Have you ever thought about becoming a business coach? As an experienced entrepreneur and mentor myself, I can tell you that business coaching can be an incredibly rewarding career. Not only do you get to witness business owners achieve unprecedented success, you also have the privilege of impacting the economy through supporting the growth of small businesses.
If you have leadership abilities, enjoy motivating others, and want to take control over your own career, then read on. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll teach you how to break into this lucrative industry the right way.
Table of Contents
Step1: Choose Your Coaching Niche
The first step is identifying your niche. The business coaching world is broad, as per Ibisworld business coaching market is valued at over 14.2 bn but you need to hone in on a focused area. As a newer coach, consider specializing in either:
- A specific business type: Such as restaurants, tech startups, online stores, etc. This allows you to offer industry-specific advice.
- Or a key business skill: Marketing, branding, leadership, systemization, etc. This showcases you as an expert in that function.
I’d recommend picking an area you have firsthand experience in. For instance, if you ran successful digital agencies for years, parlay that into becoming an agency growth coach.
Step2: Gain the Education Needed
Just because you excelled working in a business, does not mean you can properly coach others in that field quite yet. Before selling your services, it’s vital to understand business coaching fundamentals.
There are several paths to gaining a world-class coaching education, including:
- Enrolling in an ICF-accredited program: Invest around 4-6 months in gaining the knowledge and credentials from an International Coaching Federation-approved training.
- Finding a mentor coach: Work under an experienced coach for 6-12 months to grasp how elite coaching is done.
- Reading seminal books and courses: From Coaching for Performance to Source Code Coaching, books and online courses can supplement other education.
Whichever learning path you take, absorb how to: establish client trust; actively listen; ask incisive questions; structure rewarding sessions; offer tactical advice; motivate change, and more. Commit to always improving your coaching skillset too – reading new books each month to evolve your practice.
Step3: Determine Your Coaching Structure
As an aspiring coach, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is choosing between three primary coaching structures:
- One-on-one coaching: Working privately with clients over 6-12 month engagements.
- Group coaching: Leading a cohort of 5-15 business owners through a curriculum.
- Online coaching: Offering self-paced training through membership sites with interactive group elements.
Weigh factors like your preferences, personality, experience, and target market when picking a structure. For instance, if you once led large teams, then group coaching may come naturally. Or if most of your expertise is online, then build a digital coaching company.
Most successful coaches leverage a blend of one-on-one and group engagements which allows them to share their message with more entrepreneurs. I’d advise starting with one structure and adding more later as you grow.
Step4: Develop Your Coaching Program & Methodology
Now comes the fun part – actually designing your coaching system! Map out what you will cover session-to-session to guarantee clients accomplish their goals.
Most coaching engagements last 6-12 months and meet bi-weekly. When outlining your methodology, consider covering:
- ✅ Current State Analysis
- ✅ Vision Setting
- ✅ Capabilities Mapping
- ✅ Critical Priority Planning
- ✅ Accountability Sessions
- ✅ Quarterly Planning Adjustments
Within each area, define what frameworks, exercises, support materials, and assignments you will use to spur breakthroughs for your clients.
You can develop your own proprietary ways of coaching a chosen topic or apply existing proven business growth methodologies.
Step5: Price Your Coaching Services
Pricing is an area that stops many from becoming coaches. Know your time and expertise are incredibly valuable, so do not discount yourself, especially at first. By delivering massive ROI to businesses, you quickly justify larger investments in your coaching.
As benchmarks, basic group coaching often starts at $200/month per person while one-on-one coaching can demand $3,000 – $10,000/month retainers given your custom attention and executive-level advice.
Of course, adapt pricing to both your target client size and niche. For earlier-stage startups and smaller businesses, keep investments under $5k/month for one-on-one arrangements to align with more limited budgets.
Structure how you package services too. Such as offering 3-month initial engagements before 6-month renewals. This provides easy commitment points. And consider blending group and individual packages like I offer through my Ascend Business Accelerator program.
Step6: Market Yourself As an Authority
Gaining your first few coaching clients requires adeptly marketing yourself as an industry authority focused on serving a specific audience.
Some brand-building must-dos include:
➡️ Launching a coaching website that speaks directly to your dream client and offers free value training.
➡️ Creating social media profiles on LinkedIn and Instagram specifically positioning your niche expertise through posts and targeted thought leadership content.
➡️ Securing guest columns in business publications read by your targets.
➡️ Hosting free intro calls and workshops to showcase your value.
➡️ Networking at in-person industry events to connect with potential coaching clients.
➡️ Running Facebook and Google ads focused on high-intent keywords like “Business coach for tech founders”.
Over time, as you achieve client wins, testimonials and referrals will drive increasing traffic. But at the start, dedicate time weekly to building awareness at the early stage of your coaching practice.
Step7: Deliver Transformational Results
This last step lies at the very heart of succeeding as a coach over the long term. You must consistently and effectively enable business owners to accomplish goals vital to their companies.
Rapidly earning a reputation as a coach who truly expedites tangible outcomes is how you secure a steady stream of clients even without constant marketing. So pour yourself into the journey of each entrepreneur you work with.
From sharply uncovering the root issues holding a company back to maintaining motivated accountability, your skills and connections should uplift businesses to the next level. Demonstrating real ROI cements trust and sets you apart from the average coach. 64% of my clients doubled their revenue within 12 months of us beginning one-on-one work together.
When you change lives, grow companies, and even build industries, the path to becoming a fulfilled and prosperous business coach reveals itself. I hope this guide illuminated the way forward. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! We have separate career counselling programs for aspiring Business Coaches like you.
