How to Grow A Coaching Business: 5 Tips for Success

Growing a coaching business starts with a strong foundation

Many of us started a coaching business because we wanted freedom. We wanted to free ourselves from the corporate shackles, the desk job, the 9-5.

And we start a business, relying on  our coaching businesses to give us that sense of freedom we’ve been craving.

• We want to take clients when we want them.
• Set our own work hours.
• Take as much vacation time as we want.

Surprisingly, so many coaches tend to leave corporate life only to end up working 40+ hours a week, nights and weekends, on our businesses.

• We pack our schedules trying to learn all the things.
• We’re on every platform trying to get clients.
• We try to take as many coaching clients as possible, leaving little room for white space.

Doesn’t really sound like freedom, does it?

That’s because in order to experience the growth and freedom you want in your business, you must create the structure to support it.

Often coaches stand in the way of their own growth

The other challenge I see facing many coaches is that many of us rebel against structure. 

Let me know if this sounds like you:

• You don’t want to think about a daily schedule.
  
• You don’t want to commit to consistently marketing your business.
  
• You don’t want to set up policies and procedures because it feels “too corporate.”

Yet, you want your coaching business to support you financially, to grow with time, allowing you the freedom you so desire.

Structure supports growth in your coaching business

The thing we need to realize is that structure supports growth. 

And, in fact, when we don’t have the structure, it actually holds us back from experiencing the growth — and freedom — we desire.

Here’s what I mean:

• You want to make 6 figures in your business, but you haven’t set up a system to invoice and take payments.
• You want to serve 10 clients, but you don’t have 10 hours available to take on new clients.
• You want to grow quickly, but you’re still reticent to define your coaching niche.

If this is you, take a deep breath and pause for a moment. 

Realize how the lack of structure may contribute to you staying where you are.

And also realize that you can grow a coaching business that supports you by building a strong foundation now.

The structure creates the foundation for growth

When you create the structure, you are saying to the universe,

“Yes, I’m ready! I can serve these clients. I can take these payments. I’m ready to grow my business!”

Plus, you free up your own time to focus on important work, like coaching your clients.

When you have the foundation, you don’t have to stress about every day activities. You can focus on growth.

5 tips to grow your coaching business

So if you’re ready to take the steps to create the structure to support the flow and growth of your coaching business, check out the following tips.

Tip #1: Define what type of coach you are and what you do for people.

“I’m a coach who works work people who want to transform,” is not specific enough.

“I’m a health coach and I work with women who were recently diagnosed with autoimmune conditions and who want to find healthy ways to support themselves so they can have more energy and achieve their goals” is much more clear and tangible.

If you’re not sure what type of coach you are and who you serve, check out this post on finding your niche.

Tip #2: Ensure that you have coaching packages that your ideal clients want to buy.

If you’re just starting your business, you might not have a suite of services yet, and that’s OK!

Even having one compelling offer on your website lets prospective clients know that you are in business and you can serve them.

The more targeted your offer is to your ideal clients, the more compelling the offer will be.

You want to be sure you are creating offers that your ideal clients actually want to buy. This is where market research comes into play.

Tip #3: Put systems and processes into place for things you do repeatedly.

You want to have systems for things you’ll do repeatedly, such as scheduling, invoicing, client onboarding, etc.

Don’t rely on yourself to manually do all the things! Automate as much as you can.

Believe me, this is not something you want to spend your time and energy on when you are growing your coaching business. Systems will make things easier as you grow.

Not sure which tools and apps to use? Check out this list.

Tip #4: Know your priorities and schedule them into your week.

Hold on, schedule rebellers! This is your schedule, so you get to define what it looks like.

Map out what you want your day and week to look like, including when you’ll work on your most important priorities.

Build your coaching time into your schedule, and if you don’t yet have coaching clients, use that time to focus on client attraction activities.

Before you dive into your schedule, consider the goals you have for your business, so you can set up your schedule to support them.

Tip #5: Ensure you have a solid client onboarding process.

It’s not just about having a client agreement, but having a complete process to take clients from their initial consult call through all the necessary steps of getting booked with you.

This process should include everything from an initial welcome email, client intake form, a coaching agreement, payment methods, and scheduling software.

A clear onboarding process communicates the next steps, providing your clients a structure, which helps foster trust.

If you are looking for an all-in-one platform that can help you manage your contracts, invoices, and scheduling, check out Paperbell.

Growing your coaching business starts with you

Growing your coaching business requires building a structure that supports you, your clients, and the growth of your business. 

So even if it doesn’t seem fun or exciting, realize that this solid foundation will create the framework from which everything else flows. 

The good news is, when you take the time to build this foundation, you can  move on to the more exciting activities of your business — coaching your clients!

Structure supports growth. It supports freedom. And it can support you, as long as you let it.