you invite a focus group and ask people directly do you like this benefit statement, would you pay this price?
Instead ask your audience a short set of questions designed to help them turn inside and reflect. I help my VIP clients design powerful questions that draw out the most real, urgent and evocative answers that reveal the territory of their niche.
You come away KNOWING what your target audience wants so much they will invest in support to help them achieve.
It’s important to develop a niche that has an arc and specific milestones you help your audience achieve over time, rather than a short-time niche — something that can be resolved in a few sessions. Ideally, you enroll fewer clients and work with them longer.
Imagine … feeling confident that what you are offering is wanted — to know that your audience is likely to invest in your services because they are out there searching for solutions that you can help them overcome!
