Building a Coaching Business

Building a coaching business is anything but easy, and for most newly minted coaches, it doesn’t happen quickly (or without a lot of hard work).

According to the International Coaching Federation 2020 Global Coaching Study, 93% of coaches surveyed reported having multiple revenue streams and spent only 44% of their business time coaching. That means that for most coaches, building a coaching business includes creating an enterprise that may provide complementary services. That takes planning and time.

I have always done my planning over the summer after I’ve taken some vacation time and given my brain a chance to loosen its grip on the minutiae that has been keeping me up at night.

A summer break allows me to hit the ground running come September when the temperature cools, but my calendar heats up again. To be honest, the only way I can do this is with planning. A lot of planning. I do my prep for the next year in the summer.

In July and August, I set aside one full week to draft my business plan for the following year. I start with a rough usually a rough pencil sketched affair that eventually turns into flip charts on the wall covered with post-its and my multi-coloured written notes (love my Mr. Sketch Scented Markers).

Then, I let it all percolate for a while until I’m ready for my least favourite task, adding the final plan to a spreadsheet. I sometimes (okay, often) procrastinate on this one.

You probably have a strategy of your own for deciding what you will do and when in your coaching practice. You may even have a mission, vision and goals for your business. Well done! Bravo, you!

Most coaches tell me that they’d love to plan ahead, but they don’t have the ideas or the time. They are busy coaching or trying to find coaching clients.

If that sounds a little more like you, don’t worry. There are lots of business-building tools to help you get those creative juices flowing so you can decide how best to serve your client base in the coming months and years.

I’m going to share a few of my favourites here. Take a look and see if anything catches your interest. I have purchased and used all of these at some point over the years, many of them, for my own learning.

Coaching Tools

You’ve heard me talk about this site before. It is one of my go-to sources for exercises, worksheets, templates and content ideas. They have an annual Fireworks Sale that starts today, so this is a good time to take a look at what they have to offer.

I especially like these resources, and there are big discounts this week.

• The Welcome Pack Toolkit
• The Coaching Tools Mega Pack
• The Renew You Love Your Life Coaching Program
• The Small Business Coaching Toolkit
• Brandable Social Media Graphics for a Year

These are terrific resources to get the wheels turning as you think about what is next for your coaching practice, or your career! Business building and creating multiple sources of revenue is absolutely essential for your coaching business to thrive, and grow.

So, if you spend your downtime lounging by the beach, by the pool or just taking some time in your favourite chill spot to get some rest and relaxation, I hope you will add in a little extra for business building.

Oh, and if you are reading for something ambitious, you might want to look at this amazing resource too!

7 Packages to Help You Grow Your Business & Make Money!

Wishing you much success as you build your coaching business!